No Salt Cooking (I had to put it back since blogster lost it forever) - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

No Salt Cooking (I had to put it back since blogster lost it forever) - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster



....is not fun as some of you are finding out.  But there are ways to
make it better.  Unfortunately it takes some time to accustom your
taste buds to eating with no salt.  Many people think if they never pick
up a salt shaker then they are winning the battle but if you eat any
prepared foods from the grocery store the chances are excellent that you
are still getting too much salt.

Basically anything in a can or a
box is off limits.  Even if it says low sodium or reduced sodium you
still need to check the actual sodium content.  Usually your doctor
recommends that you don't go over 2000 mg. per day.  If you have heart
failure like I do I can not eat even 1000 mg. per day or I have problems
with breathing and swelling.  You also have to be careful to check how
many servings are in the can.  One company may have 600 mg of salt in a
one serving can.  Another may have 2 servings of 400 mg. in a can so you
are really getting 800 mg. of salt and so on.

Processed meats are
also forbidden fruit.  I only have bacon, sausage or lunch meat on
special occasions.  (that includes polish sausage and ham and usually
any frozen fish or chicken - especially the breaded ones) There are also
low sodium brands in some of these but usually they just reduce the
portion size so watch that as well.

PIZZA IS NOT YOUR FRIEND.
Tomato sauce is usually loaded with salt and so are  the usual
toppings.  Even if you top it with veggies most cheese is loaded with
salt.  I find I can eat provolone and parmesean usually.  There are
other low sodium cheeses but they are hard to find.

Salt
substitutes such as NO SALT brand are made from potassium.  You need to
consult your doctor if you have problems with potassium. (and I do, I'm
not allowed to eat it because I have to supplement my diet with so much
potassium anyway)  Too much or too little potassium will kill you fast.

I
have an arsenal of spices in my kitchen.  It still takes time to
develop your taste buds to eat them with no salt though.  I have my own
recipes that I love now but when others taste my food they usually don't
like it.  My taste buds are used to it now.  The bright side is you
actually taste the actual food...not salt.  Right now my favorite spices
are marjoram and thyme but I remember when I started no salt cooking
those didn't help.  Mexican cuisine doesn't seem to need salt.  It used
to be easier for me to eat chili and tacos than anything else - prepared
by me.  You can't use the prepackaged seasonings because they contain
too much salt.  There's always Mrs. Dash but I don't like it.

Sugar
helps. Lemon helps.  Lime works too.  It gives food a "lift" and it
doesn't taste quite so bland.  But use it sparingly.  You can always add
more and it is easy to use too much.  There are many brands of hot
sauce that don't have salt but some are loaded.  Read the lable.  My
favorite is the old standby tabasco brand.  BBQ sauce and catsup are
loaded with salt.  I still have not mastered a good homemade BBQ sauce
with no salt.  You can buy low salt catsup and it's good.  Mustard can
go both ways so check the lable again.

I always forget which has
less salt, mayonaise or salad dressing?  I always look at the lable. The
problem is when they lower the salt then they raise the fat or the
sugar.  You have to decide what you have to trade for.  The same thing
goes for sour cream.  There are plenty of low sodium brands but they
have more fat in them.

Water helps to flush salt from your system
and so does fiber.  Fresh vegetables and fruits are great and even
though some of them have naturally high sodium levels you are still
getting the fiber and vitamins with them.  Eat the peel!  It's good for
you. I have also learned to eat seeds.

I have a store that orders
low sodium tomato juice for me (Red Gold).  I also go out of my way to
do other shopping there since they do that.  Red Gold brand has 25 mg
per serving and there are 6 serving per can.  (I always use tomato paste
with it and there are plenty of low sodium pastes out there)  Regular
tomato juice has 660 mg per serving.  But you have to watch.  Kroger
brand low sodium tomato juice has 125 mg. per. serving so that is 750 mg
per can compared to the Red Gold brand which is 150 mg. per can.  That
is still  better than the 3900 in most regular tomato juice.

There
are versions of low sodium teriyaki that are pretty good.  All low
sodium soy sauce has more salt than low sodium teriyaki by quite a bit
so I just use teriyaki.

Oh and don't forget pepper.  Also cooking
with onions and green peppers helps.  Doing the mirepoix mix works
wonders to add flavor to most meats and stews. Mirepoix is cooking
onions, green peppers and celery in olive oil.  You can add carrots as
well but they sweeten the mix. You can also stir in other spices and it
will enhance their flavor.

If you use garlic use it sparingly at first.  It tastes kind of bitter without salt.

I
like no salt chips.  They taste like potatoes.  But it is an acquired
taste I think.  You don't notice the salt if missing if you have dip but
ALL DIP HAS TOO MUCH SALT. Salsa and tortilla chips is legal anywhere. 
They make low sodium tortilla chips but it is easier to buy taco shells
and break them up.  The store brands usually have ZERO SODIUM.  Taco
bell brand has low sodium shells.  Old El Paso is loaded with salt and
there is another national brand available around here that has salt but
the name escapes me.

I buy mostly hamburger, chicken and pork
chops and pork roasts from the fresh meat section in the store.  I like
egg sandwiches as well.  I love baked meats of just about any kind and I
don't miss the salt in them.

Bread has a lot of salt usually but I
try not to think about it.  I'm not a big bread eater anyway.  Most dry
pasta has zero salt.  Don't add salt to the water when you cook it (or
oil).  I just make sure I keep stirring it every coupld of minutes and
it doesn't stick.  Once you put sauce on it you won't notice the salt is
missing.

Frozen vegetables are generally safe if they don't add a
sauce to them.  But even lean cuisines and other frozen dinners have
too much salt.  Frozen meats are generally high in salt as well. The
funny thing is a whole turkey is not so bad but if you buy a turkey
breast it will be loaded with salt.  There are also low sodium brand
hams out there (Cumberland Farms and Lee are 2 brands that come to mind)
You would be surprised how good low sodium ham tastes.  You taste ham -
not salt.

Sadly when you are starting out with no salt cooking
the rule is if it tastes good you are probably getting too much salt,
but you get used to it with time and it even becomes easy to taste too
much salt in things that other people are loving.  I'm sure there are
more things to say but that's all I can think of for now.

Also stay away from  saurkraut and pickles and peppers in a jar - but cabbage, cucumbers and fresh peppers are fine.

Oh
yeah, if you want nuts go to the baking section of the store and buy
them. You can get walnuts, pecans, almonds and other nuts with no salt
and they are generally cheaper than the ones you find in the snack food
section anyway.