Tips for Keeping Sodium Low

UpEarly

Several weeks ago, I found out that a family member I cook for needed to start watching his sodium intake for medical reasons. Sodium was never something I tracked, because I don't seem to be salt sensitive or have any problems with water retention. To help out with meal planning and food preparation, I started tracking sodium on MFP. It was a real eye opener, but over the past few weeks, I've figured a bunch of things out and wanted to share some tips with others who are looking for ways to keep their sodium down.

1) Cheese - if you like cheese, the sodium can be killer. Try swiss cheese instead of cheddar, American or provolone. An ounce of natural swiss cheese has between 30-60mg of sodium as opposed to the 180-220mg in other kinds of cheese.

2) Hunts No-Salt Added Diced Tomatoes make great homemade salsa when fresh tomatoes are out of season. Mix them with frozen corn that you've roasted, cumin, garlic, a variety of sweet and hot peppers, red onions, cilantro, lime juice, a little olive oil and a quarter teaspoon of sea salt. Makes a great low sodium salsa! A full cup of this salsa has around 100mg of sodium as opposed to the 2000mg in an equal amount of Tostitos Chunky Medium Salsa. I also found out that a serving of Tostitos has 110mg of sodium, which is actually lower than many other kinds of chips.

3) Make homemade dressing. I make my own Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette that has 32mg of sodium, as opposed to the 350mg in two tablespoons of Newman's Own Light Balsamic Vinaigrette. I make an awesome homemade ranch that has around 115mg of sodium as opposed to the 290mg in Hidden Valley Ranch.

4) Make old fashioned rolled oats in the microwave instead of the packets of instant oatmeal. You can go from almost 300mg of sodium down to zero. I stir in unsweetened frozen fruit, a couple tablespoons of half and half and a little splenda and it tastes just like (if not better than) the instant fruit and cream packets.

5) Look at the labels on the poultry and pork you buy. Some brands, like Tyson and Hormel, inject saline into their meat to make it plumper and juicier. A four ounce serving of meat treated like this can increase the sodium from 75mg all the way up to 400mg. I buy most of my meat locally, but I know Perdue does not 'plump' their birds with saline. I'm not sure about other pork producers, but if the meat is injected, it has to be listed on the label.

6) If you love lunch meat, look into the Boar's Head brand. They have several products that are much lower sodium. Their roast beef and lacey swiss are especially delicious!

7) Get a bread machine - make your own bread, rolls and pizza crusts. Then you can control the sodium. The machine turns making bread into a quick and easy task.

I guess the thing to emphasize more than anything is to MAKE IT YOURSELF! Soups, stews, stocks and sauces are all easy to keep low sodium when you make them from scratch. I know it sounds like lots of work, but it really hasn't been bad at all. I make a little bit of time on the weekends to do meal prep, then I mostly defrost/reheat when I get home from work during the week.

I was thinking about starting a blog with my lower sodium recipes, but I'm not sure if it would be used/useful.

angraham2

Awesome, These are things I already do, but it is always nice to have the reminders, and your right, Cheese is a killer, and making it from scratch is really the answer to most of our diet issues. Too much prepared foods. I like to make my own pasta, and sauces, soups, breads and stuff from scratch. I even live on the coast and can can my own tuna, salt free of course! We also can elk, bear and deer meats for shreaded "beef" taco's and other tasty delights.

Great ideas here!

lizard053

Absolutely great tips!

I have to add, making your own foods is always going to be better for you than store bought foods! This summer, I'm going to grow tomatoes to make all my own tomato sauce and ketchup.

UpEarly

Absolutely great tips!

I have to add, making your own foods is always going to be better for you than store bought foods! This summer, I'm going to grow tomatoes to make all my own tomato sauce and ketchup.

Homemade ketchup is a great idea! Ketchup is a real sodium killer, too!

cardbucfan

Great tips-you know this is one of my bugaboos. I'd love to read the blog with the recipes. Still don't know that I would make the time to make them but they would be nice to have!

cbirdso

I have an allergy to sodium that is really intense so I have had to keep mine low since I was in high school. A couple of easy tips is to buy all your canned and packaged goods that have NO SALT added. This is really easy to do if you just read the label. Peanut butter, soup, beans, cereal, tomatoes, broth, frozen items and so on that you use in homemade recipes or straight as packaged can reduce your sodium by half without even trying.

Also, I find food tastes good without adding salt. Never add it to anything or use it in cooking - this usually freaks people out, but just by not adding it yourself to your own food with cut out a lot, too.

LoreleiWalks

Fabulous tips - thank you! I am also trying to reduce my sodium intake - and these are great ideas.

If you started a low-sodium recipe blog - I would totally read it - just gotta say!

One idea to add: Sprinkle food with lemon juice or vinegar instead of salt. Works especially well with chicken, fish, soups, and stews.

Peg5678

I have found sodium to be SO important. For about two days after eating too much sodium, my weight increases. I have to drink tons of water to wash it out of my system (and I already drink about 100 oz. of water daily).

I never thought to check the labels on the chicken breast I buy to make my chicken salad. Thanks for that tip.

Another tip: Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Low Sodium Bread is quite good, and much easier than making bread myself!

I limit myself to 1500 mg per day, but usually stay less than 1000 mg.

shellicious777

A blog on your recipes would be great.

MrsZMartin

bump

kstep88

BUMP - I am working to get my sodium to 1500.

I already prepare my own sauces, and things like that... but I need to work on salad dressings and things like that!

wftiger

A few items I have found in my struggle to lower my sodium intake --
Corn Tortillas - Mission has one that is super low in sodium
Wing-Time Buffalo Wing Sauce - Frank's is out of this world high so I found this brand. Only 40 mg per 2 tbsp
Drew's All Natural Salad Dressing - I have the Smoked Tomato which only has 69 mg per 1 tbsp
Braswell's All Natural Dressing - I have the Vidalia Onion Peppercorn which only has 85 mg per 2 tbsp

I found them in the "healthy aisles" (I usually call them the "hippie aisles") in my local store. I live in smallish town so you likely have many more options than these but thought I would throw them out there if you don't frequent those aisles on a regular basis.

Also, make sure you buy fresh chicken breasts. That IQF stuff is really high. Not sure if that has been mentioned as I didn't read all posts yet.

Last note -- http://www.frontiercoop.com/products/spices.php has some really good no sodium seasonings. I get the taco and chili all the time and it is really good.