Review of Redmond Trading Company Real Salt, Season Salt & Bath salt. The following are my experiences with these products, of course, results always vary!
”Real” Salt… I had heard of this before & thought “what the heck is Real Salt”? You can tell just by looking at the shaker that it’s different than any salt you’ve had before. Real Salt is mainly white like traditional “table salt” but has flecks of brownish-red tints in it too, due to the wide array of minerals present. It definitely tastes like the salt most of us are used to, but is more complex too—you don’t taste ‘just’ salt. What makes this salt real? Product info from their website: “It is unaltered, straight from the earth as it was deposited centuries ago. When you remove the trace minerals that used to accompany sodium chloride, you typically get a bitter flavor that many producers try to mask with chemicals or even sugar. (Go ahead — grab your salt shaker and read the ingredients. See any dextrose? Yep, that’s sugar!) Even worse, when you consume chemically treated or de-mineralized salt, your body’s mineral balance doesn’t always respond gracefully. When people started consuming chemically altered salts 100 years ago, we started seeing high blood pressure and water retention that had never been associated with salt before. Interestingly enough, our customers tell us these are the same problems that go away when natural salt replaces “table salt” in their diet. In other words, salt can be bad for your health, but real salt is actually a crucial part of good health! That’s why, more than 50 years ago, we named our brand Real Salt: Your body knows the difference between what is real and what has been chemically altered. Real Salt is salt exactly the way nature made it. You can taste the difference on your tongue, and you can feel a difference in your health.” Neither my husband or I are struggling with high blood pressure, thankfully, but I have indeed read both numerous testimonials of people lowering their blood pressure after switching to Real Salt.
In addition to Real Salt, Redmond also makes a fabulous line of Season Salts. The Season Salt contains a delicious blend of Real Salt as a base, plus: organic onion, organic coriander, organic mustard, organic black pepper, organic paprika, organic celery seed, organic turmeric, organic parsley, and no MSG. ($4.92/4.75 oz.). Now that we’ve been using this for a couple of months we’re wondering what we did without it?! At one time in our lives we actually used Lawry’s Season Salt, and there honestly is NO comparison. The organic Season Salt has been a wonderful accompaniment to every meat and veggie dish we’ve tried it on. I really, really like it myself but my husband does not hardly eat anything without it anymore. A shaker of it resides on our table instead of the traditional salt & pepper you’ll see on most families tables. I’ve even seen him put it on buttered toast… I brought this Season Salt in at my food co-op along with my order of Earthpaste & Redmond Clay and have had several people tell me they are in love with it also.
They also make an onion & garlic salt. While we love the blended Season Salt & put that on just about everything, sometimes I like a simpler salt to accompany lightly sautéed veggies, which we have at just about every meal. We just finished asparagus season & my favorite way to prepare that was with just a bit of olive oil & either the Garlic or Onion Salt. Sweet potato (yam) fries are also one of my favorite quick, easy, delicious side dishes, and they’re wonderful tossed in a bit of olive oil & dusted with the Garlic Season Salt, and I add just a dash of red pepper flakes as well to give them an additional little bite- they’re SO good! Everyone has their own favorite seasonings of course, and I love that Redmond offers this variety. You may be aware that salt is not a product that can be certified organic, but Redmond’s line of Season Salts is indeed USDA certified organic—how’s that?!
