How long did it take to you, or people you heard about, to start liking the taste of salt free food?

About a month. When I first cut out sugar then everything tasted too salty so I started cutting out salt stuff to where now I complain about near everything I don’t cook myself. Before I couldn’t tell the salt in salted butter whereas now I don’t buy it unless it’s for company eating over.

Ignore the media, they’ll be advertising new brands of blood pressure medicine to go with that side of vegetables in a few more minutes.

Well, the Salt Institute is full of crap. lol

It only takes a few tries. The first couple are the more difficult, naturally.

In effort of full disclosure, I do go on “salt binges” now and again… But I like my veggies just fine without salt, and there are a ton of other spices someone could put on their food to add more flavor.

Years ago, when I was in the 10th grade my dad had two heart attacks and he had to quit eating salt. I quit eating salt also so he didn’t have to go it alone. To this day I don’t add salt.

I agree. It is amazing how shameless, that is. Working against the health of population!

It is true there are so many things that add fllavor to food there is hardly any reason to need salt, it is just habit. The bags potato chips have an insane amount of salt.

By the way have you ever heard of “Kelp”? I am not sure of the spelling.

EDIT: I found it in Wikipedia.

I think it only took me a few days to discover the real taste of food, but I’ve never been much of a salt person, anyway. Except, of course, for the rare potato chip binge, which then leaves my mouth burned and my tummy all funny. I don’t even use it in cooking, unless there’s a chemical reason.

I have heard of kelp actually. . . I’ve never knowingly eaten it, but I like it in my shampoo. lol

There’s a lot of flavor in seaweed. I like Japanese cuisine, and they use a lot of different seaweeds.

I just read about Kelp, and it doesn’t sound very appetizing. But I will try it.

@flo Have you tried sushi? Or wakame?

Still kind of working on it. Been about 3 months now… I was never really a BIG salt eater (never added extra to anything) but looking at how much sodium is in common things we eat, its hard to do without eating any.

I still have a bit of a problem with some things needing salt, but I can’t eat either much salt or much sugar ( high BP and diabetes ), but I use other spices that help me not miss the salt so much. : )

My mom cut out salt, and after one of her visits I decided to cut down myself. A couple of weeks later I happen to have a doctors appointment and it is the only time in my life my electrolytes have ever been off, my sodium was low. I went right back to my salty food. Lol.

I love the taste of salt free food….I love the taste of salted food more nothing better than a big pile of mashed potatoes covered in butter(non salted/salted not sure..I don’t read food labels) with salt on top

100% salt free is bad for your health…How I eat salt is bad for your health…If you want to be healthy moderation is the key.

My father had a heart attack at 43. His doctor told him to stop using salt (he was a heavy user).
To help encourage him, I stopped using any salt as well. I still avoid it most of the time, though I do cook with it.
I never missed it.

@filmfann Do you think cooking with salt is different than adding salt at the table?

Adding at the table usually means adding a lot more.

I’ve never had a problem with it. Ever since my doctor told me to quit using it when I was 20 years old, I have done with out, with zero noticeable effect.

@YARNLADY, zero noticebale effect??? Umm, maybe nobody has told you this before, but, how do I say this…the lack of sodium in your diet has caused your ears to grow long and point out the top of your head. Just an observation. ; )

@bkcunningham No, that was all those raw carrots.

Too funny. You silly rabbit! That was cute. My sister and her entire family quit eating salt years ago. She said she can taste salt in everything. Even bread. Me, I eat it in moderation.

@filmfann I have heard just the opposite. That when the salt is on top it hits the tongue more directly and kess is needed to acheibe a salty taste. I think some people try to eliminate salting food at the table to reduce salt intake, but that is when the salt shaker is on top of cooking with salt. My husband brags soMetimes that he never uses salt, and I correct him that there is a ton of salt in his food, lol, because I have made his meals with plenty.

@JLeslie So you’re trying to kill him?

@filmfann LMAO! I’m eating the same food. :).

I realize when cooking, I never add salt to my childrens food..but I always pour it on mine. It must just be a habit, and I need to break it. I don’t know how to cut back though!

Supposedly the less salt you eat the less salt you crave.

@JLeslie I think that may be true. I don’t crave salt at all. My brother pours salt on everything he eats before he even tastes it to see if it needs salt. It drives me crazy.

I think the people that pour salt onto everything are the same people that pour ketchup onto everything. They have no idea what food actually tastes like. Which is too bad because they miss out on all the wonderful distinctive flavors that nature has given us.

