Fresh Lemons. These are so key to a salt free diet/low sodium diet. Always have fresh lemons around. The basic lemons like Eureka work better than the Meyer lemons here. Your tongue has trouble telling the difference between salt and sour. Lemon is Mother Nature’s sour salt. A squeeze of fresh lemon juice will brighten just about any dish, especially soup. Salt free soup is a challenge. Take some of your soup in a bowl and add a few drops of lemon juice. Stir, and taste. Maybe, a few more drops and taste. You will really notice the saltiness you pick up from the lemon juice. Easy though, you want the edge of saltiness not lemon soup. If you are have salt cravings, try a lemon wedge and suck out the juice. Follow with some water so the lemon juice doesn’t eat the enamel off your teeth. At first, you might think I am crazy, but it works. The cravings start going away. Be careful when adding lemon juice to dairy, as it can cause curdling.
Freshly Ground Black Pepper. Most salt free people become pepper people, even if you aren’t one right now, you may become one. The key is the pepper must be freshly ground, not out of the can or pepper shaker. The flavor difference is huge. Peppercorns, still have the oil in them, which makes them way more flavorful. No you won’t sneeze. You just get real pepper taste and it doesn’t take much. Most of the canned pepper or especially the pepper in your pepper shaker is old. The oils have dried up. Air is one of the worst things for spices and pepper shakers might be convenient but they are the worst way to store pepper.
Fresh Minced Parsley. This must be Italian Flat Leaf Parsley, not French Curley. Most folks think of parsley just to make the food look pretty. Not true. Freshly minced parsley, adds a fresh, brightness to food, as well as making food look pretty. Fresh herbs can be somewhat delicate, so add this towards the end of your cooking, and you can sprinkle more on top when serving.
Note: Use only the parsley leaves, not the stems, as the stems are usually too tough. Add the stems to water you are boiling for pasta, or rice or potatoes, soup, etc., as they will help add flavor to the water.