I love finding little hacks that will make a huge impact on my health.

Enter the world of digestive salts

Before I even begin, let’s address a little bit of the controversy that’s surrounding our salty friend.

We know that when you add salt to certain foods, it brings out the flavor even more.  We also know that too much salt in your diet can lead to not-so-great things relating to the heart and the kidneys.  Processed salt is trash, Himalayan pink salt is good.  As in most things, the key is to consume the optimal amount for your body’s needs.

If you have the all-clear to use salts in your meals, a great way to boost your digestive health is to add some potent plant allies to your salt shaker.

The ingredients in this recipe are salt (obv), fennel seeds, ginger powder, and lemon zest.  Even though you’ve likely used these kitchen staples individually before, the thought of blending them into a salt mix might have made you go hmmmmmm. 

The “why” behind these specific spices is simple: they all help boost and optimize your digestion.  Salt, lemon, and ginger are all heating to various degrees.  And they’ll help stoke your inner fire.   We add in the fennel seed to take the heat down just a tiny notch so the fire doesn’t burn too intensely.  

While this blend is generally good for most folks, consider using just a little or none at all if you’re feeling feisty or if you’re retaining water.  And for everyone in general, use just a little bit of this in the spring and summertime. 

1 small organic lemon (Meyer if possible)

½ cup Himalayan pink salt or sea salt (coarse or your preference)

½ tsp fennel seeds (these are optional if you really don’t like them)

½ tsp ginger powder

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.

After you’ve washed and dried your lemon, make lemon zest by moving the outside of the lemon up and down on a fine grater.

Next, if you’re using the fennel seeds, grind them up as finely as possible.  You can use a spices-only coffee grinder or grind by hand with a mortar and pestle (my favorite way).

Mix together 1 teaspoon lemon zest, the salt, ground fennel, and ginger powder into a bowl, then transfer the mixture onto a dry baking sheet.  Be sure to spread the salt mixture completely, breaking up any clumps that might have formed.

Bake for approximately 15 minutes, or until the lemon zest is fully dried out. 

Once cooled, transfer the mixture into a salt shaker.  If the lemon zest pieces are a bit too large, pull them out of the mix and give them a few crunches with the mortar/pestle.

Enjoy!