When I was little I told my mom I didn’t like to cook. She’d respond with, ‘neither did your aunt Kris but once she was out of the house she started to like it. Its different when its your own kitchen.’ My mommy was right! And I even put that last sentence in writing for all to see!
Because I’m a foodie yet a fatty with a strict eating plan, I am a bit more limited in what I’m willing to eat. No white flour or sugar, low sodium is a must. Coworkers ask what’s left to enjoy and I joke I’m left with only a bowl of air and a bottle of diet water. But seriously folks, I eat. And to help me eat well yet indulge my foodie self, my aunt Kris gifted me with a subscription to Bon Appétit magazine. As a matter of fact she just signed me up for another year. What a great aunt I have! Cooking is not just something I’m starting to enjoy, its now more of a challenge (in a good way) because of the eating plan I’ve adopted.
After flipping through the latest issue of Bon Appétit, I came across a lovely recipe for avocado salad. Its touted as a wonderful addition to any summer meal. This inspired me to look for something to go with said salad and I found a recipe for shredded chicken, Mexican style. But it calls for chicken broth, an item that’s so salty, I tended to shy away from recipes calling for it until my mom found the low sodium, organic version.
I tell you that to tell you this: it’s very difficult to be a foodie when you’re a fatty. Most recipes call for refined flour, sugar and salt. When you’re trying to watch your intake, this can be challenging but not impossible. I find Splenda® and ‘alt salt’ to be great alternatives. But this lead my train of thought to wonder why is there so many recipes calling for so much salt? The simple answer is that it tastes good. I can see the logic but have you looked at the sodium count for most items? I’m not speaking of fast food or junk food but recipes that call for a ‘dash of salt’ or ‘salt to taste’. When did we become so dependent on salt and does it really add value to a dish?
Long before there was refrigeration, people had to salt items (usually meats) to keep for extensive periods of time. We all have refrigerators now though, so why continue to salt items to the point that there’s little else to taste? I think we’re addicted to it and we continue to feed that craving, not even realizing what we’re doing. Up until I seriously paid attention to food products, I didn’t realize just how much salt I was consuming.
Did you know Crystal Lite has salt? It did until last year when the manufacturer no longer added it. Diet pop (I’m from MI, we call it pop not soda) has 30mg.When you’re trying to keep the count under 500mg daily, that’s quite a lot. To give you a visual, one cylindrical container of Morton’s has 578mg. A Big Mac has 742mg. I think of that canister every time I look at the sodium count in things to keep perspective.
Do we even taste the actual flavor of things anymore or do we just taste sodium and think that’s what an item is supposed to taste like? Example: when you eat a salad, are you tasting the ranch dressing, croutons, cheese and bacon bits or can you taste the vegetables? Are you savoring that vine-ripened tomato and the sun-warmed cucumber, or are you reaching for the salt shaker to ‘add some flavor’? Perhaps its just a reflex that we pass the salt before even tasting the item.
My mom can tell you I was not one to add salt to anything, even when I was little. I have a salt shaker and when I’m entertaining I do put it out for others because I wouldn’t dream of foisting my eating plan onto others. But I can tell you that since I’ve cut back on the sodium, its amazing how many other flavors I can taste and enjoy the texture of.
Today’s lie: salt producers were sincere when they recently stated the American Medical Association had grossly exaggerated the health risks associated with a high sodium diet. Like tobacco producers said about smoking.
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