Low-sodium cooking without a bland kitchen
How to shop, season, and read a label when the goal is less salt and the food still has to taste like dinner.
Less salt is a shopping list and a way of finishing a plate. It is not a medical treatment.
Less salt is a shopping list and a way of finishing a plate. It is not a medical treatment.
If a clinician gave you 1,500 mg, 2,000 mg, or any other ceiling, use that. A common public reference is 2,300 mg a day. This site will not override a person who knows your chart.
The swaps that matter
No-salt-added beans and tomatoes. Water, garlic, and the meat or beans themselves instead of a salty carton of broth. Spices that are spices, not a seasoning packet. Lemon and vinegar at the end.
Cottage cheese, bread, tortillas, deli turkey, soy sauce, and sausage can spend the day before the "healthy" meal starts. The label page shows how to do the multiplication. The tracker lets you add foods and see the running total.
Flavor
Bland food does not last. Brown the onion. Use garlic, pepper, paprika, cumin, and herbs. Salt a single plate if that person is allowed salt. Do not salt the shared pot for the person who is not.
Start with low-sodium recipes and the grocery list. Caregivers cooking for someone else should also read the caregiver page. These pages are set in larger type.
Potassium-based "salt substitutes" are a medical question, not a spice hack, if kidneys or certain medications are in the picture. Ask before you buy the shaker.