Low Sodium and No Sodium Recipes !!!

[M&M]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone had an opinion on low salt cookbooks? I recently bought "The No-Salt, Lowest-Sodium cookbook written by Donald A. Gazzaniga. I found some delicious recipes and I was amazed at all the different recipes - have tried several and found them to be delicious. There are many recipes for lots of different things - not as many main entree dishes and so I asked my CHF dietician for any recommendations and she recommended the AHA Low Sodium Cookbook. She said that was a good cookbook. So, I'll probably purchase that one next. Has anyone tried this cookbook and did you like the recipes? I heard that book is as low sodium as the Donald Gazzaniga cookbook.

Its not even been a month and I have lost 5 pounds and what's even better is that I'm breathing so much better. I have always hated salt - and I never added it to my food - but I was amazed at how much salt is in the everyday foods. I couldn't believe the no fat salad dressing was full of sodium !!! After eating lots of healthy salads - I find now that I was just eating a salad full of salt.. YUK !!! I was surprised to see how much sodium one slice of bread has. I especially love breads and I fortunate after searching and searching I found the "Food for Life" Bread makes two wonderful breads that are very tasty and only 80 mg of sodium in a slice of wheat and 60 mg of sodium in the cinnamon raisin bread. Since they are frozen - I take half of the loaf and put it in the refrigerator and put the rest back in the freezer for the next week. Its very tasty. Along with the spray of I can't believe its not butter.

Well, I just wanted to share any recipes with any of you. I made a delicious scallop and pork chop casserole last Sunday and have very low sodium. The very lean meats really aren't to bad on sodium.. I'm not a big meat lover eater at all. I'm hopeing to start baking some breads. I would like to try it anyways. I have never baked a loaf of bread.. My husband does all the cooking during the week and I do the baking on Sundays. I have no idea how to kneed dough !!! It should be interesting and hopefully I'll have lots of FUN.. and no doubt a few laughs at myself.

Best Wishes
Marilyn

 

[Abbanabba]

Marilyn, for great tasting salt-free salad dressings, try a little vinegar (white or balsamic) or fresh lemon/lime juice combined with olive oil and fresh herbs, or some cracked pepper. Put all the ingredients into a jar with a screw-top lid and shake them up. You can also add some mustard, but the sodium content will vary, so check the lables.

Other great flavours are ginger, coriander, lemon grass, thyme, garlic, basil, chilli and dill (to name but a few). If you haven't got a herb garden already, I highly recommend getting one started. You can even grow them inside on a sunny window ledge if you haven't got much yard space.

I try to make most things from fresh produce (sauces, soups, cakes, etc..) which means I know exactly what I'm eating. It can be a little time consuming, but it's well worth the results and things usually taste so much better.

In the meantime, good luck with making your own bread. It might well be worth your while to invest in a bread machine. It does all the hard work - you only need to add the ingredients... which means you can omit the salt and add different seasonings for flavour. It's also great for anyone who is gluten-intolerent since you can use alternate flours.

All the best
Anna : )

 

[McCln]

Well, it is usually anything processed that may have a ton of salt. Anything that says low-salt, low-fat, usually still has and increases the sodium. That is why people use no salt, which some still has sodium, but at lower levels. IT is about label reading and educationg yourself of what is out there. Take care and be sure to be exercising with the dieting. Hang in there.

 

[Nancy]

I'm so glad you are benefiting from going low sodium. It is really very frustrating trying to find foods that have low or no sodium in the market. Do take a look at the online stores that I've provided a link for in this forum a while ago. They fill in the gaps so you can have wonderfully tasty meals. Last week I made tacos with refried beans and meat using no salt tacos and no salt refried beans from the Health Heart Market, Joe loves their Tejas Tears habanero hot sauce. Way too firey for me,

I bake bread all the time. Now I even prefer home baked over store bought myself. Once you try home baked bread, you will find that store bought has an off flavor, probably from preservatives. Home baked tastes great, fresh and fragrant. And you'll love the way your kitchen smells when it's baking. When the scent of baking bread wafts out of yor house, your neighbors will be jealous.

I have delicious recipes for raisin bread, Challah and English muffins. I've tried out all kinds of breads, and I'm always experimenting.

Bread is terribly easy to make. The only problem is that the rising takes a while, but the yeast does all the work. Kneading the dough is actually fun, and it gives your hands and arms a workout. Some breads can be made without kneading, using dough hooks on your mixer machine.

Two days ago, I made some home made breakfast sausage. It was a snap to make, took less time than going out to the market and purchasing ready-made.

Don't have much time right now, but I'll post those recipes when I have a moment.

Happy low salting!

 

[M&M]

Wow, thank you for all your 'tips'.. I'm delighted to see others doing this. I have found quite a few foods that carry 'no' sodium or very minor amount. I don't go over 50 mg on any one item - but I do go for the "no" sodium.

I found Land O Lakes makes a great butter with no sodium..

