How strict are you with salt in baby/toddler diet?

[Annaparsnip]

Before my DD was born I never really cooked. I struggle with very bad depression and anxiety so I do use processed foods when my mental health is bad. I have been learning to cook, but I have never thought to check salt content in a lot of food.

For instance, I have always made sure I buy organic beans that are low sugar. But I have only just realised it's high in salt. As is the bread. It just never occurred to me to check for salt. I guess I worry about the wrong things.

I also use pasta sauces from a jar. The hummus she has is high in salt. As is the cheese.

I will switch all this so moving forward I won't use any. She typically eats very healthily, or so I thought! Organic, lots of fruit and veg, porridge for breakfast, no processed meats or bad snacks.

I never ever add salt in to anything, but even things like jarred lentils or cannelloni beans have salt in which I didn't realise. I must have been going way over limit at times (I'm hoping the good and bad days weigh themselves out)

I'm just wondering if people are typically very strict, and calculate all the salt content or do you use the occasional jar etc that has high salt in? Sometimes, because of my anxiety, it's hard to know whether I'm worrying too much.

I feel terrible because I don't actually know how much salt DD has typically being having. Ever. She's 2.

I do take it seriously, but do people literally cook everything from scratch monitoring the salt content?

Sorry for the super long ramble, brain is exhausted.

This honestly sounds fine to me ......

Salt in hummus, cheese and bread is a pretty normal amount of salt. Afterall there is salt in BM and formula. She's never going to have a diet completely free of salt at this age.

What support are you getting for your anxiety?

Just don’t add any salt to her meals.

Very strict for the first 2 years, now I'm more just mindful. Like I occasionally let her have olives (even though they're very salty) but I wouldn't let her put salt on chips and I wouldn't add it to my cooking sauces. We don't use pre made jars of sauce because of all the sugar.

With both of mine until they were 1, I was quite strict with it - cooked for them separately, zero salt stock cubes, checked the salt content of anything pre packaged.

Since my youngest turned one and he is now almost 2, the only thing I do is not add any salt to his food. He eats exactly what we eat. I still try and make good choices for him but I don’t really worry about the salt content of things anymore - it’s not like he’s eating Greggs sausage rolls all day long.

It sounds like you have been feeding your little one a healthy diet. I wouldn’t stop giving her things like cheese and hummus, even the jar sauces are okay if you’re stuck for time for example. Don’t beat yourself up about this, it sounds like your DD is thriving and you’re doing a great job.

I wouldn’t add salt to anything that my LO is having.

Have become much more aware of UPF and our diets have changed as a result. Have swapped to Jason’s breads, block butter, stopped buying UPF snacks and just have fruit / crackers / cheese. If you still want easy dinner options some nights, M&S chicken teddies and little fishies are great without unnecessary preservatives and additives

We weren't strict about it at all. The only thing we changed was switching to low/zero sodium stock cubes and not salting the water for pasta or rice. Obviously we never added salt to his food at the table either. Other than that, he ate what we ate and has always been fine. I've never looked at the salt content on prepackaged food as we eat it in moderation not every meal.

If there's a simple option to reduce the salt (eg zero sodium stock cubes, tuna in water not brine etc), pick it. If not, the amount of salt in most foods isn't enough to cause harm when eaten in moderation. If you're balancing packaged food with unprocessed fruits, veg, meat etc then it will balance out.

I just use low or no salt stock cubes in my cooking and don't add any salt to his food. Other than that I've never thought about it.

What she's eating now sounds fine, I wouldn't change anything or stress any more over it. She's 2 now so can eat a bit more. Just don't add extra to anything and that will suffice.

You might find this information on Salt from the BDA helpful too OP

I was super careful about it until both children were 2. Now I'm just a bit careful.

I was more careful before DC turned 1; mainly checking salt content and very little sugar. Like you I was surprised by how much salt is in things which are considered healthy e.g I now always rinse butter beans. What you are doing sounds fine! You clearly have an awareness and I think balance is key, for instance I’ve always given my child cheese because it’s a great source of protein even though it has a higher salt content. I would perhaps be more wary of jarred sauces, just because they can contain a lot of added salt and sugar, but you can easily check this and I’m sure there are healthier versions (Heinz and other baby brands do sauces too). Most parents do not cook absolutely everything from scratch, there just often is not the time. It’s really hard when you are struggling with your mental health too. You are doing great!

I didn’t add loads of salt to dc’s food when they were little or give them, say, salt and vinegar crisps. And I did generally feed them whole foods rather than loads of ready meals. But I’ve never worried about normal foods like hummus or a jarred sauce or a store bought pizza, never used low sodium stock or beans. I just didn’t dump loads of added salt before serving. As long as they are eating plenty of whole natural foods, a bit of salt in dolmio or some hummus is fine.

I just don't add any extra salt and use low-salt stuff like Kallo stock cubes etc. I'm actually used to a bit less salt in stuff now, but you can always add it after it's served if you need (or just remove a portion before you add the salt). Mine are 5 and 2 now so I'm not quite as bothered but I still do use the low salt stock cubes as we are used to them. I do my own pasta sauce generally, but I believe there are some lower salt jarred sauces.

Thanks all xx