Health, Home, and Happiness

Real sea salt was something that I wasn't sure how to use in my cooking until a friend showed me her salt grinder, just like a pepper grinder. I knew that the moist grey sea salt was better for you, but I didn't know what to do with the huge granules, and for whatever reason I didn't realize that you could grind sea salt like pepper.

If you're just starting out your real foods journey, I would recommend starting simply with fresh ground pepper and moist sea salt to flavor your food. I've found that it's best to start simply with things that you're already familiar with, and then move to more complicated things like growing your own herbs, or buying fresh organic (not stale!) spices to liven up your cooking. I was surprised at how good otherwise blah food is with the addition of freshly ground pepper and salt.

Why is it worth it to make the switch?

As 'science' seems to 'discover' on a regular basis, food is best the way it's found naturally. Moist sea salt hasn't been processed to a pure white color and then had synthetic iodine back into it; it contains tiny bits of sea life, as it was designed to. This is biologically appropriate for human consumption.

Isn't salt bad for you?

I have no doubt that processed synthetically iodized salt is bad for you; synthetic chemicals usually are. And it's true that we do need the trace minerals that are naturally present in sea salt, so choosing sea salt and salting food to taste ensures you get these wonderful trace minerals.

I've been reminded of this on two separate occasions (before I found the whole Weston Price way of eating). The first was on Blue Ribbon Baby, the prenatal 'diet' that is designed to prevent preeclampsia in pregnancy it's recommended to salt food to taste. And the second was when my first child started eating solids, she loved the foods from my plate (with plenty of seasonings) but I thought that she was supposed to start on plain steamed veggies, but was puzzled when she wouldn't touch them. A friend suggested I add a little sea salt, and she gobbled them right up. While I don't believe that children know everything about what's best for them (like, say, an 11 month old doesn't need to play with the electrical outlet no matter how much she might think that she needs to), I do believe that for eating, babies do have a pretty good sense of what's needed for them nutritionally, as long as they are offered real foods.

If you have Nourishing Traditions, there is a whole lot more information on dietary salt on page 48 and continuing.

When buying good sea salt, just make sure it's not white- you want it to be grey and moist to have the right stuff in it. The right sea salt is in the link above, and they also sell salt and pepper grinders. Or, I just buy my celtic sea salt in the bulk bin at my health food store and I've seen salt and pepper grinders at Target. Want to skip making a special trip to the health food store? Grigio di Cervia - Gourmet Grey Sea Salt from Italy at Amazon has good salt too. Just like coconut oil, if you order it, have it shipped to your house, it will end up being used! This is a simple thing to switch, I promise.


I have been wanting to talk about real sea salt and fresh ground pepper for a long time now but hadn't gotten around to it.