Suggestions for lowering sodium and good low sodium meals

Boy am I glad I found this thread. I cook all low-sodium meals because I was diagnosed with high blood pressure. Honestly, it is all about experimentation. You have to read ALL nutrition labels, and know what foods typically are sodium wise. I've been doing this for about two years now (mind you, I don't follow it all the time, but I'm trying to be better!!) and it's taken me about a good year to really get it together with figuring out what I can and cannot have.

That being said, your sodium limit depends on whether the doc has you following a lower limit than the recommended max. For me, I have to limit myself to 1500 mg per day, which is about 2/3 of a teaspoon of salt. The recommended amount for people without high blood pressure or at risk of it (I believe) is 2300 mg, a much more attainable number.

The cruel part is that everything has sodium, including some fruits and vegetables. While their amounts are nominal compared to packaged foods, they still count.

The first thing to do is to start simply using less salt. If you do not want to do that, I use a salt substitute (http://www.alsosalt.com/) called Also Salt, which is the best on the market in my opinion. The problem with faux salt is that it can have a metallic after taste (such as Morton's), but Also Salt doesn't. And, it lasts me a long time. I think in the past couple of years, I've only gone through a few shakers of it. I found mine at my local grocery store, but it was close to where it is manufactured, so you might only be able to order it online. It also works great for baking, too.

The second part is to try to limit packaged foods as much as possible, or be vigilant about watching the sodium on the serving. In the past year, there have been many companies that have started making low sodium or lower sodium alternatives to their products. For example, Nabisco came out with hint of salt triscuit, wheat thins and ritz crackers for people watching their sodium. Do they taste exactly like the regular counterparts? No, they do taste less salty, and takes a little to get used to. But I still find them good. Low sodium soups, broth, boullion all exist if you do a little searching. They can be hard to find, but not impossible. Let me know if you want any brand names of these things, as I tend to buy the same brands since I know 1. how much sodium they have and 2. know what works for me/my budget.

The third is to stay away from pretty much anything canned, with a few exceptions. You can buy low sodium or no salt added vegetables, beans and tomatoes. I rarely buy canned vegetables but on occasion I crave the saltiness of canned green beans, so I buy a lower sodium version. They make no salt added diced tomatoes, no salt added tomato sauce and even sometimes no salt added tomato paste. I don't buy canned beans unless I absolutely have to, I cook them from scratch. I started doing this before it was popular to have no salt added/lower sodium canned beans. I cook them in a crockpot, where it's essentially fool proof and much cheaper in the long run. The hard part about limiting sodium as much as I do is that I have to cook more things from scratch, instead of opening up a can or a jar of sauce. That might be a downside for some, but I love to cook and have perfected how to make a tomato sauce for spaghetti from scratch in about 30 minutes.

The fourth is to add more flavor to your foods by using different herbs (fresh or dried) and spices. Because you are taking away some of the salt, using herbs and spices (as well as citrus juices) is a good way to punch up the flavor without adding more salt. Personally, I really enjoy the Mrs. Dash line of seasonings and blends, I haven't had one yet I don't like. I usually use them with an addition of the faux salt to help round the flavors.

I think that is all of the expertise I can hand over in one night without your brain exploding! I'm sorry for so much information, but I am a self-proclaimed expert on the topic of limiting sodium. If there is anything you need, feel free to message me, I would be more than happy to help!

I agree with Ecka723 that it does take some experimentation and some time. I've been working on lowering my sodium and I have good days and bad days. If you're logging diligently with something like MFP you do start getting a sense of which foods tend to throw you into the red zone. Unfortunately, a lot of delicious flavor boosters that I hardly even think of as "food" add a ton of sodium to the diet: salsa, soy sauce, fish sauce, hot sauce, etc. Learn to love lemon juice and garlic, or a splash of vinegar though!

One thing Ecka didn't mention is frozen food, but you need to watch that stuff almost as bad as canned food! Frozen dinners/meals are super-salty. (Frozen veggies are usually okay as long as they're not in a sauce or something).

With canned food, you can reduce the salt some by draining and rinsing. A lot of the sodium is in the canning liquid and that does wash away. Depending on the food, this can reduce the sodium in canned food between 19% and 40% I've read.

Two final thoughts: baked goods (from bread to pretzels) are pretty high in sodium (not as critically as canned food, but non-trivial). And restaurant food will typically have more than 1 day's worth of sodium in a single serving.

So all that on what to watch out for, what you CAN'T eat. Here are some positive thoughts.

Cook with whole, unprocessed ingredients. You don't have to get fancy to cook for yourself and like it. There are a lot of things you can do with veggies, pasta, grains, and meat that are easy to cook and low in sodium. In fact, things tend to only get sodium-y when you get too complicated with the sauces. Tonight I'm having pasta with garlic, greens, shrimp and olive oil. Yum.

^This
Really good post. It takes a while and a little bit of work to figure it all out but it gets easier as you go and you find you start missing it less and less. Of course I still sneak a french fry here or there.

One trick my son taught me (he is a CICU nurse) is to first quit using the salt shaker COMPLETELY at the table. Then after you have adjusted to that start removing the higher sodium foods from your diet. That way food does not taste like crap and you revert to your old ways!!! I am a admitted salt addict and this has reduced my sodium intake drastically!!! The rest is mostly about cooking from fresh and frozen!!!! Good luck! But beware, once you get used to real food, you will never want to go back!!!

Check out the DASH diet:)

so like most of the world that has eaten packaged stuff up to now... i could do with some help figuring out how to eat more low sodium meals

Greetings,

My advice to you is to stop eating processed and packaged food and cook all your own meals from scratch. And for snacks have fruit and nuts.
That way you can control the sodium in your diet. You'll find plenty of people here willing to share their recipes with you as well.
kind regards,

Ben

Stick to cutting the high sodium areas. Dont' worry so much about the sodium in cereals and stuff like that. Yes, it adds up, but honestly it shouldn't add up so much to really caus a problem. It is in the soups, canned veggies/beans, etc...where the salt adds up the most.

You say you are a chef so you naturally stick to fresh or frozen veggies and stuff. Use that to your advantage. Recreate your favorite soups using low sodium broths or stocks, then freeze them. Soups freeze very well! Becareful with some of the lower sodium things, the companies will fill with sugar instead which really isn't any better so check the labels. Sometimes the regular sodium things are worth getting just avoid the added sugars.

my problem is opposite, my sodium is too low. I prep most of my food. I had to find a way to incorporate more sodium.

I eat:

B-12
coffee
boiled eggs
oatmeal
protein shake
baked chicken
roasted veggies
Greek yogurt
baked chicken
roasted veggies
and another protein shake, doubled

a sample of Wednesday's diary for suggestions on lowering it. There is nothing processed in my list.

Sodium has been my biggest challenge. I add to other recommendations regarding the DASH diet. A recent study showed how DASH lowered blood pressure in just 21 days:
http://uofmhealthblogs.org/cardiovascular/hypertension-no-match-for-dash-diet/4039/