February 17, 2017
By: Mary White, MS, RD, LD
No salt spice blends are a great way to reduce your sodium intake, while still eating high flavor meals! In the recently published 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, it's recommended to reduce sodium intake to less than 2,300 mg/day. If you are African American, have recently been diagnosed with diabetes, hypertension, or chronic kidney disease, or if you are 51+years of age, your intake recs are even lower at 1500 mg/day.
Unfortunately, 90% of Americans are at or above sodium recommendations. On average, most people consume over 3400 mg/day. To understand what that looks like, it's equivalent to the amount of salt in 18 orders of medium-sized McDonald's French fries PLUS 18 ketchup packets!
Benefits of Cutting Back On Salt
Why should you cut back? The most compelling reason is that dies low in sodium may help prevent and treat hypertension and reduce cardiovascular disease and stroke risk.
Slashing Sodium Intakes: Salt-Free Seasoning Blends
One way to cut back on the extra salt is ditching the salt shaker and trying salt-free seasoning blends. Commercial salt free blends typically have ingredients such as dried herbs, dried red bell pepper, citric acid, and dried, minced aromatics (i.e., shallots, garlic, etc.). Having ready prepared salt-free spice blends on hand makes cooking at home easier, without the temptation of adding salt or salt-based seasonings during food preparation. By making your own homemade salt-free seasonings, you can easily customize spice blends to you and your family’s personal tastes.
3 Salt Free Blends to Spice Up Dinner
Basic Spice Blend
With just 3 ingredients, this all-purpose seasoning is great for all kinds of meals! I particularly like to put it on poached fish or oven roasted chicken. For an additional flavor, try adding fresh lemon zest to the basic spice blend for homemade lemon pepper seasoning.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1½ tbsp black pepper
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- ¼ tsp. onion powder
DIRECTIONS:
Mix all ingredients together in a mason jar. Label, date, and store.
Italian Seasoning Blend
Many store-bought versions of Italian seasoning have salt as the first or second ingredient. This version can be sprinkled into pasta or pizza sauces, folded into homemade meatballs, or used to dress up sliced tomatoes and cucumbers. I often use this seasoning to make an oil and vinegar dressing with ¼ cup olive oil, 1/3 cup red wine vinegar, and 1 tablespoon of seasoning blend. NOTE: The fennel seed and crushed red pepper flakes are listed as optional. I love this seasoning blend included with both, but I find most children prefer it when these ingredients are omitted.
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 tbsp. oregano
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ½ tsp dried basil
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- Pinch red pepper flakes, optional
- Pinch fennel seed, optional
DIRECTIONS:
Mix all ingredients together in a mason jar. Label, date, and store.
Tyrolean Seasoning Blend
Try this seasoning blend with grilled pork chops or as a sheet pan meal with chicken breasts and roasted vegetables. Note: This seasoning blend includes bay leaves. For your safety, please remove the bay leaf after cooking!
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 tbsp. brown mustard seeds
- 1 tbsp. dried thyme
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 tsp dried sage
- 1 bay leaf
DIRECTIONS:
Mix all ingredients together in a mason jar. Label, date, and store.