Wow, here's a total holy grail for me. You know those curry "simmer sauces" that go for ridiculous prices in the supermarket? The ones with weird junky preservatives, added sugar and upwards of 400mg of sodium per serving?
Jamie Oliver has got your back. Yup. Homemade curry pastes, FIVE different variations, no weird additives. I'll be replacing the groundnut (peanut) oil with coconut oil, and cutting the salt in half. 1/4 teaspoon of salt has about 600mg of sodium, so if I divide a recipe into 3-4 servings that's less than 200mg per serving.
I assume that, like thai curry paste, these can be mixed into coconut milk to make a simmer sauce. I'll report back when I try it.
Showing posts with label low sodium. Show all posts
Showing posts with label low sodium. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Perfect Pot Roast
Disclaimer time: I don't like pot roast. In fact, I don't like roasted or stewed beef much at all. I like my beef with a fire charred crust and an itty-bitty-bit rare in the middle. We're a BBQ family and that suits me just fine. Winter comes and I'd rather throw a chicken in the oven than fix up some beef.
But, I got to experimenting and I came up with a pretty darn good crockpot pot roast. "Pretty darn good pot roast" is a weak name for a recipe though, so I did a little more tweaking until I made it perfect. Here it is:
2-4 pound grass-fed beef roast, suitable for slow cooking
1 leek (or substitute 1 small onion)
6 carrots
2 medium turnips
3 medium parsnips
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup very low sodium chicken or beef stock (or water)
1 6oz can tomato paste (no salt or sugar added, check label)
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt
Dried mushrooms, 1-2 tablespoons finely chopped (optional)
Split the leek, rinse out any sand and thinly slice. Place in the bottom of your slow cooker. Peel the turnips. If you're using large parsnips (like bigger than your average carrot), then quarter them and cut out the cores. Cut all vegetables into roughly 1/2" chunks. At this point I had about 6 cups of root vegetables.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan. Brown the roast on all sides, if your roast has a fat layer on one side, start with the fat layer, so that some of it renders out into the pan. Take your roast out and place it in the slow cooker on top of the leeks. If you don't have much oil left in the pan, add another tablespoon of olive oil, then dump all the the root vegetables into the sauce pan and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. While the root vegetables are cooking, add to the slow cooker the balsamic vinegar, chicken or beef stock, tomato paste, pepper, oregano, salt and mushrooms. When the root vegetables are done on the stovetop, dump them into the slow cooker.
Cook for 30 minutes on high, and then 5.5-6 hours on low. Take out the pot roast and slice it to serve, alongside the vegetables. If you have leftovers this makes an awesome lunch for the rest of the week, cut the remaining meat into chunks and add it back into the veggies to make a thick stew.
Note about sodium and mushrooms: If you use the smaller amount of salt (1/4 tsp), you should really get your hands on some dried mushrooms. The umami flavor from the dried mushrooms really rounds out the flavor of the dish. Serving size will vary widely by the size of your roast, but with the 2 pound roast I usually get, I estimate it at about 260mg of sodium per serving.
But, I got to experimenting and I came up with a pretty darn good crockpot pot roast. "Pretty darn good pot roast" is a weak name for a recipe though, so I did a little more tweaking until I made it perfect. Here it is:
Perfect Pot Roast
2-4 pound grass-fed beef roast, suitable for slow cooking
1 leek (or substitute 1 small onion)
6 carrots
2 medium turnips
3 medium parsnips
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup very low sodium chicken or beef stock (or water)
1 6oz can tomato paste (no salt or sugar added, check label)
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt
Dried mushrooms, 1-2 tablespoons finely chopped (optional)
Split the leek, rinse out any sand and thinly slice. Place in the bottom of your slow cooker. Peel the turnips. If you're using large parsnips (like bigger than your average carrot), then quarter them and cut out the cores. Cut all vegetables into roughly 1/2" chunks. At this point I had about 6 cups of root vegetables.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan. Brown the roast on all sides, if your roast has a fat layer on one side, start with the fat layer, so that some of it renders out into the pan. Take your roast out and place it in the slow cooker on top of the leeks. If you don't have much oil left in the pan, add another tablespoon of olive oil, then dump all the the root vegetables into the sauce pan and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. While the root vegetables are cooking, add to the slow cooker the balsamic vinegar, chicken or beef stock, tomato paste, pepper, oregano, salt and mushrooms. When the root vegetables are done on the stovetop, dump them into the slow cooker.
Cook for 30 minutes on high, and then 5.5-6 hours on low. Take out the pot roast and slice it to serve, alongside the vegetables. If you have leftovers this makes an awesome lunch for the rest of the week, cut the remaining meat into chunks and add it back into the veggies to make a thick stew.
