More Herbs, Less Salt Day (August 29th)
Eating a Healthy, balanced diet is often easier said than done – it takes thought, time and effort to prepare fresh and nutritious food, when less Healthy options are often much easier and more convenient!
But eating Healthy doesn’t have to be boring! Getting accustomed to cooking with less salt does the body good–and the tastebuds just might not realize what they have been missing.
It’s time to enjoy More Herbs, Less Salt Day!
History of More Herbs, Less Salt Day
This day came about in an effort to reduce the amount of sodium in the average person’s diet. In addition to simply shaking salt on at meals, sodium is also an often used ingredient in many pre-prepared convenience foods. That means that a lot of people are getting more sodium in their diets than they realize.
More Herbs, Less Salt Day is the perfect day to begin paying more attention to salt intake, while getting creative with other ways to flavor food.
How to Celebrate More Herbs, Less Salt Day
Wondering how to celebrate More Herbs, Less Salt Day? Try out these interesting and inspiring ideas for making the diet just a bit Healthier:
Start Cooking at Home More
More Herbs, Less Salt Day encourages everyone to take a simple step to re-align the imbalance of salt vs. herbs. This can be accomplished through the use of herbs in home-cooked dishes in place of salt. In fact, cooking at home is the only real way to control the use of salt because restaurants and premade convenience foods often use high amounts of salt that can’t be changed.
But that’s okay, because cooking at home can be simple, tasty and enjoyable–especially for those who know they are doing something good for their bodies.
Grow Some Fresh Herbs in the Garden
It doesn’t take much room or effort to grow a variety of fresh herbs, and a little rosemary, thyme, mint or other herbs can do just as much to enrich a dish as a heavy dose of salt. Growing herbs at home can actually be fairly simple–and much less expensive than buying fresh herbs at the grocery store.
For those who have a full-fledged garden, this is perfect for summer. But even garden growers will need to either have a greenhouse or a space indoors (preferably with grow lights) so that they can have access to fresh herbs all year round.
Cut Back on Salt with Some Simple Tips
Cutting back on salt in the diet might feel overwhelming, as if all of the flavor is going to be removed from life. But it doesn’t have to be that way! Try these ideas for limiting salt intake:
- Minimize the use of packaged meats. Fresh cuts of chicken, pork and beef have a much lower sodium content than preserved meats, such as bacon, ham or deli meats.
- Check frozen vegetable bags for salt content. Be sure that they are “fresh frozen” instead of having been preserved with salt prior to freezing.
- Compare brands. Some brands will pack the product full of sodium when it simply isn’t necessary. Get used to reading labels on all prepared products including soups, frozen foods, boxed food mixes, and even prepared dairy products like cottage cheese.
Try Out Some No Salt Seasonings
Creating a no-salt seasoning mix is a great way to begin new habits in cooking. Try out this idea for mixing up a salt-free flavorful seasoning that brings out the best in food.
Mix together:
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 ½ tsp dried parsley
- 1 ½ tsp dried basil
- 1 ¼ tsp ground thyme
- 1 tsp ground mace
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried sage
- 1 tsp black pepper, ground
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
Mix together and place in a shaker to use as a substitute for table salt or in cooking.
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