low sodium foods

kenzie0884

This is my first post, so sorry if it's in the wrong topic! I have tried Google, but all I find is list after list of processed food. I am trying to cut out as much processed as possible, but I keep going over in sodium. Obviously I still eat processed foods, but my goal would be to make meals (especially dinner) out of non processed ingredients.
Here is some of my go-to foods right now
Salad (does contain processed croutons, and dressing. I plan to cut the processed dressing when I run out)
Eggs
Wraps (whole wheat tortillas and I usually use chicken, or peanut butter as the filling)
Pita with peanut butter and banana inside
Cashews
Carrots with light dip
watermelon
Cucumber slices or salad

I didn't grow up in a household full of healthy food, so I am still learning the taste of everything, which is why I don't have a whole lot on my list yet. I also don't add salt to anything at all, but my dressing and cheese seem to contain the highest amount of sodium. That is why I need more ideas because apparently I am eating more salad than anything (with the high amounts of sodium). Help?

runningagainstmyself

Condiments and anything in a package often contain very high amounts of sodium. If you look carefully, though, you can find equivalent dressings and condiments that are considerably less in sodium than others. That includes soy sauce, by the way.

Just be sure to read your labels! It will get easier with time, I promise. 2-4 weeks and noticing sodium on the label will be second nature.

born2drum

I love baking chicken breasts that I season with a sweet and spicy poultry rub which has very low sodium. If you go over your sodium I always do a 12 min sauna session to held my body rid the excess water.

onedayatatime12

Well I definitely try to keep my sodium under 2500! If you've looked in people's diaries, you'll see that this is a pretty standard amount that people set it to since 1500 is pretty hard to not surpass.

I would add yogurt, mixed nuts (raw, not a box of mixed nuts, those have LOTS of salt), and lots of fruit to your new lifestyle/healthy eating plan. Low in sodium, and filling, so that you won't have to reach for more food.

Hm.. also eat whole grain bread, as in REAL whole grain. I buy the Pepperidge Farms 100% Natural Whole Grain, and I've heard good things about Ezekiel (sp?), rye, etc. but have never ventured into that territory. Also eat lean meats, like salmon (great source of Omega-3 fatty acids). I know this isn't a cumulative list at all, but I hope it helped, even if just a little!

Good luck.

jenf235

I battle sodium all the time, too. I am trying to up my calories to break through a plateau, but I'm having some trouble upping the calories without going over with sodium. I can tell I am retaining a lot of water because of the overage in sodium, so I am interested in other comments that you get. I did fine managing my sodium with lower calories, but now I need a little help.

sparkle814

I'm guessing that the wraps and the dip might have a fair amount of sodium, too, yeah?
I also try really hard to limit my sodium, and it's hard. I use Hood low fat, no salt added cottage cheese on my salads instead of dressing, because it is very low sodium and provides a good amount of protein.

I eat low salt rice cakes...I make my own peanut butter and almond butter and don't add salt, I try to eat lots of fruits and veggies, which are of course very low on sodium. I don't too often have mashed potatoes (from a mix) because they're very high in sodium (or prepackaged dinner stuff like Hamburger Helper, etc). We make taco meat once or twice a week and the seasoning for that is pretty high in sodium but we went from using two packets of the regular stuff to one packet of the low sodium stuff. Making little changes like that can help a lot.

There are lots of different things that don't have a lot of sodium, you will find some that you like and get used to using them. Are there any foods that are high in sodium that you are having trouble finding replacements for? That might be another approach to solving this.

Good luck!

bellesouth18

Unfortunately, most things that are canned or in a jar have higher sodium. Vinegar based food have lots of it. Lunch meats, bread, dairy products, and peanut butter (unless you get the lower sodium type) have it, too. I've had to cut sodium also because of high blood pressure. BP runs below normal now. So what I've done is working. It looks like you really love peanut butter, so keep it in your diet. I've had to really pick and choose what foods I want to eat. Buy low sodium butter, etc. I can't always eat fresh veggies, so I drain and rinse my canned foods (like green beans, canned carrots, etc.). All I can say is read labels and rotate eating your favorite foods that are higher in sodium. But watch out, too. My calcium intake really suffered when I cut dairy products. My hair and nails suffered lots.

ncmedic201

Blue Diamond makes a low sodium almonds.