Note about sodium and mushrooms: If you use the smaller amount of salt (1/4 tsp), you should really get your hands on some dried mushrooms. The umami flavor from the dried mushrooms really rounds out the flavor of the dish. Serving size will vary widely by the size of your roast, but with the 2 pound roast I usually get, I estimate it at about 260mg of sodium per serving.
Monday, January 23, 2012
STOP THE PRESSES!!!
People, I have found nirvana! Breakfast nirvana at least. I stopped by our local indie health food store today and they'd rearranged their freezer section. So I had a peek and right there they had some new frozen products from Sheltons a local company known for good quality (though not pastured) poultry. Without much hope, I turned picked up the turkey breakfast sausage and read the stats... HOLY COW 170mg of sodium??? And no sugars, fillers or other junk in the ingredients? This is too good to be true... normal sausages run 300-350 for a single sausage patty and often have added sugars on top of it. But nope, this is the good stuff, turkey, turkey fat, water, sea salt & spices.
You see, once you start looking around at anything that's processed in any way, you're going to find salt & sugar. Usually together. Some smaller companies are catching on, they realize that people want processed foods with less junk in them. But invariably if they take out the sugar they add in more salt. Or if they take out some of the salt, they add sugar that never needed to be there in the first place. It's like they feel compelled to "amp up" the food for fear no one will eat it unless it fits with hyperprocessed tastes. When in reality, I think there is a genuine demand for honest food. Not oversweet, not oversalted, just plain honest food.
Anyway, cheers to Shelton's... they get it.
And now I have another breakfast option! :-)
You see, once you start looking around at anything that's processed in any way, you're going to find salt & sugar. Usually together. Some smaller companies are catching on, they realize that people want processed foods with less junk in them. But invariably if they take out the sugar they add in more salt. Or if they take out some of the salt, they add sugar that never needed to be there in the first place. It's like they feel compelled to "amp up" the food for fear no one will eat it unless it fits with hyperprocessed tastes. When in reality, I think there is a genuine demand for honest food. Not oversweet, not oversalted, just plain honest food.
Anyway, cheers to Shelton's... they get it.
And now I have another breakfast option! :-)
Friday, January 13, 2012
Assemble & eat
I have two ultra quick "recipes" I want to share. No pictures because this stuff is super fast, throw-together, OMG-IT'S-MEALTIME??? type food. But both are pretty awesome.
Serves 1, double or triple as needed
1 can tuna (I use a no salt added variety)
1/2 a red bell pepper
2 small or 1 large cucumber
1 tbsp finely chopped onions of some sort (green onions or red onions are the best)
Any bits of random veggies you have sitting around in your fridge that are good raw (celery, cauliflower, etc), finely chopped (optional)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Salt & pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
Cut red pepper and cucumber into chunks. Drain the tuna and dump over the veggies. Throw in the onion and any other veggies. Pour on the balsamic vinegar, and season with salt & pepper (I just use pepper). Toss. Do this before the olive oil so the vinegar gets evenly distributed. Pour on the olive oil & toss again. Chow down.
Serves 1
1 ripe banana
2 tbsp coconut milk
1/3 cup fresh berries
1-2 tsp unsweetened dried coconut (optional)
Break banana into chunks in a bowl. Mash with fork. Add coconut milk & mash some more. Throw in the berries and coconut, mix up and enjoy.
Tuna Salad
Serves 1, double or triple as needed
1 can tuna (I use a no salt added variety)
1/2 a red bell pepper
2 small or 1 large cucumber
1 tbsp finely chopped onions of some sort (green onions or red onions are the best)
Any bits of random veggies you have sitting around in your fridge that are good raw (celery, cauliflower, etc), finely chopped (optional)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Salt & pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
Cut red pepper and cucumber into chunks. Drain the tuna and dump over the veggies. Throw in the onion and any other veggies. Pour on the balsamic vinegar, and season with salt & pepper (I just use pepper). Toss. Do this before the olive oil so the vinegar gets evenly distributed. Pour on the olive oil & toss again. Chow down.
Coconut Ambrosia
Serves 1
1 ripe banana
2 tbsp coconut milk
1/3 cup fresh berries
1-2 tsp unsweetened dried coconut (optional)
Break banana into chunks in a bowl. Mash with fork. Add coconut milk & mash some more. Throw in the berries and coconut, mix up and enjoy.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Salt & food reward
As I've mentioned before, since I've dropped much of the salt in my diet, I have been looking to a lot of paleo type cooking blogs & recipe books because they often (not always) are much more adaptable to low sodium cooking than more typical American fare. I'm not a die hard by any means... I've been finding that it's easier to stick with eating real natural foods if I have a balance of starches & protein. Extremism doesn't work for me, never has.
