Against the Grain
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle in 2018 is hard. The average citizen is bombarded with unhealthy food choices. Whether pursuing the shelves in the grocery store, or scanning the pages of a menu in a restaurant, finding healthy food is a difficult task. About 30% of Americans (that’s almost 1 out of every 3 adults) is living with hypertension, and with food choices where they currently are, it’s no surprise. One of the biggest causes of hypertension is tiny but tasty grains of salt.
Whether you struggle with hypertension or simply want to live the healthiest lifestyle possible, avoiding too much salt is the key. But, nearly everything we eat contains sodium, and though moderate amounts of sodium are good, Americans tend to overdo it. Most people run into issues when it comes to adding the tasty granules to their food, and finding solutions to that problem is a fantastic way to slash your salt intake.
Cooking freshly prepared meals at home is usually superb for stamping out good deals of the added salt, but you first have to make sure what you buy doesn’t already have salt added. The more processed a food is the more likely it is that sodium was added at some point. The less ingredients a product has, the better off you are (generally speaking, as some healthy products do have longer ingredients lists, and some unhealthy products have short ingredients list—check out a bag of plain potato chips). Still, often times not having added salt can mean you’re pinched on the taste factor.
No one wants to eat food that tastes bland, so the next logical solution is to buy pre-made spices, herbs, and seasonings. Unfortunately, buying pre-mixed seasonings will often times have added salt since the sneaky granules are flavor enhancers. It’s always an option to create your own seasoning blends, but if you aren’t an expert this will often times be more trouble than it’s worth (especially if you’re buying fresh herbs and spices to cut and blend). However, there are some good, salt-free seasoning companies that will give you the flavor you need without sneaking in the salt you don’t.
You’ll have to experiment with different flavors to find the ones you like best, but a good, all-natural spice company that’s making waves is the Henry Blake Spice Company. Made with the perfect amounts of salt-free, all-natural herbs and spices, they have a variety of seasoning blends that can make virtually anything taste better.
Try out your favorite chicken recipe, but instead of using salt, pepper, or other spices the recipe may call for, add the Poultry Herb and Spice blend from Henry’s and see how it turns out (their poultry blend contains Thyme, Sage, Garlic Powder, Marjoram, Crushed Rosemary, Onion Powder, Black Pepper, Coriander, Celery Seed, Cayenne Pepper, and Nutmeg). If you’re looking for a recipe to try out, click here for a site with a number of good options, or click here to find a good whole-chicken recipe. Just don’t forget to swap out the spices they mention and use the Henry’s blend instead.
So whether you’re trying to eliminate hypertension or prevent it from happening, cutting back your intake of those sneaky little grains of salt will be one of your best bets. Pair healthy eating with exercise, and don’t be afraid to experiment with a variety of herbs and spices when you’re cooking. Get out there and go against the grain.