My go to salad dressing is super easy and no sodium I think. Take a tbsp of EVOO, add a little honey, citrus juice like lime, lemon or orange then add herbs or spices of your choosing. It's very refreshing and tastes great with a salad made with chicken, feta, apples, spinach, and bell peppers.

As far as cheese. I eat cheese every day. I rarely go over 1400 mg of sodium a day. Try allrecipes. com and you can even learn how to make your own taco seasoning. I just omit the salt and add a little extra cayenne or chili powder. My kids can't tell the difference.

Breakstone has a reduced sodium cottage cheese. You can find no salt added tomatoes, beans and veggies in the cans.

It takes some planning at first but once you start it's really easy to find alternatives to higher sodium meals.

ETA: Smucker's Natural peanut butter doesn't have much sodium. Oikos has some yummy dips that aren't bad on sodium and only have 25 calories a serving. Watch things that are labeled low fat because sometimes they add more sodium. Pepperidge Farm 15 grain bread isn't bad. I'm pretty sure vinegar is sodium free.

My diary is open. Feel free to troll to see some sodium counts.

kenzie0884

Thanks everyone! These replies really helped! I looked in my diary, and every food that I eat contains sodium. Even my cucumber apparently, although it's incredibly low. I guess I just need to plan ahead (figuring out how much sodium is in everything) before eating. I'll look at labels, and try to replace some things as well as add in other lower sodium things. Hopefully it gets better!

peeaanuut

I had 3 high sodium items on my regular menu but I cut one down to only once a week. The 2 that I am having issues with is Oatmeal and my chicken marinade. Not anything I can do about the oatmeal so I am looking for a low sodium marinade or a quick way to make my own. I am no chef and have tried some recipes with no success so I am looking for a pre packaged but low sodium garlic or lemon herb marinade. Any help?

hannah1011z

Ive been trying to cut out a lot of sodium too which meant for me to cut out almost all boxed/already to eat food. Some of the changes in food i made were:
instead of vegetable oil i use virgin olive oil,
instead of frozen chicken breasts i buy them fresh, rinse them, then cook them with light seasonings
instead of cooking my chicken breasts on the stove i bake it
instead of condensed soup i make it from scratch cutting out anything like salt that is not as good for you
instead of ice cream i switched to weight watchers pre-portioned icecream, and skinny cow icecream (this is my only sugary treat i eat)
instead of other cereals, i now eat special K
instead of using condimants like ranch and thousand island, i use homemade fresh salsa which is amazing!
and lastly instead of bottled katchup, i make my own as well.

Really making anything from scratch is a lot better for you. You get to decide the ingredients and what not which is nice.

peeaanuut

saw the Mrs Dash herb and garlic marinade which smells exactly like my current marinade, now lets hope it tastes as good. Also its sodium free with is amazing to me. So thats 2 of the 3 sodium biggies that I have.

LexiAtel

For the most part I have a low sodium diet, today I went over on it though because I ate a full can of green beans. I make most of my food at home.

Here's my monthly shopping list

Produce:
Strawberries
Oranges
Bananas
Bell Peppers
Onions
Cabbage
Lettuce
Squash (Zucchini)
Sweet Potatoes
Carrots

Meats:
Ground Hamburger (lean)
Pork Steaks (I trim the fat and render it into lard)
Chicken Thighs (I remove the skin and bones and make no salt chicken stock, to which I freeze in ice cube trays)
Eggs

Dairy:
Cottage Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese
2% / Skim Milk ( I mix these 2 together)
Yogurt (greek)

Packages Foods:
Oroweat 100% Wheat 100 Calorie rolls
Uncooked Rice
Cereal (usually crisp rice and cheerios)
Nuts
Peanut Butter
Tea
Bottled Lemon Juice
Wheat Thins
Graham Crackers
Oatmeal (the real stuff)
Sweet and Low
Pasta Sauce

Frozen Foods:
Raspberries
Blueberries
Corn
Peas
Green Beans

Canned Foods:
Fruit
Green beans
Fish