Through that route, I've come across the blog of a gentleman named Stephan Guyenet and his series on the issue of 'food reward'. His thinking is somewhat similar to David Kessler's in The End of Overeating, a book which I found fascinating if a little flawed. The more experience I have with a radically reduced sodium intake, the more I think that these guys are onto something with their characterization of American industrial food as hyperstimulating. Kessler calls out salt more explicitly than Guyenet (though I may be wrong, as I've only gotten about halfway through Guyenet's series), but I think it's a huge factor.
You see, I've always been a fairly healthy person with a bit of a compulsive eating problem. I eat (and cook) for entertainment and sometimes to soothe my emotions. I sometimes have days where I really feel COMPELLED to eat a ton of stuff that I know isn't very good for me, and often I don't even find it very enjoyable, but I keep doing it. It's never risen to the level of an eating disorder, I'll go out on a limb and hazard a guess that LOTS of Americans eat that way some of the time. For me, it's not been too damaging to my health, when I've been inactive or injured I sometimes get moderately overweight, but otherwise if I eat well and am active things are generally pretty good.
And then this Meniere's thing hit. If I prepare my own food from scratch, I keep my sodium levels low (800-1200mg) and generally avoid vertigo attacks. If I eat out in restaurants, like on our recent vacation, no matter how I try to keep my sodium down it creeps in. And, not surprisingly, I get an attack. So I've been pretty good about keeping my sodium levels low for several months now. The thing is, I sometimes still binge eat. I guide it a little bit now, I'll go for ice cream (which is low sodium) over a bag of pretzels (which are high sodium), but it's been a hard thing for me to completely stop. However, I've been using a nutrition app to track my food and I've noticed one really important change since I've dropped my sodium intake... when I do binge, I binge on far less food than I used to. I feel grossed out, bloated and done with eating after eating maybe 1/4-1/3 of the food that used to constitute a binge.
My theory is that with less salt in my diet the food reward response has begun to be blunted. Kessler theorizes that the trinity of hyperstimulating ingredients is fat, sugar & salt. The only thing that's been a solid consistent change for me is that I've cut the salt.
I'm in the planning stages for a bit of an experiment this fall about what happens if I eat a really REALLY bland & repetitive diet. Not unpleasant. Just bland. I'm curious to know if it would make a major adjustment in my susceptibility to hyperpalatable industrial foods.
*** And for the record, eating very low carb makes the binge eating worse rather than better, so it's not simply an insulin thing. That is generally why I avoid extremes in terms of low carb, low fat or low protein because eating a diet that's relatively balanced with plenty of fruits & veggies seems to be the best thing for preventing binges.
Through that route, I've come across the blog of a gentleman named Stephan Guyenet and his series on the issue of 'food reward'. His thinking is somewhat similar to David Kessler's in The End of Overeating, a book which I found fascinating if a little flawed. The more experience I have with a radically reduced sodium intake, the more I think that these guys are onto something with their characterization of American industrial food as hyperstimulating. Kessler calls out salt more explicitly than Guyenet (though I may be wrong, as I've only gotten about halfway through Guyenet's series), but I think it's a huge factor.
You see, I've always been a fairly healthy person with a bit of a compulsive eating problem. I eat (and cook) for entertainment and sometimes to soothe my emotions. I sometimes have days where I really feel COMPELLED to eat a ton of stuff that I know isn't very good for me, and often I don't even find it very enjoyable, but I keep doing it. It's never risen to the level of an eating disorder, I'll go out on a limb and hazard a guess that LOTS of Americans eat that way some of the time. For me, it's not been too damaging to my health, when I've been inactive or injured I sometimes get moderately overweight, but otherwise if I eat well and am active things are generally pretty good.
And then this Meniere's thing hit. If I prepare my own food from scratch, I keep my sodium levels low (800-1200mg) and generally avoid vertigo attacks. If I eat out in restaurants, like on our recent vacation, no matter how I try to keep my sodium down it creeps in. And, not surprisingly, I get an attack. So I've been pretty good about keeping my sodium levels low for several months now. The thing is, I sometimes still binge eat. I guide it a little bit now, I'll go for ice cream (which is low sodium) over a bag of pretzels (which are high sodium), but it's been a hard thing for me to completely stop. However, I've been using a nutrition app to track my food and I've noticed one really important change since I've dropped my sodium intake... when I do binge, I binge on far less food than I used to. I feel grossed out, bloated and done with eating after eating maybe 1/4-1/3 of the food that used to constitute a binge.
