1. Cook From Scratch More Often
Takeaways and restaurant meals may be convenient, but dining out means it is hard to avoid salt. A serving of chicken fajitas bought from a well-known chain contains a whopping 6700mg of salt, a large diet cola hides 90gm of sodium, and desserts can also contain surprisingly large amounts: a portion of chocolate fudge cake tested contained 820mg salt.
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Add it together and you will have consumed about a tablespoon of salt, far more than you would usually use at home. Experts agree that we should try to reduce the amount of sodium in our diet. Salt is the biggest source of sodium in our diet and lowering the amount of salt we consume is essential for good health, not only to lower blood pressure but to maintain healthy kidneys, heart and bones. Cooking at home need not take up too much time: dishes such as sauces for pasta, tasty casseroles and pies can be batch cooked and frozen at the weekend, so that you always have something ready to heat through if you are tired when you get home.
2. Cut Back Gradually
We are not born with a taste for salty food, we acquire it gradually, and the more we eat of it the more we need. It is possible to re-educate our taste buds to need less salty food. Rather than trying to cut out all salt at once, try reducing the amount you use when cooking by adding a little less salt than your recipe suggests each time.
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By doing this incrementally, you will succeed in significantly reducing your sodium intake. If you add salt at the table, follow the same approach and add a little less each day until you have weaned yourself away from very salty tastes. Cook's Tip: Measure out the salt need for a dish and then put a proportion of it - perhaps a quarter - back into the container. After a couple of weeks, cut back by one-third and so on until you are adding very little salt to your cooking. You will find that you barely miss it.
3. Check Labels Carefully
For most people, the largest proportion of salt in their diet comes from processed and convenience foods, and this area is a good place to start with your salt-lowering strategy. Culprits include pizzas, tomato ketchup, processed meats, white bread and rolls, ham, bacon and sausages.
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In an ideal world, you could avoid high levels of salt by eating raw and home-cooked food. However, you can help to lower your sodium intake by reading labels carefully for nutritional information and by choosing to buy brands that offer a lower salt content.Look out for lower-salt versions of popular foods such as ketchup, soups, cereals and crackers
4. Mix It Up
There are going to be certain times when you cannot avoid eating takeaway or processed meals. You can reduce the totals of salt in your meal, however, by adding generous portions of fresh salad or cooked vegetables. 
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For example, choose a dish such as chicken chow mein, take a bag of baby spinach leaves and heat briefly until wilted, mix together with the chow mein and divide into two portions. You have not only reduced your salt intake and calorie counts but have also added nutritional value with minerals, fibre and vitamins from the spinach. Tip when eating out: Share a main course to halve your salt intake and order extra salad or steamed veg (without salt) to fill the gap.
5. Shortcuts That Are Low In Salt
There is no need to give up all convenience foods to achieve a low-salt diet. Frozen vegetables do not usually contain added salt, neither do canned tomatoes and passata.
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Lok out for canned beans and other vegetables, such as sweetcorn, that are labelled low-salt or salt-free. You can then add salt - sparingly - to taste. To heighten the flavour of any dish, try toasting spices and herbs or citrus zest in a small amount of oil before adding other ingredients. The flavour infused oil will add richness and intensity to unsalted ingredients such as beans, meat and tomatoes..6. Choose More Fruit and Veg
Fruits and vegetables are naturally low in salt, so try to include at leat 5 portions of them in your diet each day.
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Vegetables and fruits such as apricots, sweet potatoes, melon, bananas, oranges and kidney beans are especially rich in potassium, a trace mineral that helps to dilate the arteries and lower blood pressure. If you are finding it difficult to give up salt altogether, lower your intake by cooking vegetables without salt and add a little at the table. Cook's Tip: Try roasting a medley of vegetables tossed in a little olive oil and ground black pepper, chili or fresh herbs to enjoy rich flavours that do not need added salt.
7. Cut Back on Condiments
Ketchup contains on average 190mg of salt per tablespoon, so is not a major offender as long as it is used sparingly. However, problems arise if you are addicted to the delicious red stuff and plaster it lavishly on everything from burgers to burritos.
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Other condiment culprits that can add to our sodium tally include soy sauce and pickles. Look out for low-salt or salt-free versions to add tang to your sushi and cheese sandwiches.Star Tip: Make a delicious fresh salsa from chargrilled, skinned peppers chopped tomatoes and a little olive oil, flavoured with black pepper or chili to taste. Serve with salt-free tortilla chips, burgers, fish and barbecued food.
8.Home-made Salad Dressing
Bottled salad dressing may contain as much as 500mg salt in a 2-tablespoon serving.
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The flavour of a salad made from beautiful, fresh green leaves is not enhanced by a lot of salt, and if you look at a recipe for traditional, home-made vinaigrette, you will see that the key ingredients are not high in sodium. It is simple to make your own and it will keep for several days in a screw-top jar in the fridge.Basic vinaigrette Recipe Place 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard in a bowl. Boost flavour by adding finely chopped herbs or minced spring onion. Season with 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper (omit salt if your recipe suggests it). Add 2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar and mix well. Next add 6 tablespoons good quality olive oil and whisk together until the mixture is emulsified and creamy. That's it! A simple and delicious vinaigrette; you can vary this basic recipe by adding lemon zest and juice or honey and orange juice.
9. Make More of Natural Flavours
Be inspired by Indian cuisine. It is full of bold flavours, but they are not developed with a lot of salt but through toasting various spices in oil at the start of cooking. From the Caribbean, the famous Jamaican jerk seasoning uses a blend of onion, allspice and thyme that is rubbed into pork and chicken before grilling.
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The more flavours you can add to your basic ingredients, the less salt you will need to use. Citrus is the secret weapon of many top chefs, who use a hint of lemon zest or a squeeze of juice when adjusting the seasoning at the end of cooking to brighten and sharpen the flavours in their dishes. When a recipe is well-seasoned and has a fresh, sharp note of citrus, you will not miss the lack of salt. Star Tip: Fresh herbs are a delicious way to enhance many dishes. Buy in small amounts and keep fresh in a jar of water, or try growing your own in pots on a sunny windowsill.
10. Make Salt the Star
So much of the sodium in our diet is either concealed in processed foods or added without thought during cooking. If you are reducing the amount of salt in your diet, you and your guests can still enjoy it occasionally by making it a feature of your dishes.
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The term reduced-salt sounds unappealing to many people, but try enticing your guests by renaming your recipe - for instance, Grilled Courgettes with Sea Salt - so that the salt is seen as a touch of luxury. A sprinkle of sea salt makes an excellent finishing touch to vegetables and other dishes that have been cooked without salt. A tiny hint of sea salt is also a delicious addition to some sweet dishes, such as cheesecakes, and you can indulge yourself occasionally without risking raising your sodium levels.For More Posts Go To Main Blog
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