I have restricted my sodium intake for many years since it helped lower my blood pressure. My husband had not needed to do that until very recently, and he was fairly oblivious of the sodium in various foods. For the first time his blood pressure rose and I reminded him that his mother had been quite salt sensitive in her later years, so he probably was also. He immediately began to study the labels of the snacks he loves and learned how sodium rich they were. Of course they were very tasty! He was able to substitute many low sodium alternatives for his favorites, but one solution escaped him.
My husband loves a big breakfast, cooked by himself, devoured on the weekend with the New York Times open before him. For years this has meant orange juice, milk, bacon and eggs. He reluctantly gave up bacon, but he wanted to keep his eggs. Sadly, his eggs had always been liberally salted. He said, “What these eggs need is salt. Maybe ketchup!” I had to gently break it to him that ketchup was salt heavy. But Penzey Spice company makes a salt-free blend called Arizona Dreaming which has restored tasty eggs to his breakfast. It combines all sorts of spices, including several chilies, peppers, onion and garlic. Problem solved.
Penzey Spices has been much in the news lately because the owner Bill makes his politics known. He believes that cooking brings people together and that everyone around the world shares a love of good food. He vocally and financially opposes any moves to separate people, whether through walls, raids, or legislation. It’s his company; he can spend his own money as he sees fit. A concerted effort to boycott Penzey’s seems to have backfired. The more people attack his politics, the more others flock to his stores.
I go there for the salt-free seasonings. But I rejoice that he encourages people coming together instead of apart. His bumper stickers, such as the one above, promote love and hope. And at the checkout he stocks badges that say “I will vote 11/3/2020.” Thanks Bill.
Saved By Words 
I am also something of a salt fiend. For me, it is a ‘must-have’ on chips (French fries to you), roast potatoes, and eggs of any kind. I also add salt to vegetables before boiling them. I eat a fair amount of Cheddar Cheese in any given week, and occasionally add mozzarella and Parmesan when cooking certain dishes too. Thus far, as I ‘gambled’ on the outcome, balanced by my love of salty flavours.
My blood pressure is ‘high’, but not dangerously so. I balance the salt intake by exercise with Ollie every day. However, I take your good advice on board, and realise that it will not improve as I get older. We don’t have Penzey Spices here, (not that I have ever seen) but I may well try to source something similar.
Best wishes, Pete.
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It hit my husband at 69. Before that he munched happily away.
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I love the labeling for that spice blend!
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Penzey Spices, wish we have that here.
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I haven’t had to pay much attention to my salt intake but I’m sure I will someday. I’m happy to hear there are good alternatives when I do. I have a sweet tooth so my problem is sugar. I have yet to find a good alternative to that.
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It won’t fully fix the problem, but if you cook your own, in a lot of sweet baked goods (muffins, quick breads, granola, even some cakes) you can cut up to a third of the sugar without a noticable difference. I do it all the time when I cook for my family. Additionally, there is a cookbook called While Foods for the Whole Family (you can get it used online for just a couple bucks) that has some great healthy or healthier suggestions for sweets. If you get it, the carrot cake in there is very good. So is the baked custard (which you can also add cooked rice, orange zest, and vanilla to to make a killer rice pudding).
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Thanks for your comment! 😊
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Every time I see that bumper sticker it makes the English teacher part of me laugh and laugh. It is a perfect example of the importance of proper punctuation. It is done correctly, but if you switch up the punctuation a bit, it becomes a bit more canabalistic. I know. I have a warped sense of humor. 🙂
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I think of the book “Eats, Shoots and Leaves!”
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Exactly!
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I’m all for bringing people together over good food 😀
Blessings,
Jennifer
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I can tell from your posts.
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This is an interesting post all round, Elizabeth. I liked your inputs on low sodium diets, my dad is having to reduce salt – what a trial for the rest of us.
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I stopped salting my cooking when I had to restrict sodium. Everyone just salts their own now.
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My family really needs to go low on sodium. As all Indians, we live on sea salt. There is another option available: Sendha Namak (Fruit Salt) but my family’s chief cook (my mother in law) feels it is ‘inconvenient’ since she needs time to adjust to the amount needed at a time. And she prefers heart diseases to the effort that gies
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Goes in it 😐
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I hope you might have an influence at some point.
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