My theory is that with less salt in my diet the food reward response has begun to be blunted. Kessler theorizes that the trinity of hyperstimulating ingredients is fat, sugar & salt. The only thing that's been a solid consistent change for me is that I've cut the salt.
I'm in the planning stages for a bit of an experiment this fall about what happens if I eat a really REALLY bland & repetitive diet. Not unpleasant. Just bland. I'm curious to know if it would make a major adjustment in my susceptibility to hyperpalatable industrial foods.
*** And for the record, eating very low carb makes the binge eating worse rather than better, so it's not simply an insulin thing. That is generally why I avoid extremes in terms of low carb, low fat or low protein because eating a diet that's relatively balanced with plenty of fruits & veggies seems to be the best thing for preventing binges.
Friday, July 22, 2011
A note about sodium
This is just a sticky note for my profile.
I've been submitting some recipes lately to paleo/primal-ish sites like Chowstalker. If that's where you came from you may be wondering "What's up with all the sodium counts?" There's a lot of debate lately about how "heart healthy" reduced sodium diets really are, and whether reducing salt actually affects blood pressure on a population level. Some paleo/primal folks recommend moderation in salt intake, while others fully reject the "conventional wisdom" about reduced sodium diets.
My reasons for restricting sodium sidestep that entire debate. I have an inner ear condition that causes intermittent severe vertigo attacks. My doctor and I are currently operating under the assumption that I have Meniere's disease, however I haven't fully completed the testing for that (it is expensive and not urgent). A low sodium diet is recommended for Meniere's sufferers to reduce the amount of fluids in the inner ear. For me, it has reduced the frequency and severity of the vertigo attacks. It seems to have done nothing for the other symptoms, but I can live with those.
This blog exists largely to share how I cook. And I cook low sodium now. If that works for you great, it's been helpful to share recipes with some of my friends who have similar issues. If it doesn't work for you, feel free to add additional salt to my recipes. I won't be sad... personally, I really do love salty food, so I know where you're coming from.
I will go out on a limb here and say that if you're interested in eating from a evolutionary perspective, you should at least think about your sodium intake. NHANES data indicates that the American adults consume on average 3,466mg of sodium per day. That is similar to some of the highest sodium traditional diets in the world (Japan & Korea), while it's likely that paleolithic people consumed in the range of 600-1200mg of sodium. The largest category of foods contributing to the high intake in America is actually grain foods; breads and baked goods are highly salted, and cutting them out of your diet can cut sodium considerably. However, if you're eating a lot of bacon & sausage or salting your food to suit the modern American palate, you're probably still consuming a lot. Before you decry the "conventional wisdom" on salt, think a little bit about whether you're actually consuming a level of sodium only accessible to neolithic man. Cavemen didn't have collectible salt shakers or bottles of fish sauce and they didn't crust their meat in a salt rub before throwing it on the grill.
I've been submitting some recipes lately to paleo/primal-ish sites like Chowstalker. If that's where you came from you may be wondering "What's up with all the sodium counts?" There's a lot of debate lately about how "heart healthy" reduced sodium diets really are, and whether reducing salt actually affects blood pressure on a population level. Some paleo/primal folks recommend moderation in salt intake, while others fully reject the "conventional wisdom" about reduced sodium diets.
My reasons for restricting sodium sidestep that entire debate. I have an inner ear condition that causes intermittent severe vertigo attacks. My doctor and I are currently operating under the assumption that I have Meniere's disease, however I haven't fully completed the testing for that (it is expensive and not urgent). A low sodium diet is recommended for Meniere's sufferers to reduce the amount of fluids in the inner ear. For me, it has reduced the frequency and severity of the vertigo attacks. It seems to have done nothing for the other symptoms, but I can live with those.
This blog exists largely to share how I cook. And I cook low sodium now. If that works for you great, it's been helpful to share recipes with some of my friends who have similar issues. If it doesn't work for you, feel free to add additional salt to my recipes. I won't be sad... personally, I really do love salty food, so I know where you're coming from.
I will go out on a limb here and say that if you're interested in eating from a evolutionary perspective, you should at least think about your sodium intake. NHANES data indicates that the American adults consume on average 3,466mg of sodium per day. That is similar to some of the highest sodium traditional diets in the world (Japan & Korea), while it's likely that paleolithic people consumed in the range of 600-1200mg of sodium. The largest category of foods contributing to the high intake in America is actually grain foods; breads and baked goods are highly salted, and cutting them out of your diet can cut sodium considerably. However, if you're eating a lot of bacon & sausage or salting your food to suit the modern American palate, you're probably still consuming a lot. Before you decry the "conventional wisdom" on salt, think a little bit about whether you're actually consuming a level of sodium only accessible to neolithic man. Cavemen didn't have collectible salt shakers or bottles of fish sauce and they didn't crust their meat in a salt rub before throwing it on the grill.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Cucumber Soup
We are overrun with cucumbers!
