And we're back.....

Hello!

Don't even know if anyone's reading this blog, but if you are, good to see ya!

It was a harsh winter and I wasn't in a bloggy state of mind. Everything's in bloom now and it's time to dust off the place and start posting again.

TV station KDKA in Pittsburgh, had a great feature from Consumer Reports on "hidden" sodium in your foods. Watch the video on the right-hand side of the page too. It's very enlightening.

As I discussed in the previous post, reading labels is key. I was also surprised to see how much sodium was in little cups of Jello, the gelatin and the pudding.

I would also add that if you are going to eat out in a non-chain restaurant (preferably!), see if there's a website with a menu posted. You can plan ahead and also call ahead and ask if any dishes can be prepared with less or no salt at all. You'd be surprised at how many places are willing to work with customers with nutritional/health issues.

Until next time...

Read Those Labels

Every article you read about health and nutrition stresses that you read the labels, so you know exactly what's in your food.

What if that's not good enough?

I found this disturbing article about the mislabeling of fresh poultry. This incorrect info can mean you're ingesting 300 more milligrams of sodium per serving than you think.

Congress has just sent a strongly-worded letter to the head of the USDA to stop these practices immediately. I sure hope so.

Read more about this here.

Soup Is Good Food

It's getting colder and for me, that means it's time for soup.

Canned soups are out of the question. Even many lower sodium soups still have more than 500mg per cup and they don't particularly taste good.

Here's one of my family's favorite. It's Bob's Red Mill Vegi Soup Mix.



It's so easy to make and it's incredibly delish, hearty and most importantly, low in sodium. It's 28 mg per half cup serving.

All you do is add one part mix, to four parts liquid. I add some fresh chopped onions, sliced carrots and Wyler's no-salt bouillion, chicken or beef flavor. Just bring it to a boil and lower the heat and simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally until all of the ingredients are soft.

My mom used to make something similar with a big piece of flanken, but the way I make it you don't even need the meat.

Hope you'll give it a try. I love dishes where you just put everything in one pot.

Shake It

Here's another excellent article that makes a compelling argument to shake that salt habit.

Always on the lookout for no or low salt products, here's a recent discovery:



Tastes great and clocks in at a mere 10 mg of sodium per slice. Considering a recent perusal at the bread aisle showed many breads at 220 mg per, this Alvarado bread is a winner. It's delish, especially toasted.

Spreading the word

Read this recent article in the Chicago Tribue about how dangerous salt really is.

What people don't realize is, even if you're healthy you're probably consuming way too much sodium daily. The article highlights problems in addition to hypertension that salt is responsible for. It's a great wake-up call and I wish enough people would hear it.

I just hope more stories like this come out and more mainstream companies work hard to manufacture low sodium items that are available to a wider market.

Did you catch this?

Although I prefer not to buy canned foods, sometimes you need to for convenience.
I've been lucky to find very low sodium tuna in my local supermarket, but looked everywhere for salmon and couldn't find any.

Who would have thought amazon.com would be the best source for this?




Crown Prince Natural Alaskan Salmon No Salt Added is really delish!

It's got 50 mg of sodium per serving, has 1.5g of omega-3 per serving and it's wild caught.

Some people object to the bones and skin, but if you mash it really well you don't even notice them. I use it for salmon salad, croquettes or sometimes I just throw in the skillet and saute with some onions.

You have to buy a case of 12, but that's fine. It beats running around and wasting gas and your time. Check it out!

It's Been A While

Whoa!

I didn't realize I neglected this blog for so long.
Well I'm back.

Please check in to see what I've found.

I'll leave you with this for now:

Many food manufacturers have embraced the low-fat, no trans fat bandwagon, but still haven't addressed the high amount of sodium in their products. Even if the sodium is within daily dietary guidelines, items with 600 or more grams per serving is still too much for many salt-sensitive people.

In addition, some low-salt or no-salt items may have a lot of fat in them, so you've always got to read your labels to make the best choice.

This article by Leslie Beck of the Globe and Mail shows what to look for when buying frozen entrees.

Personally, I still think some of her recommendations are too high, but it is a slight improvement over what I've seen so far.