Low Sodium Meal Delivery: The Taste of Food Doesn't Have to Be Drab

Low Sodium Meal Delivery: The Taste of Food Doesn't Have to Be Drab
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Sodium in the Diet

Sodium is an important element for maintaining overall water balance in cells and also plays a key role in proper nerve and muscle functioning. Sodium is a prime element in table salt, is found naturally in most foods and is a primary additive in most processed foods. A typical diet should contain about 1.5 teaspoons per day which is about 2300 mg with a minimum sodium intake of 1500 mg.

Too much sodium is not healthy and many people have an excess of sodium in their diet. Low sodium meal delivery becomes important in diet, particularly as people age. It is a big factor in hypertension, which becomes more prominent with aging. For people who have a family history of hypertension, it is important to decrease the salt intake early in life rather than waiting until there are symptoms of hypertension.

Low Sodium Diets With Great Taste

A low sodium diet doesn’t have to mean tasteless foods. A simple way to ensure lower salt intake is to choose fresh foods rather than processed ones. For example eating a fresh ear of corn has 1 mg of sodium while 1 cup of canned corn has 384 mg. An apple has 1-2 mg sodium while a processed apple pie from fast food restaurants contains 400 mg. The less processing that goes into a food, the less sodium it has and the more nutrients present for good healthy eating.

Develop a taste for the natural flavor of fresh foods and minimize the use of salt at the table. Cut back gradually and begin to enjoy the taste of foods usually covered up by salt.

Great Taste Using Herbs for Flavor

There are many great herbs power packed with flavor that can be a worthy substitute for salt. Fresh herbs are delicious and have the greatest flavor when added to foods near the end of cooking. Replacing salt with herbs makes for a new taste experience. Finding the combination of herbs to bring out the best flavor in vegetables may take some experimentation with cooking. Here are some general tips for cooking with herbs.

Consider the flavor you want when cooking. If you want an Italian flavor choose herbs like oregano, basil, rosemary and parsley. Mexican flavors are a combination of coriander, cumin or chili pepper. Ginger is often used in Asian dishes. Garlic and onion are used in many different mixtures of herbs melding well with other flavors. Fresh garlic and onion is best sauteed and then added to vegetables that are steamed or lightly stir-fried.

Low sodium meal delivery doesn’t have to mean flavorless food. It can mean opening up a whole new realm of great flavors through herbs and spices that can appeal to your palate.

References

https://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09354.html

https://www.italiancook.ca/spice-herb.htm