Salt Substitute

Also, if you step down slowly, you'll just get used to it. We use very little salt (and eat very little processed foods with salt), but it happened slowly. Now when I eat at my Mom's house or something, it tastes way salty, not good!

K.

I am a huge fan of Penzeys Spices, and they have many salt free mixes. The most popular is called Mural of Flavor, and even my kid love it. You probably don't have a store front near you, but you can order online here: http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeysmuraloffl...

have you seen the salt free versions of Mrs. Dash? They have all kinds of spices mixed up, with no salt, and they are really good, and you never miss the salt at all!! Also, if you just want salt but less of it, you could try Morton's Light Salt, we use that everyday.

We use No-Salt almost exclusively except for on tomato products, the need the real McCoy. One daughter "doesn't like" the taste of No-Salt and has her own salt shaker with "real" salt in it. What she doesn't know is that when she isn't around, I make a 50/50 mix of real salt and No Salt. She has no clue. We've found that we think the mix actually makes the salt taste saltier, but you are actually using less. Experiment with the ratio until you get one that tastes better. Make sure that you are getting enough iodine in your diet if you are cutting out salt. Most processed foods do not contain salt enhanced with iodine and it is essential for thyroid health.

I like McCormick Season-All -- it still has some salt in it but also has many other herbs/spices as well. Good way to step down!

(if you want the salt taste and maybe not use so much salt - try a little sea salt or kosher salt ... think the larger crystals give ya the taste and you should be able to control your amount easily)

I'm allergic to an ingredient in Mrs. Dash so I can't use it myself but I've heard that a lot of people like it.

I use No Salt or Morton's Lite Salt for cooking and still use table salt to taste when necessary. The No Salt doesn't work well as a table salt substitute but I've found that if I use it for cooking I usually don't miss the "salt taste" of regular salt.

It is probably good to reduce sodium intake in general, however, I have never heard of salt causing "bloating". If you are thinking in terms of "fluid retention", edema in tissues, that causes swelling in extremeties, feet, legs, arms, hands, face, etc, that would be associated with a metabolic issue, but bloating is more related to the digestive process, gastro intestinal tract, with increased gas, and stomach / abdominal protrusion.

This might clarify bloating and salt would not be the culprit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloating

I use Mrs. Dash all the time. There are many different varieties, and they really add something to dishes.

It is very different than salt, so don't expect it to taste anything like it. I heard on The Doctors that it can take a few weeks for your taste buds to adjust to less sodium, but once they do the things you use to love might taste very salty.

My mom and I both have high blood pressure, so we really make an effort to cut back on sodium. My in-laws, on the other hand, don't even bother tasting a dish in a restaurant before loading it with salt. It's not easy for me to eat at their house, because they salt everything. I just grin and bear it for the day or day and a half that we are there and then smile when I return to my own kitchen.

Mrs. Dash has several differen varieties and doesn't have any salt. We used that when my mom had to begin restricting her salt intake.