Not really, of course. Our cucumber plant is producing about 2-3 a week, which is approximately 1-2 cucumbers more than we usually eat in a week. So I've been trying to figure out how to use the extras. Today's recipe is a super easy chilled cucumber soup for one. I made it in 5 minutes this morning and it's a nice fresh complement to a lunchtime salad.
Cucumber Soup
1 cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks
2-3 sprigs parsley
1 tsp lemon juice
A pinch of dried dill
1/2 cup full fat greek yogurt
Throw the cucumber chunks & parsley into your food processor and process until they are the consistency of a smooth salsa. Add the other ingredients and pulse to blend them in. Chill until lunch. Enjoy.
50 measly mg of sodium. Plenty of cool deliciousness.
Not really, of course. Our cucumber plant is producing about 2-3 a week, which is approximately 1-2 cucumbers more than we usually eat in a week. So I've been trying to figure out how to use the extras. Today's recipe is a super easy chilled cucumber soup for one. I made it in 5 minutes this morning and it's a nice fresh complement to a lunchtime salad.
Cucumber Soup
1 cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks
2-3 sprigs parsley
1 tsp lemon juice
A pinch of dried dill
1/2 cup full fat greek yogurt
Throw the cucumber chunks & parsley into your food processor and process until they are the consistency of a smooth salsa. Add the other ingredients and pulse to blend them in. Chill until lunch. Enjoy.
50 measly mg of sodium. Plenty of cool deliciousness.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Let's talk salt...
So as anyone who's read this blog knows, I'm currently following a greatly reduced salt diet due to (probable) Meniere's disease. My sweet spot for salt intake seems to be somewhere in the 1200-1500mg range. This is fairly low. It's not unusual for someone eating the standard American diet to be well over 3000mg.
With that background, I give you a phenomenal interview on salt from Scientific American. Mr. Moyer is actually a old friend of my husband and I've been an admirer of Ms. Nestle's work for years. They're both fabulous. Go read it! I have a ton of thoughts.
1. It's the food supply, stupid. Notice how much Ms. Nestle refers to the salt that's added to processed & restaurant foods? That's important. In order to really reduce your salt intake to low levels you either must prepare your own food from scratch or be exceptionally careful of food prepared for you by others.
2. She makes excellent points about how challenging it is for processed food producers and restaurant chefs to reduce the amount of sodium they use in food. Once our taste buds are accustomed to all that excess salt, we have a very hard time adjusting downwards. For me, it really took a health crisis to do it; and it has not been easy. Without some kind of commitment on the part of food suppliers to reduce salt, we go into an upward spiral. Since food with just a little more salt tastes more appealing and there is no commercial downside to adding more salt, food processors add just a little more and just a little more and just a little more. And our palates slowly adjust to expect more and more salt. It's not clear to me that there is ANY biological top limit whatsoever to this palate creep.
3. When it comes to so-called "nanny state" regulations, I think sodium in restaurant food is a different beast from regulations on other dietary factors. As Ms. Nestle points out, a diner can always add more salt at the table. However, a diner can not remove salt once it's been added. Sodium is added to most restaurant foods way up the supply chain, you can't just ask the chef to leave the salt off and expect to enjoy a low sodium dinner. Reduce the sodium in the supply chain and put the power in the hands of the chef, which gives restaurant diners more options.
4. I wish I was part of the population who's blood pressure doesn't adjust in response to changes in sodium intake. I started out with blood pressure on the low side of normal, now I have real issues with postural hypotension. I don't think I could sustain the kind of super low sodium diet needed for people with renal insufficiency like Sodium Girl. The dizzies aren't much fun when you're chasing after a 3 year old. Better than a vertigo attack, by a long shot, but still.
For me personally, this all goes back to the fundamentals. I buy real, unprocessed food and cook it for my family. If I do that most of the time, it really doesn't take much effort to eat a lower sodium diet. But once I choose to join my friends at a nice restaurant for dinner, I step into a minefield. One that I don't always negotiate all that well.
With that background, I give you a phenomenal interview on salt from Scientific American. Mr. Moyer is actually a old friend of my husband and I've been an admirer of Ms. Nestle's work for years. They're both fabulous. Go read it! I have a ton of thoughts.
