Spice Up Your Life: Toss the Salt Shaker and Embrace Healthier Seasonings!

One of our brilliant interns joins us today on the blog to share insights on Healthrageous flavors, spice and ways to stop salting and start seasoning for full flavor and pure health! Please welcome insights from Elizabeth Guttilla, on loan from UVA!

One of the most instinctual and unhealthy habits is reaching for the salt shaker before eating. Putting salt on food is a popular way to add flavor to an otherwise bland meal. 

What’s so bad about salt?

The answer is simple, we consume too much of it. About 90% of Americans consume more than the suggested daily intake of sodium and too much sodium can cause heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and more. Additionally, sensitivity to salt grows with age which coincides with a tendency among seniors to consume more salt due to loss of taste. Because of the dangers of excessive salt in the 65+ community, we want to encourage you to sprinkle on something else that completes your meal.

At Healthrageous, we encourage healthy eating and healthy habits. We're determined to break the habit of reaching for the salt shaker by providing delicious and nutritious meals, but we get it—sprinkling something on your food is a tough ritual to beat. We say keep sprinkling, just not the salt!

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A Few Of My Favorite Seasonings

Let me highlight a few of my favorite seasoning add-ons that may be in your spice cabinet. See the suggested and tested seasoning pairings below. 

Our Butternut Squash & Chickpea Curry Bowl pairs perfectly with a dash of cinnamon to add flavor to the Bowl. A small sprinkling of brown sugar can also bring out the sweetness in the butternut squash. 

While everyone loves adding salt and butter to pasta, we’re steering away from sodium and embracing superior seasonings. That’s why I’ve paired Cheese Tortellini with garlic or red pepper flakes to elevate the flavor and enhance your pasta experience. 

For the Tofu Fried Rice, my first instinct is to suggest adding soy sauce. Soy sauce, however, is just as bad as that salt shaker. One tablespoon of soy sauce contains more than half the daily recommended sodium intake. Instead, try adding coconut amino – a much healthier soy sauce

substitute with 72% less sodium than the leading brand of soy sauce. Or even better, try squeezing a fresh lime, lemon, or orange wedge over the meal just before serving. Fresh citrus juice is a healthier, no-salt-added option that will help deliver a big boost in flavor. Additional options include ginger and chili flakes. 

The list below pairs Healthrageous meals with our own chef's recommended spices for optimal flavor and enjoyment. While interning as a market analyst, I also consulted the chefs at my part-time restaurant job to get their input on healthy flavor pairings. In compiling this list, I discovered more salt alternatives and flavor enhancers than you could imagine. Let the flavors begin! (I know, it's a fairly boring list, buy I dare you to try a few, you will not be bored -- or disappointed!)

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