Sodium in Processed Food

[Mama Mangia]

I cook and bake with kosher salt and sea salt - it is put into the cooking while it's cooking - none is added later - and I am not a saltaholic! I try to stay away from processed foods for that reason!

[GregGraves]

There is just so much salt in any food in a box or a bottle in the grocery store. I can say that about 90% of the time when I pickup something that looks interesting to try, especially sauces and marinades, the daily value of the sodium in the food is over 50% dv per serving and I put the product back on the shelf. Why pay $4.00 for that secret sauce that is really just salt and water? I bought a Korean rib seasoning once, without looking at the label, that contained 3,000mg of sodium per serving.

I like to flavor without salt. Garlic, Red Pepper and Onion are the easiest to get right. They flavor well with many foods including beef and chicken as well as rice and potatoes.

Thyme with chicken is good in the right amounts. 1/4 tsp of Cumin adds a nice taste to hamburgers; mix it in to a 1/4 lb of beef and then form into a patty. Lemon juice (or some lemon rind) with some Basil tastes great with shrimp and chicken.

A little Anise seed (1/4 tsp) and 1/4 cup raisins will flavor up some rice. Add them to the water right before adding the rice.