Tips for Keeping Sodium Low

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.