Use herbs and spices imaginatively. Most of them haven’t begun to explore the taste possibilities available to us through the creative use of these small gifts from nature. Herbs and spices may be small, but you’ll find they can produce wonderfully big flavors. When you tantalize your taste buds with everything from hot cayenne to pungent mustard, your taste buds will be happy to experience these new flavors in place of salt.

    Besides their taste, there’s another reason to use herbs and spices in cooking: many of them are rich in nutrients that are beneficial to our health. The herb tarragon, for example, is an excellent source of potassium, a mineral that works in a seesaw balance with sodium and can counteract some of sodium’s negative effects. Ounce for ounce, tiny tarragon packs a powerful nutritional punch: according to Judith Benn Hurley, author of The Good Herb (William Morrow and Company, 1995), one tablespoon of tarragon supplies 145 milligrams of potassium. By comparison, three ounces of potassium-rich chicken contain 195 milligrams.

     For the best effect, use herbs and spices that are at their peak of flavor and aroma. Dried herbs and spices have a shelf life of only about six months; after that, many of them develop lifeless or unappetizing tastes. To keep their flavor as vibrant as possible you should store herbs and spices in small, airtight jars in a cool, dry, dark place away from the kitchen stove. When you open, a jar of dried herbs, they should send out a fresh, strong, distinctive aroma. If they don’t—if they taste more like hay than the herb they are supposed to be—you aren’t utilizing the full flavoring potential of herbs. Better to discard the old batch and find some fresher herbs that will make your salt-free meals come alive.