Salt flavors your food well but if you are a diabetic or someone who recently suffered a heart attack, it is wise to cut back on your salt intake. Herbs and spices are an excellent way to add flavor to your foods and, if you buy them in bulk, you will have plenty on hand when you prepare meals. Low-sodium vegetable broth is another neat way to flavor your food.
Ways to season fish without salt
Fish is a healthy food and can be flavored using a variety of ingredients other than salt. If you're making baked tilapia fillets with roasted root vegetables, you can add cumin, curry powder, onion powder, rosemary, oregano, basil, paprika, lemon juice, seafood stock, or crushed garlic cloves. If you're grilling catfish fillets, try cayenne pepper, black pepper, crushed red pepper or garlic powder.
Seasoning beef without salt
For beef dishes you can use spices and herbs such as marjoram, nutmeg, chili powder, cumin, ground mustard, thyme, and basil. You can also boost flavor of beef dishes with tomatoes, tomato juice, low-sodium beef broth, turmeric, horseradish cream, the juices from roasted vegetables or garlic powder. If you're making beef pot roast, surround the meat in the pan with carrots, yellow squash, celery, and yellow onions. These vegetables flavor the meat's juices nicely without adding a lot of salt.
Salt-free seasoning for poultry
Any of the above-mentioned herbs and spices can be used to flavor poultry. I enjoy making chicken curry so I like to include curry powder, ginger, cinnamon and chili powder along with crushed red pepper. For my roast chicken I rub melted butter over it then I rub cayenne pepper, garlic powder, dried basil or oregano, onion powder, and, sometimes, dried parsley. These flavorings take the boredom out of weeknight meals.
Use lemon juice
Some dishes can be made delicious by adding lemon juice to them. This is the case with poached fish or poultry dishes. Recently I poached chicken in chicken broth, some herbs and spices and a little lemon juice. Lemons add a slight tangy flavor but they are not overpowering. You can also add some lemon juice to chicken noodle soup for a summery flavor.
Herbed butter
If you're making popcorn, you can substitute herbed butter in place of salt. Just melt a one-third of cup of butter and add your favorite herbs such as oregano, thyme, basil and cilantro. Pour the melted butter over the popcorn and mix thoroughly. This makes for a healthy snack to give kids hours before dinner.
Salt substitute
If you still miss the taste of salt after using the above-mentioned suggestions, you can add salt substitute. Salt substitutes are a variety of blends of herbs and spices and you can find them at most supermarkets. For example, you might see an Italian blend or even a blend of Asian flavors.
For the best health, you want to reduce your salt intake and these suggestions help you do it efficiently.