Thursday, June 10, 2010

Salt Free and the eating's easy ... sort of ...

I am continuing on this path of eating salt-free, or, in reality, less salt than I am used to. There's sodium in everything so it's pretty well impossible to completely escape it. But I think it's going to work for me. Why?
1. I haven't felt this good in years. The achiness and brain fog are gone. Completely. Who knew?
2. No upset tummies or acid - in four days! That's a record for me!
3. Food tastes way better. Seriously.
4. My clothes are starting to fit a little better.
5. I seem to fill up faster and my cravings are less prevalent.

However, it's not going to be easy to keep following because ...
1. Pretty much everything you buy, including my beloved baked goods, is saturated with salt. I had no idea just how bad it is. Even basics like baking powder and baking soda are loaded with salt - to the point that I'm putting baking aside for a while.
2. Restaurant food will pretty much become a thing of the past but then, I don't eat all that often in restaurants now so I won't mind too much.
3. I'll be doing even more scratch cooking than I am now - and I'm doing a lot now!
4. I'll have to cut back on cheese and bread - two surprisingly salty foods!

I think the benefits will far outweigh the losses though!

3 comments:

  1. I had no idea about the baking ingredients having so much salt in them!! This is something I should look into also... eat more natural, less processed (I am usually pretty good with this) and avoid high sodium, high fat, high cholesterol!

    If you find a source of lower sodium baking ingredients (baking soda, powder), let us know please :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was shocked at just how much there was in a teaspoon of baking soda - pretty much your entire day's worth. And yes, I did have a store clerk argue that it's spread across a lot of servings but a lot of recipes call for both or several teaspoons of each, as well as the sodium in the rest of the ingredients. And let's face it - who ever eats one small cookie? Not me! Most baked goods have huge amounts of sodium, including breads and pie crusts, so you have to either forget about eating them or find ways to cut back. In the larger cities, the grocery stores and health food stores may carry them but in a small area like where I live, there are no sources except online. Check these places out - apparently they ship to Canada and their prices aren't too bad. http://healthyheartmarket.com/
    http://www.heartwisefood.com/
    I've read good reviews about the no sodium baking powder; not so good about the baking soda. However, I did order the soda, powder and some some-free bouillion. I'll let you know how the first company is to deal with.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I meant to say salt-free bouillion!

    ReplyDelete