Salt

Sycamore35

Hi,

I am changing the foods I snack on from chocolate and cereal to stir fry veggies . I've been adding soya sauce to spinach and mushrooms but MFP is alerting me to a high sodium intake. What can I flavour my veggies with to give it a bit of taste... not ready to eat it plain just yet! Thanks for any suggestions

Charliegottheruns

Pepper ?

Sycamore35

Ha! Thanks.... I meant more sauce wise. I also used a fajita concentrate pot and that was full of salt too.

segacs

Depends on what flavour you like. Garlic and herbs can be nice, with a tiny bit of butter.

auntstephie321

I always go over on salt, I put it on everything. But I have no health issues pertaining to sodium intake so it's never been a concern for me

dmkoenig

If you go to an Oriental market you will see 20+ options for soy sauces. If you check out their nutritional labels you'll see variances of 500-600 mg. Even regular groceries usually carry low sodium options.

In general though, the best thing to do to gain control over sodium content is to avoid pre-packaged seasoning and mix your own. Food Network and a host of other sites have plenty of recipes to use as a basis for concocting your own spice mix. The beauty of making your own is that you can completely control what's in it and adjust to suit your own tastes. Here are a couple of fajita seasoning examples - takes all of 5 minutes to prepare...one is even a no-salt option...

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/fajita-seasoning/

http://www.news-gazette.com/blogs/meg-makes/2012-08/recipe-homemade-salt-free-fajita-seasoning-mix.html

auntstephie321

Oh I just remembered Mrs dash, I think those are sodium free and I think have different flavors

ironhajee

dmkoenig wrote: »

If you go to an Oriental market you will see 20+ options for soy sauces. If you check out their nutritional labels you'll see variances of 500-600 mg. Even regular groceries usually carry low sodium options.

In general though, the best thing to do to gain control over sodium content is to avoid pre-packaged seasoning and mix your own. Food Network and a host of other sites have plenty of recipes to use as a basis for concocting your own spice mix. The beauty of making your own is that you can completely control what's in it and adjust to suit your own tastes. Here are a couple of fajita seasoning examples - takes all of 5 minutes to prepare...one is even a no-salt option...

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/fajita-seasoning/



http://www.news-gazette.com/blogs/meg-makes/2012-08/recipe-homemade-salt-free-fajitaseasoning-mix.html

Great advice right here! Homeade seasoning. if i had the time and patience and budget I would do this! For me I do alot of high intensity cardio and sweat profusely which as we all may know, depletes salts from the body

I have a soy sauce addiction because veggies are just not the same without it!! So do like me and train hard :P

rayw89

Stbarber1 wrote: »

Oh I just remembered Mrs dash, I think those are sodium free and I think have different flavors

Yep, I was just getting ready to say Mrs. Dash! I believe there are atleast six different flavors. I love Mrs. Dash. And salt-free!

Cortelli

Unless you have a medical condition requiring you to lower your sodium intake, you probably shouldn't worry too much about MFP's (or the USDA's) sodium levels, at least not as an upper band.

That said, if you want to lower your sodium intake for whatever reason, there are lower sodium alternatives of soy sauces and of table "salt" and seasonings. As mentioned above, Mrs. Dash, and others.

For stir frying, I generally use a little sesame oil or olive oil with some red pepper and garlic in it before adding the meat / veggies.

OldHobo

I think vinegars are a great substitute for soy sauce. They have no sodium and virtually no calories and add so much flavor that I don't miss the salt or soy sauce. They are relatively inexpensive and keep virtually forever without refrigeration. I have, at least, apple, red and white wine, and and a inexpensive balsamic on hand all the time. You can also use them instead of wine, broth or stock to deglaze and make sauces.

Sycamore35

Thanks for all the great advice. I've followed low fat diets for years and am not confident using oil and butter. I use cooking spray. I'm trying to turn my diet on its head and eat nutritious food instead of processed fat free high sugar options in the hope that I can become healthy and fit but its a learning curve. I will definitely check out the homemade options. Thanks again xx

BigLifter10

Stbarber1 wrote: »

Oh I just remembered Mrs dash, I think those are sodium free and I think have different flavors

This is my go-to for choices regarding lower sodium. I happen to really like it too, so cooking with it is a good thing. I found out a few months ago that Mrs. Dash had added marinades to their line-up. I was thrilled and now use those too! Experiment with spices/herbs. I use a lot of lime in my stuff - no matter what it is (sometimes even hamburger concoctions).

snowflake930

There are a lot of salt free spices. Mrs Dash has quite a few different ones, so does McCormick, Penzey's also

dawn_noelle29

Check out Flavor God - this stuff is amazing: http://flavorgod.com/

lemurcat12

OldHobo wrote: »

I think vinegars are a great substitute for soy sauce.

Vinegars are my go-to also. Love them. On the other hand, if after a spicy fix and not satisfied with any pepper sauces, you can also just add some jalapenos to the mix. And for yet another option, Japanese 7 spice is amazing in a stir fry.

However, I also use salt when cooking to my heart's content and soy sauce whenever I feel like it and I don't even log it. I get tons of potassium, work out a lot, and mostly try to eat home cooked stuff, so I don't sweat it about sodium, especially since my blood pressure has always been perfect.