Calling all culinary types

stickywicket

How do I get Mr SW to eat less salt? I've tried:

1. Low sodium salt - he uses more
2. Omit it from cooking - he uses more
3. Put it in cooking: leave it off the table - he fetches it.

He doesn't much like spicey foods though he'll eat very mildly spiced stuff. He'd eat meat & several veg every day of the week. (I use the steamer a lot and I think steamed veg require very little salt. He doesn't) He'll eat pasta, rice or salad once a week maximum.

I have always cooked so that we eat healthily. I've never enjoyed it and am not planning to start. I don't want to become a chef. I don't want to fall in love with cooking. I'd just like to get him to stop taking the salt cellar back & forth over his food. (It isn't just my cooking. He does it wherever we eat. He never finds food too salty.)

Ideas please.

dreamdaisy

Four ideas have struck.

1. Empty all cellars but then I guess he'll just buy more.

2. Do what Mr DD did when he went for a guide dog training job at the RNIB. They offered him lunch in the canteen and he accepted, sat down with his fish and chips and picked up the salt cellar. He noticed that those with him (all visually impaired to a greater or lesser extent) used different cellars (after shaking them) and wondered why. He then found out: the one he used had sugar in it. They could tell the difference by shaking the cellars. He ate the lunch regardless.

3. Play 'Hunt the Salt'. (except there won't be any).

4. Add it to everything he likes, tea, coffee, beer, wine, fruit, cocoa, gin, whisky, toast and butter, cereals, he will soon get so sick of it he'll give up. And then Hell will freeze over. DD

fibro1

Hi

It could be he has low blood pressure or something else that means he craves salt. So the first thing is to get some tests done.

Other than that I personally find it easiest to eat foods that don't need salt at all. e.g. the steamed veg. But I see that doesn't work. So fruit or raw veg is good.

I guess another thing to try is to put too much salt and that may make him see the light and not the salt cellar

valval

well to be honest it is up to him would cook with out it then if he adds it then that is his choice as an adult you can not live his life for him you can explaine your worries but there is nothing else you can do val

valval

delboy wrote:

Loosen the top of the salt cellar, permanently :green

must remember if we ever meet for a meal to check before using val

stickywicket

Thanks, everyone. I had no idea you were such an evil bunch :shock: . I was hoping to lower his BP not end our marriage. I’m actually quite fond of the old ####.

Fibro1, he’s on meds for high BP, not low. He does eats loads of fruit (without salt ) but not raw veg.

bubbles

Mr SW might have changes in taste, as well do, depending on age, medication etc. I know my Father would pile salt on and still could not taste it as salty, we were taught that it is a known problem, that people either crave salt, or sugar, because they loose the taste bud receptors. As for suggestions, erm, will have to have a think. 6g a day is more than enough for an adult.

joanlawson

Who does the shopping, Sticky :?: If it's you, just don't buy any salt. Would Mr.SW be bothered to go out specially to buy salt :?: It's a case retraining his taste buds to accept less salty food, I believe. It takes a while, but eventually salty food doesn't taste so nice.

I'm trying to do the same thing with sugar as I've got a sweet tooth. I find the best thing to do is not to have sweet things like cakes etc. in the house. If they aren't there, I can't eat them.

skezier

Hi Sticky,

Hell flower its what some folks do.... My granddad used to have salt sandwiches and I mean salt sandwiches.... A mate of mine has food with their salt and I think it could be the taste buds....

or Fibro might be right and he has some underling thing that makes him crave salt? depends on how much he is having I guess.....

He just needs training.... hey maybe one of those training collars with the electric shock thing would help..... I got one that would fit him if you want to borrow it

He is climbing into his suit and is manically waiting for you to pop in so he can bounce you with the hugs Cris xx

mellman01

There's loads of mild spiced foods out there, I love mixed bean Masala dhal curry, it's not hot, there's loads of different Dhal's you can make, also what about quorn?, we use it in spag bol, I love red meat but actually prefer it to mince beef or lamb, it picks up seasoning really well and is almost fat free (not sure about the salt though), I also make a cottage pie with it and again it’s really good, if you aren’t convinced about it then get yourself some Quorn mini sausage rolls and or Qourn Scotch eggs, there so good you/he won’t know the difference trust me, and there’s no stringy bits.

dreamdaisy

I was thinking about this in the small wee hours (whilst having a wee) and began to wonder if this is summat your GP (his GP too?) should be informed about. There could indeed be an underlying medical cause, it could be an age-related thing, it could be failing taste-buds, it may just be habit, but . . . . . . I don't want to sound alarmist, I'm sure it's all fine but I think it's worth a mention. DD

joanlawson

Yes, I agree with DD. Also, if your husband is on medication for high BP, too much salt in his diet won't be helping.

It worries me the amount of hidden salt in processed food too. The manufacturers say they have reduced it in recent years, but it's still high in lots of foods. The best thing is to stick to fresh food as much as possible, and to check the labels on any tinned/frozen or processed foods.

stickywicket

Thank you all for your suggestions as to how I can coerce my husband into a healthier diet.

Alas, Bubbles, this is not a change in habits. He’s always used far too much salt as did his Mum whose last 10 years were a misery of multi infarct dementia.

Joan – I can’t shop alone. Either we shop together or I send him with a list and he’ll assure me the supermarket didn’t have ½ of it. (This once included sugar.) Hidden salt, fats & sugars are why I cook. If I cook it I know what’s in it.

Mellman – I have tried Quorn in so many different disguises over the years. It would be a very useful food for us as I don’t eat meat. He seems to have an in-built quorn-detector. I haven’t tried marinating it in beer yet though I think I might. (Wine’s no good as I can’t open them and strangely there are never any ½ full bottles in the house.) He always adds meat – any meat, hot or cold - to any sort of bean or lentil dishes, which isn’t ideal.

DD – Thanks for your wee thought. I fear the underlying cause is a bloke who has always eaten too much salt, has always done a lot of sport and considers that that alone constitutes a healthy lifestyle and anyone with designs on modifying his diet is merely scaremongering.

Thanks also to my lovely pink flamingo friend who send me a list of which herbs & spices can be used as substitutes with which meat & veg and also details of a ‘Table Blend’ of them to be used as a salt substitute. I once made up one of these for myself, in a former attempt. I loved it: he added salt.

skezier wrote:

maybe one of those training collars with the electric shock thing would help..... I got one that would fit him if you want to borrow it

He is climbing into his suit and is manically waiting for you to pop in so he can bounce you with the hugs Cris xx

I like the training collar idea, skezier. Probably the most likely to succeed. I confess I got a bit over-excited at the last sentence as you failed to make it clear that this was the lovely Haz you were writing about. I just kind of assumed we were still talking about Mr SW. It's a few years since he was so enthusiastic. Maybe once we get his salt intake down????

Colin1

it souds like he knows the risks of to much salt and doesent care
but have a read of this.
Take care
Colin

CJHunter

Hiya sticky, wow some great suggestions. Cris' i love,

Does Mr Sticky like garlic?? Garlic added to veg does add a bit of something that takes the way the need to salt. It mite not be that nice to live with though.....

Take care xx