Salt

 

Here’s the scoop on salt. It is essential to the human body but too much can kill you. As a matter of fact, in ancient China,  the nobility committed suicide by eating too much.

Modern dieticians say you can safely consume between .9 and 2.3 grams per day (2300 milligrams). That’s about one teaspoonful . . . A DAY!

And here’s the catch. It’s in everything! Well . . . almost everything . . .  because it makes our food taste good. It’s in canned soups, dried soups, canned vegetables, stuff you buy at the drive thru window, Chinese food, Mexican food, Costco baked chickens, tomato sauce, bread, cake, boiled shrimp, olives, TV Dinners, and any processed eatables. And if you eat out a lot . . . well . . . you know.

How are you supposed to monitor your salt intake? You can buy fresh food or you can check labels. For example, my box of Mac and Cheese label says there are 470mg of sodium [their word for salt] per serving.

If you don’t buy it fresh and make it yourself, it probably has salt in it. Nutritionist Patrick Holford says “the more sodium you eat, the more potassium and magnesium you need. Few of us eat enough of these, yet we eat high amounts of sodium in salt. This leads to potassium and magnesium deficiency, where muscles become tight, nerves become over stimulated, and you feel more anxious.”

Here are a couple of all natural recipes you might try.

Rabbit Stew

Take one rabbit, one onion, three potatoes, pepper, and celery seeds. Cut the rabbit into small pieces and put in a kettle with about 2 qts. of water brought to a low boil. Simmer until tender. Add the vegetables and any other fresh ones you have lying around and cook till meat falls off the bones.

With fall comes persimmons so here’s a Persimmon Pudding recipe from Nove McNew.

  • 1 qt. raw persimmons rubbed through colander
  • 4 t baking powder
  • 1 t nutmeg
  • 2 t cinnamon
  • 1 qt milk
  • 2 ½ c sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 4 c flour

Combine dry ingredients. Add milk to beaten eggs. Stir both mixtures together with the persimmons. Bake an hour on low heat.

Both recipes are from Cy Littlebee’s Guide to Cooking Fish and Game.

Finally, an old Kashmiri proverb intones, Giving advice to a stupid man is like giving salt to a squirrel.

 

8 Responses to Salt

  • Bob Chrisman says:

    Funny how the two of the things Americans consume in excess (salt and sugar) will make us sick and kill us. Then again, if I had to eat stewed rabbit or persimmons, I think I’d rather be dead.

    I never give salt to squirrels.

    • Beth says:

      I love the recipes though I’ve never cooked either one, but they are straight from the Missouri Department of Conservation so they must know what they’re talking about. Right?

      And the Kasmiri definitely do.

  • I have to agree with Bob on the rabbit or persimmons. I tasted a perrsimmon when I was young, right off the tree in the backyard. Yuck, terrible. My mouth puckered for the whole day. And, I watched my uncle clean rabbits and no thank you. I do appreciate the info about salt. I have been trying to get one of my daughters to lighten up on her intake for nearly fifty years. I’ll pass the information on. Thanks Beth.

  • Beth says:

    I LOVE persimmons! You sadly tried to eat one that wasn’t ripe. Actually, the ones you pick up off the ground are sweet as sugar and yummy though you may have to fight the squirrels for them.

    Good luck with the daughter.

  • Andrew Barnett says:

    I love persimmons TOO! Wonder where that came from? Persimmons can be hard for some people when raw, but adds a fantastic flavor as an ingredient to all kinds of dishes including curries and sauces for pork and chicken.

    As for Rabbit – we did grilled skewers of rabbit on a Boy Scout campout last year and were pleasantly surprised by how good it was. And so were even our pickiest Scouts. Folks need to get the “rabbit as a pet” image out their heads. Rabbit has been a food and a good source of lean protein a lot longer than a pet in the real world.

  • Mike Lance says:

    Do you have suggestions on where we can get Lapin? I don’t want the ones in my front yard. I’ve had rabbit and it was good. Looked around Costco and didn’t find any.

  • Beth says:

    Mike,

    Try Bladen Foods
    6310 Lamar Avenue, Mission, KS
    (913) 236-9724 ‎
    Category: Meat Wholesaler
    “Santa Fe Trail Meats. Meat Processing in Overbrook, KS. Rabbit Meat Processors; Goat Meat Processors; Meat Processors. Northwest Meat Processors; Cherry …” – manta.com. Also there are plenty of restaurants in Kansas City that have rabbit on their menus. Try Michael Smiths on 19th and Main. Braised rabbit is a feature.

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