As part of the detox diet on in:spa retreats (or, as some describe it: the notox diet) we cut salt out of our guests’ diet for the week. To many, food absolutely has to have a liberal sprinkling of salt in order to taste good. We beg to differ and are pleased to suggest some healthy alternatives for you to try at home.

As we say: staying clear of added salt doesn’t mean your food should be bland; far from it. Guests are often amazed on our retreats that the food tastes so good and yet our expert chefs never add any salt. Without salt you can really taste subtle flavours of your food. Use salty alternatives such as tamari, soy sauce or fish sauce sparingly as they are still loaded with salt.

Make the most of fresh herbs, dried spices (ideally whole and freshly crushed before use), rehydrated seaweeds, chillies and other strong flavourings such as lemon or lime juice, capers, coconut or mustard. The point here is that if you make your food interesting and packed with flavour, you really don’t need to add salt.

Here are a few simple examples:

  • Potatoes cut into wedges, tossed in smoked paprika powder or whole fennel seeds and roasted in the oven take on a different twist.
  • A few capers tossed in with a rice salad make it salty.
  • Steamed vegetables drizzled with cold-pressed sunflower oil and torn basil leaves come alive.
  • So, with a little creativity and plenty of interesting flavours, you really will find that you don’t need to add salt to all your dishes.