1. It's the food supply, stupid. Notice how much Ms. Nestle refers to the salt that's added to processed & restaurant foods? That's important. In order to really reduce your salt intake to low levels you either must prepare your own food from scratch or be exceptionally careful of food prepared for you by others.
2. She makes excellent points about how challenging it is for processed food producers and restaurant chefs to reduce the amount of sodium they use in food. Once our taste buds are accustomed to all that excess salt, we have a very hard time adjusting downwards. For me, it really took a health crisis to do it; and it has not been easy. Without some kind of commitment on the part of food suppliers to reduce salt, we go into an upward spiral. Since food with just a little more salt tastes more appealing and there is no commercial downside to adding more salt, food processors add just a little more and just a little more and just a little more. And our palates slowly adjust to expect more and more salt. It's not clear to me that there is ANY biological top limit whatsoever to this palate creep.
3. When it comes to so-called "nanny state" regulations, I think sodium in restaurant food is a different beast from regulations on other dietary factors. As Ms. Nestle points out, a diner can always add more salt at the table. However, a diner can not remove salt once it's been added. Sodium is added to most restaurant foods way up the supply chain, you can't just ask the chef to leave the salt off and expect to enjoy a low sodium dinner. Reduce the sodium in the supply chain and put the power in the hands of the chef, which gives restaurant diners more options.
4. I wish I was part of the population who's blood pressure doesn't adjust in response to changes in sodium intake. I started out with blood pressure on the low side of normal, now I have real issues with postural hypotension. I don't think I could sustain the kind of super low sodium diet needed for people with renal insufficiency like Sodium Girl. The dizzies aren't much fun when you're chasing after a 3 year old. Better than a vertigo attack, by a long shot, but still.
For me personally, this all goes back to the fundamentals. I buy real, unprocessed food and cook it for my family. If I do that most of the time, it really doesn't take much effort to eat a lower sodium diet. But once I choose to join my friends at a nice restaurant for dinner, I step into a minefield. One that I don't always negotiate all that well.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Leeks & Chicken
Isn't this a lovely leek? Leeks are one of those vegetables that's awesome to grow in a home garden. They're expensive in the grocery store and when you grow them at home, you realize why. They don't actually require a lot of work, they just require time and patience... things in short supply on commercial farms. I think we started these leeks back in January, and only now are we getting some ready to harvest. However, with a little care, they are BEAUTIFUL. Clean, white, fresh and sweet.
Today I did something really simple with our leeks, a luscious dinner that took only 5 main ingredients and a sprinkle of whatever herbs you happen to have on hand.
Slow cooker leeks & chicken
2 Leeks, rinsed and thinly sliced
1 Chicken cut into parts, skin removed
1/2 Cup chicken stock
8 oz Fresh mushrooms, sliced
Butter or your cooking fat of choice
Fill the bottom of your slow cooker with the sliced leeks and add a pinch of whatever dried herbs you happen to have handy (I used sage & dill). Don't use a whole lot of herbs, you don't want to overwhelm the dish. Put the chicken parts over the top of the leeks and pour in the chicken stock. Cook for 1 hour on the high setting and then 4-5 hours on low.
When the chicken is done cooking, saute the mushrooms in the butter, until they are soft. Take the chicken out of the slow cooker and set aside. Pour all the leeks & cooking liquid from the slow cooker, into the saucepan with the mushrooms. Cook down until the leeks are falling apart and the sauce is starting to thicken. Serve the mushroom leek sauce over the chicken.
Today I did something really simple with our leeks, a luscious dinner that took only 5 main ingredients and a sprinkle of whatever herbs you happen to have on hand.
Slow cooker leeks & chicken
2 Leeks, rinsed and thinly sliced
1 Chicken cut into parts, skin removed
1/2 Cup chicken stock
8 oz Fresh mushrooms, sliced
Butter or your cooking fat of choice
Fill the bottom of your slow cooker with the sliced leeks and add a pinch of whatever dried herbs you happen to have handy (I used sage & dill). Don't use a whole lot of herbs, you don't want to overwhelm the dish. Put the chicken parts over the top of the leeks and pour in the chicken stock. Cook for 1 hour on the high setting and then 4-5 hours on low.
When the chicken is done cooking, saute the mushrooms in the butter, until they are soft. Take the chicken out of the slow cooker and set aside. Pour all the leeks & cooking liquid from the slow cooker, into the saucepan with the mushrooms. Cook down until the leeks are falling apart and the sauce is starting to thicken. Serve the mushroom leek sauce over the chicken.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Low sodium in Vegas
Sorry I've been lagging a bit on updates, we've been very busy. A couple weekends ago we were in Vegas for a friend's wedding, and after that I got very sick with my usual Vegas ick. Damn smokers. (OK, it may have been half secondhand cigarette smoke and half my epic cocktail intake, but I'm blaming it on the ciggys.) I thought I'd do a brief write up on how I managed to stay with a reasonably low-ish sodium diet while in Sin City.
