Smoked paprika has been one of the best discoveries I have made since pursuing this new lifestyle.
I first heard about it from a nurse in mid-2018. She raved about how good it was, and how it had helped her add flavor while cutting back on salt. But, I didn’t pay much attention then. There was so much else going on, and I was overwhelmed by all of the information (and changes) coming at me at once.
This year, I heard about it again from a dietician I met with while considering barriatric surgery. This time, I took note and went looking for it. I found it at Walmart, but you can also order it online through some place like Amazon (my Amazon affiliate link).
I tried it and was in love.
When you are cutting back on salt, you discover a lot more subtle flavors in your food. The intense saltiness in many common foods masks a lot of the actual flavor. Once you get past the initial period of “oh, this tastes bland,” you discover what you’ve been missing all along and begin to enjoy it and play around with the flavors.
Smoked paprika is paprika that has been dried by smoking (usually with oak wood). It’s smoky flavor adds wonderful flavor to just about anything you want to put it on. I add it to egg, fish, chicken, and more.
It does also have some nutrition. In a typical serving size of one teaspoon (2 grams), paprika supplies 6 calories and is rich in vitamin A (21% of the Daily Value, DV), and is moderate in vitamin B6 (14% DV) and vitamin E (10% DV). It’s always nice when something that tastes so good has nutrition benefits to.
Give it a try. It really does help kick up your food a notch, especially if you are eliminating excess salt, sugar, and other food additives.
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