Surprisingly, I´ve learned to like my food without salt. After four days without any my tastebuds are becoming a lot more sensitive for all the subtle flavours I missed before. By now I can enjoy an apple or a clementine like a good glass of wine, the mix of fruity, sweet and tart flavours developing in my mouth.

But I still miss the salt, so I now allow myself one gram per day. That´s not much, but used with care it really brings me a lot of joy. Like yesterday in my delicious white bean hummus. Since it´s completely fat free, apart from the small amount of tahin, I didn´t expect much, but actually it was absolutely yummy!

I´m starting to like this kind of nutrition and even if my sinuses are still torturing me I´m beginning to feel more energized than I´ve felt in months. Maybe I´ll expand the 14 days to three weeks. We´ll see.

Fat Free White Bean Hummus

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of dried white beans, soaked overnight and cooked  (about 3 cups cooked beans)*

juice of 1 lime

1/4 tsp cumin

freshly ground black pepper

salt

1 big garlic clove

2 tbsp. Tahin

3 tbsp. water (or more, adjust to your own taste)

Method:

Put everything in the blender and mix until its a creamy paste.

Enjoy!

*You can use canned beans, but try to use freshly cooked dried ones, it really makes a big difference.

Do you know the Fairy Tale about the king and his three daughters? He asked them to express how much they loved him. The first compared her love with the joy of ruling a kingdom, the second told him, he was as precious to her as her jewels. The third one, the only one who loved him deeply, answered: “Father, I love you more than salt.” He didn´t understand her comparison at all and banished her from his kingdom. But in the end he tasted a meal cooked without any salt and found it inedible. Everything tasted blunt. He forgave his daughter and they lived happily ever after.

I understand the princess, I love salt, most of all the flaky Maddon Sea Salt, which smiles at me everytime I open my cupboard. In my opinion there is no dish which couldn´t be enhanced by a good pinch. Unfortunately my detox diet doesn´t allow ANY salt. The hunger is not that bad, I have surprisingly few cravings, but I so deeply miss the salt.

I´m still not feeling better after the first two days, but I didn´t really expect an effect this early. The pounds are melting like I wish the snow would. Three pounds in two days, that´s quite a lot. I´m holding on and hopefully habit will kick in and I won´t miss the salt so much.

The dressing I had today with the black bean & orange salad was surprisingly delicious and would have been gorgeous with a pinch of salt. It was the tastiest dish I had for the last days. Actually, it was so good, I saved some tablespoons and had them for desert. I will definitely make this dressing again after the diet. With a pinch of salt, of course, and I´ll double the amounts.  I think, it would be nice as a dip, too.

Raw sesame seed and orange dressing:

2 tbsp. raw sesame seeds

juice of 1 small orange

Put it in a blender and mix until it´s a creamy paste.