Breakfast: I packed a bag of low sodium granola. When I got my morning coffee, I picked up a small glass of milk and used about 1/2 cup with my granola. <100mg. This was my secret... if you start out your day SUPER low, you have a lot more leeway.
Lunch: Every day I had a large vegetable salad with some chicken or salmon. I asked the server to leave off any glazes or sauces, anysalad ingredients that I thought might have come from a food service can (beans, corn, water chestnuts) and all nuts (in case they were salted). Either a very small amount of dressing on the side, or liberal amounts of olive oil & balsalmic vinegar. The sodium level probably varied a lot based on the type of meat and whether it was brined or marinated, but I'm guessing the salads generally clocked in <300mg, or not much more.
Snacks: I packed my own, homemade ZERO sodium trail mix. Beyond that I did not snack at all. While I was drinking, I avoided sugary mixers and super sweet cocktails that would make me more prone to snack on other people's munchies & appetizers. I stuck to rum & diet coke and gin & tonics. Not harmless, but at least reasonably low sodium.
Dinner: Coming into dinner time, I was probably <500mg, counting breakfast, lunch and cocktail mixers. So for dinner, I ate what I wanted, just intentionally avoiding obvious sodium bombs like soy based sauces or items described as "salt crusted". If I even went up to 1000mg for dinner, I still was at a reasonable level overall.
Breakfast: I packed a bag of low sodium granola. When I got my morning coffee, I picked up a small glass of milk and used about 1/2 cup with my granola. <100mg. This was my secret... if you start out your day SUPER low, you have a lot more leeway.
Lunch: Every day I had a large vegetable salad with some chicken or salmon. I asked the server to leave off any glazes or sauces, anysalad ingredients that I thought might have come from a food service can (beans, corn, water chestnuts) and all nuts (in case they were salted). Either a very small amount of dressing on the side, or liberal amounts of olive oil & balsalmic vinegar. The sodium level probably varied a lot based on the type of meat and whether it was brined or marinated, but I'm guessing the salads generally clocked in <300mg, or not much more.
Snacks: I packed my own, homemade ZERO sodium trail mix. Beyond that I did not snack at all. While I was drinking, I avoided sugary mixers and super sweet cocktails that would make me more prone to snack on other people's munchies & appetizers. I stuck to rum & diet coke and gin & tonics. Not harmless, but at least reasonably low sodium.
Dinner: Coming into dinner time, I was probably <500mg, counting breakfast, lunch and cocktail mixers. So for dinner, I ate what I wanted, just intentionally avoiding obvious sodium bombs like soy based sauces or items described as "salt crusted". If I even went up to 1000mg for dinner, I still was at a reasonable level overall.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Low sodium product review: Vital Choice canned salmon
I have made no bones about my love for salmon cakes. At this point I've done 4 or 5 variations on that basic recipe, it's a weeknight staple. My husband loves it, my kiddo loves it, and it's made with handy, dandy shelf stable canned salmon. Which makes it a great fallback when I can't get to the grocery store.
But wait... canned salmon? Isn't there a lot of sodium in canned salmon? Yes, yes there is, 306mg of sodium for a 3oz serving. Not good. However, there is an alternative. Vital Choice offers no salt added "traditional pack" canned sockeye salmon, with a mere 64mg of sodium for a 3oz serving. (Their serving size is a bit odd, so I did the math for you. Their standard "traditional pack" salmon is comparable to the nutritiondata numbers.)
But here's the key: how does it taste? It tastes EXACTLY like the full sodium version. Last year, I ordered a box of their standard variety to keep in our pantry, and the Vital Choice was clearly a taste winner over the canned wild salmon at our local grocery store. The no salt added variety shares that same rich, fatty sockeye flavor... which beats the pants off of farmed atlantic salmon (even fresh farmed salmon). And in every other way, it tastes absolutely identical to the full sodium variety.
If you order a 24 can pack you get free shipping, which makes the cost is equal to the price at my local grocery store. Full flavor, low sodium and the same price? No brainer!
But wait... canned salmon? Isn't there a lot of sodium in canned salmon? Yes, yes there is, 306mg of sodium for a 3oz serving. Not good. However, there is an alternative. Vital Choice offers no salt added "traditional pack" canned sockeye salmon, with a mere 64mg of sodium for a 3oz serving. (Their serving size is a bit odd, so I did the math for you. Their standard "traditional pack" salmon is comparable to the nutritiondata numbers.)