My mom stopped adding salt to our food in the 70’s and I don’t add it either. Some things are pretty tasty with salt, every now and then like salted nuts and potato chips, but almost everything else has such a nice distinctive flavor that gets knocked out with the addition of salt.

We also use a lot of different spices, and herbs in our cooking. I love things spicy and flavorful, but not salty. Because we don’t cook with salt or add it at the table, I totally notice when food (like at a restaurant or processed food) has lots of salt in it. Not in a good way.

@Taciturnu why do you mention Sushi and Wakame in particular? Is there anything salt related about them? It would be nice if they can help in making the transition to salt free diet.

@flo No, I was just mentioning in reference to seaweed. :)

Are you transitioning? They do have low sodium salt substitutes to help you wean yourself off.

@Taciturnu I know people who are looking for help in reducing salt. Thanks for the tip.

So, re. Kelp, does anyone have any direct or indirect experience with it?

I used to think it was absolutely terrible to have to regulate salt when my parents did it. When my husband had to change his diet, however, I inmediately eliminated all salt from my savory dishes with no problem and I don´t even miss it.
So I think it depends on how bad you need to eliminate salt from your diet, and being conscious of the importance of doing so and the serious consequences of keeping a high-sodium diet.

By the way, I like my carrots raw with no salt, and I don´t put salt on my other vegetables either.
And yes, there is a problem with having no salt at all. I eliminate salt from the savory dishes I make to make up for the salt in packaged foods, or any restaurant food I might get maybe once a week. I usually don´t take it out of my baked goods, unless it´s something like apple crisp.

Veggies without S&P is nearly a sin!

When you reduce your salt in take you begin to taste other species better. It happens quickly.

@food yes I agree. For the nutrition though are carrots are supposed to be better cooked?
@philosopher I agree. Lemon/line and venegar – among many other things – are very helpful as substitution.

The Salt Institute is trying to convince people to use more salt wow are they desparate!
Canned veggies and frozen dishes have plenty of salt & don’t need more.
Otherwise if mashed potatoes only have salted butter on them i can be very happy with that.
I find most foods cooked with alternative spices unions garlic oregano are very platible.
So i never add salt till i try the food first.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t salt one of those things that you need in certain quantities?

@Nullo
Your right but too much is a problem.

@Nullo Yes I agree with @philosopher there is too much of it. That is the problem. People who eat out a lot and eat processed food at home are consuming alarming amount of salt even without adding anymore.
@thenemo1 the gall! of the Salt Institute is what I am thinking.

@flo
Companies lie and some people actually believe them.
Have you seen the advertisement supporting high fructose corn syrup?
Why doesn’t any Goverment Agency prevent these lies?
One day at the Super Market some worker thought he could talk me out of buying organic cookies for my son. I explained the facts to him and he just stood there. Feeling as dumb as he is.
I could write a book.
No one is going to BS me.

@philosopher I agree.
I don’t know if Kelp is becoming popular. It is supposed to be a substitute for salt.

@flo
Where would I buy Kelp?
Many times I want to try things but I have difficulty finding them.

@philosopher I never saw kelp. It could be a year ago that I heard about it. I would have, or I would have heard of someone who saw it in supermarkets by now. The sites I got ot by googling don’t seem to lead anywhere. It supposedly has another use too. I don’t know what to make of it.

@flo
I have trouble finding many things I hear about.
Somethings can be found on line but prices are prohibitive.

This is from one of the sites that sells it. I see nothing that says it is a salt substitute though.
Side-effects and Cautions:
Kelp supplements may cause nausea and diarrhea in some individuals. A small percentage of the population is sensitive to iodine and may develop thyroid problems if kelp is consumed in large amounts.

I use salt when I think that something needs salt, or else when I’m trying to make water boil faster.

Try Mrs. Dash (no salt, just spices and herbs), judicious use of vinegar, and other strong flavors to rev up your tastebuds. It will help.

Since my last posting, I’ve learned that most of my dinners (I do not often cook for myself) do not contain any salt. I had to be notified of the difference, though my salting tendencies persist.

About a month. Everything with salt added tastes like Fritos after that. You start to taste the natural salts in food. But people don’t do it because they are fucking pussies and have no patience.

♥ @Espiritus_Corvus.

I’ve never gone salt free. I think it’s pretty impossible to do here in America. If it could be done, it would not be healthy.

However, because of the health risks involved with too much salt, for years and years and years I added little to no salt to my food, unless I was working with a raw base, like raw potatoes and carrots. But several months ago, the doc told me I need up my salt intake, so now I salt everything. Even ice water.