I have always used the I can't believe its not butter and no sodium..

I had a shopping cart and a half full of products. I had so much FUN searching.

I went out to lunch yesterday for my Birthday -
I ordered a 6 oz 'charbroiled' hamburg with no bun and no toppings
Baked Potato and I had a packet of garlic Mrs. Dash
steamed broccoli

I was soooo FULL..

But since it was my birthday - I did manage to have one slice of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting later in the day !!! Yummy..

I really liked making the bread by hand. I was quite surprised it came out really good. But I will add some flavoring ingredient - maybe cinnamon or raisins or walnuts - sounds good.

My dietician recommended the King Arthurs White Wheat Flour and it was very good.

I made a great shrimp scampi last Sunday along with 4 dozen cookies (not for me) and 2 loaves of bread.. I had a great time..%0

Thanks - my CHF is getting so much better. They just added a ace inhibitor and my BP was 93/70 this morning.. I just started taking the pill yesterday. I don't think I've ever seen my BP so low..

I felt alittle dizzy at first this morning - but it went right away.. I feel great now.. I walked/jogged 1.5 miles at noon and finally I felt great 'after' my workout.. That hasn't happend in a long time. I turned 50 yesterday and I'm excited to do my first road race at age 50 - although I don't 'race' - I just watch the others and I do a light jog.. But there aren't very many 50 year women who do races. So, I could do quite well - depending on the race.. But I don't race - I just go to 'finish' and have FUN.. maybe eat a cookie at the finish line.. If there's any left by the time I get there..

Best Wishes
Marilyn

 

[Nancy]

Maybe you've already discovered these. Mrs. Dash came out with some yummy marinades. They are located in the sauces section, at least here. No sodium and VERY highly flavored. 4 different flavors.

Chef Prudhomme's Magic Seasoning has no sodium and it is terrific.

 

[William]

You may want to try this, go to "cooks.com" and post "low salt" in the recipe search. This is a good site, printer friendly, with a lot of recipes.
Cheers, Will

 

[Nancy]

Just wanted to let everyone know that you can have delicious meals with extremely low sodium.

I have been cooking this way for Joe for many years now, and have substitutions for just about everything.

I have made dill pickles with no salt. You have to eat them within about a week, since you cannot can them w/o salt. But they do taste good. I have also made sweet pickles w/o salt. Last week, I pickled some hot peppers w/o salt.

For Thanksgiving, I made pumpkin cheesecake. I substituted mascarpone cheese for cream cheese, added some flour so it would "hang together correctly. Then after it was cooked, I covered the top with sour cream (breakstone has no sodium) mixed with confectioner's sugar, and topped it all off with a praline type sauce. It was excellent.

Got a fresk turkey breast, 2 percent sodium. Made dressing from scratch with homemade bread. Had sweet potatoes mixed with fresh pineapple which I had boiled up with sugar.

I have found a way to make a tasty pizza.

I have many good recipes for homemade bread. We both prefer homemade now. It tastes so much better, and it's really not hard to make at all.

Low sodium does not have to be grim. It just requires effort and some imagination.

 

[M&M]

Hi Nancy, I just read your post and I have to agree totally. This low sodium diet is much more enjoyable than I expected. I have found tons of spices that make my food much more flavorable than before. I was shocked at how much sodium was in the everyday foods that we eat and drink. If I eat any food with sodium - I can taste it right away and its awful tasting now. Once you get away from it totally your taste buds change.

I was wondering. I just had a abdomen CT scan and they saw something on my left kidney and now my PCP has ordered an ultrasound Dec. 19th - but I originallly went to my PCP complaining of pains on my right side mostly - but left side as well. She said this ct scan doesn't explain my pain - but should be checked out.

I'm wondering if this is all steming from the coreg that I started taking a couple mos ago. I didn't have the pain before taking this drug - but coreg is exceptionally good for CHF patients - which I am. But I wonder if I should insist on getting this Ultrasound done before Dec 19th - I'm rather concerned now that this 'mass' may be something dangerous. My sister had kidney problems when she was a kid - but I can't remember what it was from.

Has Joe had problems from any CHF drugs? I wonder if I should ask my CHF specialist to double check my blood work. My GFR was rather low. It was: Est 71 and I think normally your number should not go below 90 as that would indicate kidney problems. I don't know - they said my blood work was normal - back in August. They haven't done my GFR rate since then. The rest of the numbers look good since then. When I first saw that - I was concerned - but now that my CT scan shows something - I'm more concerned with this GFR rate of 71.

I'm confused and rather nervous - my PCP assured that in all probability this mass is a cyst and cysts are quite common on the kidney.

Should I press my CHF doc to get that ultrasound done sooner? I hate to think the coreg is causing kidney damage. Have you had any experience in this stuff? I have enough to contend with - all this heart problems - this 'new' finding is not what I expected.

Thanks for any info you have to share.
Marilyn