We have heard many times that Americans have too much salt in their diet. Though approximately 1500 mg is needed each day for bodily function, too much of a good thing can cause other problems. I never paid much attention to all the talk because I think I eat less salt than most people since I rarely use or consume processed foods and never eat canned vegetables. Salt is likely used by food manufacturers not to make you unhealthy but rather to extend food shelf life. If you look back to days of crossing the Atlantic in sail boats, the trip was long and in order to extend the shelf life of meat and fish, it was dried and salted.
Hearing the news of the recent reduction in the daily recommended needed, I got wondering exactly how much salt do I eat? And more importantly, how much am I feeding my family.
So I am setting out to do an experiment. I will assume that 3/4 tsp a day is about what we should each eat. I cook and salt our food with kosher salt. I will place 3/4 tsp for each of us in separate bowls. I am going to label the bowls. If we want to salt our food, we will use our individual bowls. When I cook something the 3 of us will eat, I will take 1/3 from each bowl. If we are eating something that has salt listed on the label, I will record that as well. I am very curious to find out how this works out.
Here is an interesting fact. On my package of
Morton Course Kosher Salt, I found a
1/4 tsp of Salt has 480mg of sodium. I wanted to find out if all salts were created equally and in researching
Table Salt, found 1/4 tsp has 600mg of sodium. Making a change to Kosher Salt can reduce your intake right off the bat.
When cooking, try salting your food after it's cooked. We all want to taste salt, so if it is salted to hit your tongue first, you'll need less.
As a test, I salted very lightly, the bottom slice of bread for a turkey breast and tomato sandwich so it would hit my tongue rather than the roof of my mouth and what a difference. I tasted the salt first.
If you are on a low salt diet it doesn't mean a no-flavor diet. Try flavoring with non salt flavorings like spices, herbs, ginger, garlic,and pepper to name a few.
I am finding that we eat very little salt. I decided to continue this process for a 7 day period. This way I can better account for weekends vs. week days when we are home for more meals.
I am proud to say that after a week, we each consumed under 3/4 tsp of Kosher Salt per person
for the entire week. I didn't bake which I normally do, that would be about 1 tsp for a recipe and then of course that is divided by 3. Therefore, the main source of sodium we are getting is coming from things like Wheat Bread, Cheese, Ketchup and Mustard, Salty Chips or Store bought Cookies that are in our diet. I drink Hot Chocolate in my coffee and surprisingly there is sodium in it. I am getting approximately 1/3 (based on 1500mg sodium a day) of the daily allowance there. So I would say we are in very good shape as far as sodium is concerned.
From March through October we have extremely high temperatures and all sweat quite a bit. We all drink gatorade which contains sodium but on the other hand our daily requirement would be increased as well.
I am confident we are not in the group of Americans consuming too much sodium, if anything, we are under the daily requirement.
You should switch to Kosher Salt to reduce your intake. Another suggestion is to use salt in pinches to "finish" your food rather than salting it while it is cooking. If you begin to read labels you will begin to feel offended by the sodium content and will automatically avoid high sodium products, big culprit, Kraft Mac and Cheese.
If you are concerned, conduct your own experiment with your family. Teaching your kids these good habits will be good for everyone's health! Please feel free to post a comment as to your findings.
I am debating an entering this for the local restaurant menu competition as an appetizer. Panko Crusted Mozzarella Cheese that is flash fried. It's served along side of clean Fresh Spinach Leaves with Diced Tomatoes drizzled in Reduced Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil, all flavored simply with S&P and Pressed Garlic. Served with Sour Dough Toast.
I imagine this to be a shared appetizer, which is my favorite kind. The diners can assemble these tasty treats to their liking.
Beat Egg Whites until foamy. Add 1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar and beat until soft peaks. Add 4 Tbl Sugar, 1 tsp at a time and beat until glossy but not dry. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold 1/4 of the whites into the chiffon mixture. Repeat this 3 more times. Refrigerate.
I apologize this picture isn't quite as good as the recipe but you get the idea. I made this a 2nd time as a leftover and stretched the filling. You should fill the cups 3/4 of the way. The 2nd go around, I cut the corners off the wontons. They originally were folded under but they opened up and were sharp and too crunchy. 
I doubled this recipe to make plenty for 3 each and for anyone who might stop by for dessert. Measure out 1 1/2 Cups Flour and place in a bowl. In a saucepan (I use All-clad) Over medium high heat, melt 1 1/2 Sticks UnSalted Butter, 1 1/2 Cups Water and 1/2 tsp Salt. Heat stirring until butter is melted and mixture comes to a boil. Lower heat and all at once add flour and stir using a wooden spoon until mixture comes together and leaves the sides of the pan. This should take about 30 seconds. Remove pan from heat. Stir while it cools slightly. Place mixture in a mixing bowl (pictured is just before adding eggs). Stir while it continues to cool a little more. I began mixing on low to remove some of the heat. Add 6 Eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. 
To assemble, warm chocolate sauce. I love to serve these on dinner plates even if they have to be washed. Using a serrated knife, cut in half along the equator and fill with a small scoop of ice cream. Add chocolate sauce to ice cream and place top of the profiterole on the ice cream. Dust the tops and plates with power sugar and or cocoa powder. Serve with either a spoon of a fork and a freshly brewed cup of coffee or a toast of champagne. If you make these you will completely be impressed with yourself!!
As far back as I can remember we gave our elementary school teachers (grades K-6) gifts at Christmastime. Since there were so many of them in any given year, we always helped in some way to get the gift together. The youngest kids either measured chocolate or ground the nuts. We didn't have food processors so we had to grind our nuts in a gadget that was a jar fitted with a grinder. The top was loaded and the nuts ground as you turned a crank. It took hours but the nuts were a wonderful consistent size perfect for topping butter crunch. We used to watch tv and grind the nuts. I remember my hand used to get tired from turning the crank.
In a non-reactive saucepan with a thick bottom (such as All-Chad) add 1 Stick of Butter, 1 Cup Sugar, 1/4 Cup Water and 1/2 tsp Salt. Attach the candy thermometer to the pan using the clip. Heat mixture over medium heat, bubbling, until it reaches 290 degrees F (Soft Crack). You need to stir this just about the entire time. Use a wooden spoon instead of a metal spoon because it won't transfer heat to your hand. As it nears 280 begin testing small amounts by dripping the candy into the water. Once it cools, about 15 seconds, eat the drops testing it until it is tender and crunchy. The last 10 degrees go quickly so continue to do this until it is ready. The toffee should be a golden brown color. Remove the candy thermometer from the pan and carefully pour out onto the sheet pan and tilt the pan every which way to get a shape that is a consistent thickness. 
Caution, candy making is dangerous as it is VERY HOT. Warn your family not to touch the sheet pan once you've poured the candy. Let cool entirely. Heat 12 oz Semi Sweet Chocolate (such as Nestle's Semi Sweet Chips) in a saucepan over very low heat just until melted. Spread 1/2 of it onto the toffee. Top with 1/2 Cup Ground Walnuts and push slightly into the chocolate. Once cool, turn over the toffee using an off set spatula and repeat using the remaining chocolate and another 1/2 Cup Ground Walnuts. Once cooled completely, break the toffee by hand. Store in an airtight container. Thanks Mom!
