When did you start adding salt to your child’s food?

[Hope54321]

When did you start adding salt to your child’s food?

My opinion (no idea if others would agree), is that salt added during the cooking process enhances the flavours of the other ingredients. Salt added at the table just adds a salty taste to the whole dish.

Goodness people, I’m talking about adding salt to your cooking for your child, like spag bol as a previous poster mentioned.

People add too much salt to food, sure. But some food does need salt. Starches (bread, pasta, rice, potatoes...) and meats. Veggies don't need it. A little can be yummy but unnecessary. It's good to reduce

You don't need to add salt to food.

I use salt when cooking food from scratch, but rarely need additional salt at the table. However I always request salt when dining out as it is generally needed. I also carry salt sachets with me incase the venue is ‘too precious’ to provide me with said condiment.

Chilli sauce is also unnecessary but it makes bland food at other people's houses more palatable.

@Bettyboopawoop

You don't need to add salt to food.

You don't need to add garlic either but try keeling that out of most dishes!

When the children started to be able to eat the same food we did. We cook from scratch mainly, small amount of salt added. No salt ever added at table - I'm always gobsmacked if a guest asks for salt and adds it before even tasting!

Never

You don't need to add garlic either but try keeling that out of most dishes!

I don’t think garlic has the same detrimental effect on health that salt does.

@Bettyboopawoop

You don't need to add salt to food.

I wouldn't enjoy pasta without salt in the water. So I need it in that. Me and DS2 can just eat a plain pasta though, so maybe that is why

We've never added to it to food (we cook from scratch), of course it's perfectly possible for food to be full of flavour without salt

We do put it on chips so the DC are allowed to as well, probably from around 4/5.

You see if I put salt in the pasta water Dh wouldn’t be able to eat a slice of garlic bread with it and he loves garlic bread.

Never

You don't need to add anything to food, you could just eat the main ingredients needed for nutrition plain.
It would be a v boring life though.
A pinch of salt, or salty ingredients, can make all the difference.
I bet no one would kick up a fuss if a child enjoyed kimchi, or kecap manis or boquerones, or gorgonzola...

Oh I did for DS1 when he was diagnosed at age 5, but only in summer when he sweated more. People with CF sweat out more salt.

it doesn’t bring out the flavours, it masks them

I agree with this. Interestingly my sister drowns her food in salt whereas I hate salt. I only put salt on sliced fresh tomato and scrambled eggs. No idea why those two things, but that's it. As noted above by another poster, mum had to stop adding salt to food because of my father's medical issues - high blood pressure. I remember the transition being quite rough, but now never use salt to cook. So much food is very salty. I don't avoid purchased foods with salt in, as that's pretty much the only way I get any salt, but don't enjoy excessive salt - it over powers all other flavours.

Well this has been eye opening. I prepared a salt baked whole cod for Christmas day....might be worth an image search for any no salt types out there!

I never add any salt to dcs food - she will eat what we do at tea time but I take a portion out for dc earlier and season our (dh and I) food separately. I can’t imagine cooking without adding seasoning!
Dd loves olives ( abit unusual for a 2 year) they are salty but I don’t think 3 olives every now and again are going to cause any harm…

@Bettyboopawoop

You don't need to add salt to food.

That's what my mother always said.

Everything she ever cooked tasted like crap and anything bought in a shop that had salt in it was carefully ruined before cooking - unsmoked bacon soaked in milk for 24 hours before being warmed under the grill, tinned veg rinsed under the tap and then soaked for half an hour before boiling, fish soaked, rinsed, soaked, soaked and rinsed again before boiling in milk in case a trace of the sea remained - I wasn't even allowed a packet of crisps with salt in it.

As soon as I left home, I bought some sea salt and suddenly, all the foods I hated (except bread/wheat and dairy, as I can't have those - didn't stop her making them a compulsory part of every sodding meal as a child, despite medical advice to avoid them, though) - vegetables, pulses, meat, fish - they all began to taste of something. I also stopped fainting randomly without warning. I don't cook with salt as I'd rather be able to control how much I want, but I will always add sea salt flakes if I'm not using tamari, olives or some other type of higher salt ingredient, else I'm back fainting again.

Omg. Are posters up thread saying they don't salt pasta water, add salt to some steamed veg or slag Bol? Are you actually mad? Do you know what tasty food is? Bloody hell. Honestly if that's you, I instruct you right now to chop up a cucumber/tomatoes, Sprinkle over some salt, leave it 10 mins (at room temp OUT OF THE FRIDGE) and then eat. If you are not overwhelmed you have actually been adding salt to food, if you genuinely have not it will taste of more than you have ever Imagined. Any when when the shops are open go and buy some Msg. Omfg, that's flavour

@Notbluepeter
I've make salt baked leg of lamb before and it was utterly delicious.
All of this adjusting your palate, sure, I could probably adjust mine to only enjoy unsalted mung beans but why would I want to?
I'm a huge believer in everything in moderation.

@breadwidow

Omg. Are posters up thread saying they don't salt pasta water, add salt to some steamed veg or slag Bol? Are you actually mad? Do you know what tasty food is? Bloody hell. Honestly if that's you, I instruct you right now to chop up a cucumber/tomatoes, Sprinkle over some salt, leave it 10 mins (at room temp OUT OF THE FRIDGE) and then eat. If you are not overwhelmed you have actually been adding salt to food, if you genuinely have not it will taste of more than you have ever Imagined. Any when when the shops are open go and buy some Msg. Omfg, that's flavour

No thank you.

A. I prefer a lot of food without salt
B. I prefer Dh to not fall over with dizziness which is what happens when he eats salty food.

I never adjusted salt levels in our food regardless of age of children, and they ate the same as us from the beginning of eating, I am a reasonably good cook and yes use salt/pepper/spice/whatever is needed to the food and feed it to the children.

The only thing I didn’t serve was honey before 1 but then I found out my dc was having it on porridge once a week at the childminders.

Cucumber sprinkled with salt?!? That’s a joke surely?!

People do realise you can season food without adding salt, yes?