Читать книгу Skinny-Size It - Molly Morgan - Страница 14

There are ingredients, such as dried herbs and spices, that add great flavor to recipes, and you will want to keep these in your Skinny cupboard. Having a variety of dried herbs and spices on hand is a must. These include dried basil, celery seed, cilantro, cinnamon, cumin, dry mustard, ginger, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, parsley, paprika, black pepper and white pepper. If you make a Skinny-Size It recipe or one of your own that you feel needs more flavor, before you reach for the salt shaker, try adding an herb or a spice, as it will boost the flavor without adding sodium.

Table salt or sea salt? The biggest difference between table salt and sea salt is in how they are processed. Table salt is mined from salt deposits and then processed, while sea salt is made by evaporating ocean water and usually not processed. Both have the same amount of sodium by weight, which keeps the playing field level. When it comes to adding some salt to a recipe, my personal preference is to add sea salt because the coarser texture packs a bigger sodium taste and can result in less overall salt added for the same taste impact.

A word on sodium: A majority of sodium intake comes from processed foods; in fact, about 75 percent of sodium comes from processed foods or from the salt added to foods in restaurants and other food service locations. Basically, all Americans consume more sodium than they need, with an average intake of about 3,400 milligrams per day. The goal for healthy adults is to consume 2,300 milligrams or less sodium per day. The goal for adults who have high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease or diabetes, and for those who are African American, is to have 1,500 milligrams or less sodium per day. Note: if you are very active for more than one to two hours per day, your sodium needs may be higher because of your rate of sweating. All the recipes in Skinny-Size It skip salt or skimp on the amount of added salt to keep the overall sodium content low. Another key is adding the salt to a dish just before serving, which keeps the salty taste at the top of the dish, instead of dispersing it throughout the dish when it is added during cooking.

Other flavor boosters to keep on hand that are healthier alternatives include lite soy sauce, light coconut milk, low-sodium broth and liquid smoke.