Salt junkie... help!

[avolove]

I was wondering if you all have any good replcements for salt. Prior to going raw I was a total salt junkie and I'm afraid I still am :o Over the past 7 months of being raw I have tried to give it up and honestly I think it has lead to my backsliding into cooked foods. When I lay off the salt I really crave it, just like any good addiction :D and begin to feel deprived and that leads to the whole "This raw isn't gonna work, I need to enjoy my food, etc etc" I know it's stupid!! But I've been raw again for a week (after a month long rice and tofu and soy sauce feast) and I know it's where I need to be. But the sodium thing is still a problem. I have 15 ponds to loose and yesterday I had lost 6 of them. However, after yesterday's menu which included flax crackers with sea salt and mushroom, carrot, pecan burgers with sea salt I gained 4 lbs over night!!! :mad: I can feel the retained water all over, my fingers are swelled and my rings are tight. So, there is obviously a sensitivity here. :D HELP! For those of you who watch or avoid salt all together, what do you do? Any ideas how to get past this addiction?
Thanks in advance for your ideas!

[KatK]

Maybe celery and seaweeds would help/taste good.

[MiahTay]

For myself (sounds like you too) if I tell myself I CAN'T HAVE something it's all I think about. So, what I have done is eat raw and use a quality sea salt but if I put it in a recipe I don't add more after and if I haven't used it IN a recipe I allow myself to have some but use less than I used to. And gradually as I enjoy the flavor of the food more and more I use less and less salt. And I choose things like braggs or ume plum vinegar so even though they are very salty they still have benefits. Hope some of this might help and good luck.

Heather

[rawstrength]

I really want to get off of salt, and have tried, and failed, several times.
Let's do this together! Anyone else who wants to post about dealing with a salt addiction can post here, too.
I know I will taste and appreciate my raw food so much more once I stop masking the true flavor of food with a big pinch of salt. Salt increases the risk of stroke. I'm also really sick of being bloated bloated bloated!
So here's to salt-free living.

[ellesgarden]

I used to really LOVE salt. I put in on everything and in everything. Since I've decided to give raw a serious try, I found that I need less and less of it. Recently, I've enjoyed salads and such with no salt at all.

When I was using a lot of sea salt, I made sure to up my potassium intake. For example, I'd have nori rolls with soy sauce (which blows me up like a ballon) and make sure i have a few extra bananas.

I've always had a problem with my sodium intake and retaining fluid in my lower extremities. I make sure to eat a lot fruit and I haven't had a problem at all. My ankles have NEVER been so sleek and sexy.

[Cabosun]

I actually do not worry about using the kind of salt that I use sice it is the real thing and does not cause any health problems. I use Redmond REAL SALT Gourmet All natural Sea salt with over 50 trace minerals. It is not heat treated or refined in any way and is actually very good for you. it is kind of pink in color becauce it is not harmed by any processing. Hope this helps!:)

[subbacultcha]

I was completely off salt for ages but since discovering that sea salt is not all bad I have gone totally overboard! I'm so in for kicking the salt habit :)

[rawererin]

two words- sea salt
I'm a total salt junkie and this stuff has saved me, I've gotten to the point where regular salt tastes foreign to me, and I don't use nearly as much as I used to- plus it's really good for you

[Rawkinlocs]

Alissa advocates the usage of celtic sea salt for it's minerals. If one feels they are "over-doing it" and you want to cut back on it a bit, that's fine but it's not a "no-no" or a bad thing to use it so let's please not imply as such 'round these parts...long as it's not bleached, refined, table salt.

Thanks!