For people who need to reduce their daily sodium intake to manage blood pressure and lower their risk of stroke, the key may be in the kitchen. Most of the salt in food comes from prepackaged foods and restaurants. Home-cooked meals can be quick, easy, tasty and above all better for your health than most restaurants and prepared meals from supermarkets. Here are 10 tips to encourage you to put down the salt shaker and add spices to enhance flavor and improve your health:
1. Treat yourself to fresh herbs, and keep a good assortment of dried herbs on hand for convenience.
2. Replace your dried herbs and spices every six months for the most robust flavor. Mark spice bottles with the date of purchase so you know when to replace them.
3. Be generous with spices. It is difficult to add too many fresh herbs, such as parsley, dill, tarragon, basil or rosemary. However, it is easy to overpower a dish with too many fresh herbs such as cloves or nutmeg.
4. Let your taste buds be your guide. Gradually add herbs and spices and taste to taste. You will know when it is enough. This prevents you from overdoing it.
5. If you're using dried herbs, add them early in the cooking process so they're mixed in. If using fresh herbs, add a little at the beginning and add a large bunch toward the end of cooking to get a boost of both flavor and color.
6. Use different types of wine (including rice wine) and vinegar (including flavored vinegars.) A reduction of vinegar, wine, or combination makes a potent tasty sauce without the need to add salt or fat.
7. Buy garlic powder instead of garlic salt, onion powder instead of onion salt and read the ingredients when buying dried spices to make sure there is no salt in the product.
8. Make your own spiced salt blends, using the flavors you like best. Add salt if you like, but not so much to dominate the ingredient list. Season dried herbs between your palms before adding them to spice mixes. This will release the oils to produce more flavour.
9. For a more intense flavor, toast whole spices over high heat in a dry, heavy skillet before grinding them into a powder. This helps to release more flavor. Heat while stirring until you can smell the spice. Let it cool before grinding.
10. If possible, buy whole herbs and grind them up as needed for a more potent flavor. Buy an inexpensive coffee grinder to use exclusively for grinding herbs, and make sure to clean the grinder well after each use.
