“ONCE you develop a taste for salty foods, it can be hard to cut back,” says Lyn Roberts, national CEO of the Heart Foundation.

“Our tastebuds easily become accustomed to salt, so that initially food can seem to lose flavour,” says Dr Roberts.

“The trouble with salty foods and salt – including table salt, sea salt, rock salt and salt flakes – is that they can lead to high blood pressure.

“Open any cookbook and if the words ‘season to taste’, or ‘salt’ don’t appear in the recipe, salty ingredients like soy sauce, bacon or stock, will – and sometimes there’ll be both.”

According to the National Heart Foundation, high blood pressure is a leading risk factor for heart disease and stroke. And recent Heart

Foundation research has found more than two million Australians report they have the condition.

“It helps to gradually reduce salt so that you’re less likely to notice any difference in taste,” says Dr Roberts.

Here are the Heart Foundation’s top tips for adding salt-free flavour to meals:

• Add flavour to meat before cooking with herbs and spices such as garlic, pepper, chilli, ginger or favourite herbs.
• Balsamic, red wine and white-wine vinegars are also delicious additions to marinades that really boost flavours.
• A squeeze of lemon juice adds flavour and helps us better absorb the iron from red meat and green vegetables.
• Sprinkle herbs – fresh or dried – over veggies during or after cooking.
• A splash of wine is a flavourful addition to marinades for meat. The alcohol largely burns off during cooking.

For favourite recipes that won’t work without salty ingredients here are some salt-reduction tips:

• If the recipe calls for olives or anchovies, rinse them in fresh water before use and use less than the recipe suggests.
• Try to use less of the salty sauces such as soy, tomato, fish and oyster sauces than the recipe suggests and try reduced salt versions when available.
• Choose ingredients that have earned the Heart Foundation Tick or look for salt-reduced ingredients where appropriate such as canned tomatoes, tomato paste, bacon, ham and stocks.

For free family recipes and quick tips for healthier living, check out heartfoundation.org.au/mumsunited