Why salt cannot be certified organic By definition Organic means “once living” or “carbon based” and salt neither is, nor was, technically, either of these. Because of this definition, in the USA salt cannot receive an organic certification from the USDA. That said, there is an organization called the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) that certifies items as an “organic ingredient” even though the item itself cannot be defined as organic. When items are “OMRI Listed” they can be used as an organic ingredient just as if it were USDA organic. I know that sounds confusing, but that’s just the nature of it. The good news is that Real Salt is OMRI Listed which means that they can be used as an organic ingredient even though it is not organic (because it was never living nor is it carbon based). There are some foreign companies that list their salt as organic because they don’t follow USA regulations, but these are few and are dropped as soon as they are discovered by the feds. As an example, because Real Salt is an organic ingredient per OMRI, we can use Real Salt as the base ingredient and mix it with other Organically Certified herbs and spices to create a USDA Organic Seasoning Salt line (even though they are mostly salt which is technically non-organic). There are lots of sizes to choose from in each category, and I feel the prices are very reasonable. The larger size shaker of the salts last many, many months: coarse salt with grinding mill, refill pouches, kosher salt, powder salt, organic season salt, organic garlic salt, organic onion salt, and many bulk & gift box options available. http://www.redmondtrading.com/product-category/real-salt/
Another salt product offered by Redmond Trading Company is bath salt, a product new to me until I received a sample from them. As we recently did away with our shower in favor of a claw foot bathtub, something I’ve always wanted, it’s been an excellent opportunity to test out their Bath Salt Plus.
What is special about the bath salt? Info from the ‘About’ section of their website: Redmond Bath Salt is a natural mineral sea salt that comes from a sea bed dating back thousands of years. This prehistoric deposit has been tucked away, protected from modern-day pollution. We extract this salt from deep within the earth, and bring it to you in its pure, natural state–without any additives, chemicals, or heat processing. The result is an all-natural sea salt, rich in trace minerals. In Redmond Bath Salt you will find an abundance of trace minerals that can help restore mineral-deficient bodies back to good health. Through osmosis, toxins are released from the body into the bath water, while trace minerals from the sea salt are absorbed through the skin.
Redmond Bath Salt is great for: •Soothing Stiff, Sore & Aching Muscles •Detoxification & Cleansing •Improving Circulation •Promoting Sound, Restful Sleep •Remineralizing the Body http://www.redmondbathsalt.com/benefits/
What is the difference between Redmond Bath Salt and Epsom Salts? Epsom salts are refined salts made up of magnesium sulfate, which has anti-inflammatory properties. Not only does Redmond Bath Salt contain a natural source of magnesium, it also has numerous other trace minerals that benefit your body in so many other ways.
What is the mineral content of Redmond Bath Salt? Redmond Bath Salt Plus is 100% natural mineral. We don’t add anything to it. The main mineral, of course, is sodium chloride (salt), and there are more than 60 other trace minerals that make up this powerfully-effective bath salt.
Obviously, there’s no way for me to know for sure how many toxins I’m releasing by taking a bath with the bath salts, or how many minerals I’m uptaking, but I can share this recent experience with you. I recently received a leg massage from a masseuse in an attempt to help induce labor as I am overdue, and while massaging my legs she commented on how excellent my in & muscle tone were & that she noticed the lack of toxins under my skin that she often felt with clients. Yes I eat a largely organic, healthy diet which is definitely responsible for that as well, but I immediately thought of the bath salts that I’ve been enjoying 2-3 times weekly in my bath. I can tell you that they make for an incredibly relaxing bath, and I have no doubt that my body is benefiting from this product!
Here are the links to the website & FB pages of Real Salt where you can find tons of other useful info, and personal testimonials from others using these products. I always appreciate others who are using these products to add your opinions to the discussion by adding your testimonial in the comments below.
*Real Salt website: http://realsalt.com/
*Real Salt FB page: https://www.facebook.com/realsalt Earthpaste & Redmond Clay are also part of the fabulous product line made by Redmond Trading Company. As they are all very unique products I’ve divided my reviews on them up. They also each have their own FB pages, which are linked to in their reviews.
*Earthpaste Review: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=677690208913289&set=a.568349859847325.144572.397517646930548&type=3&theater
*Redmond Clay Review: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=687531201262523&set=a.568349859847325.144572.397517646930548&type=3&theater
*Redmond is offering 15% off through September 7 using the code EcoSummer15 (case sensitive)
Eco-friendly baby/family products MADE in USA 