But here's the key: how does it taste? It tastes EXACTLY like the full sodium version. Last year, I ordered a box of their standard variety to keep in our pantry, and the Vital Choice was clearly a taste winner over the canned wild salmon at our local grocery store. The no salt added variety shares that same rich, fatty sockeye flavor... which beats the pants off of farmed atlantic salmon (even fresh farmed salmon). And in every other way, it tastes absolutely identical to the full sodium variety.
If you order a 24 can pack you get free shipping, which makes the cost is equal to the price at my local grocery store. Full flavor, low sodium and the same price? No brainer!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Low sodium bento
I've been doing lunch bento boxes for maybe 6-8 months now. Not all the time, and they're not always photo-worthy. But this week's quasi-Italian bento turned out fairly well.
Included:
Red pepper & smoked zucchini salad: 10-20mg sodium
Low sodium meatballs: 100mg
Fresh mozzarella (2oz): 90mg
Low sodium pasta sauce: 15mg
No recipes yet, the meatballs are going to need quite a bit of tweaking before I'm satisfied with them. I used to use the South Beach greek meatballs recipe (as illustrated by Kalyn's Kitchen), but of course, that quantity of feta is out of the question these days.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Early easter lamb
Inspired by the lovely greek style infused olive oil I made yesterday, I decided on a whim to make my first attempt at cooking lamb. It's one meat that I've actually never eaten, but I know it's traditional for greek cooking, and they had it at a halfway decent price. Remarkably, it came out very good, even though it's also the first time I've roasted meat without a salt rub. Here's a rough recipe.
Greek lamb with cherry sauce
1 pound lamb shoulder fillets
2 tablespoons lemon oregano infused olive oil
A handful dried oregano
Pepper
1/8 cup dried cherries
2 ice cubes of real chicken broth (maybe 1/4 cup?)
Balsalmic vinegar
Rub the lamb liberally with infused olive oil. Sprinkle freshly crushed oregano on both sides and then lightly sprinkle with pepper. Let sit for 1 hour. Soak cherries in about 1/4 of hot water.
Heat the oven to 350. Rub a cast iron pan with a light coating of olive oil. Pop it in the oven for 30 minutes. (I roasted some potatoes at the same time.) When the lamb seems done, remove from pan and allow to sit for 8-10 minutes before slicing. In the meantime, put the cast iron pan on the stove, add the broth, cherries and soaking liquid. Bring to a simmer and add a few glugs of balsalmic vinegar. Cook down to a thick sauce and serve over slices of lamb.
If you use low sodium chicken broth (I make my own from chicken bones), a 3oz portion of the lamb with 1/4 of the sauce should come out to about 85mg of sodium.
I'd show you a picture, but we sort of ate it all! ;-)
Greek lamb with cherry sauce
1 pound lamb shoulder fillets
2 tablespoons lemon oregano infused olive oil
A handful dried oregano
Pepper
1/8 cup dried cherries
2 ice cubes of real chicken broth (maybe 1/4 cup?)
Balsalmic vinegar
Rub the lamb liberally with infused olive oil. Sprinkle freshly crushed oregano on both sides and then lightly sprinkle with pepper. Let sit for 1 hour. Soak cherries in about 1/4 of hot water.
Heat the oven to 350. Rub a cast iron pan with a light coating of olive oil. Pop it in the oven for 30 minutes. (I roasted some potatoes at the same time.) When the lamb seems done, remove from pan and allow to sit for 8-10 minutes before slicing. In the meantime, put the cast iron pan on the stove, add the broth, cherries and soaking liquid. Bring to a simmer and add a few glugs of balsalmic vinegar. Cook down to a thick sauce and serve over slices of lamb.
If you use low sodium chicken broth (I make my own from chicken bones), a 3oz portion of the lamb with 1/4 of the sauce should come out to about 85mg of sodium.
I'd show you a picture, but we sort of ate it all! ;-)
Thursday, April 14, 2011
The wonderful world of sodium
1/2 cup of our standard issue bottled pasta sauce = 410g of sodium.
1/2 cup of very low sodium pasta sauce + 1oz of creamy goat cheese = 165g of sodium.
I'll let you guess which one is tastier.
1/2 cup of very low sodium pasta sauce + 1oz of creamy goat cheese = 165g of sodium.
I'll let you guess which one is tastier.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Sodium and a nice new garden...
I've slowly been working my way through figuring out how much sodium is in things. Wow. This has not been easy for me, and there have been some big surprises. White bread (and related products like bagels) have a surprisingly large amount of sodium. You would think potato chips have a lot of sodium right? Well they do. But a one ounce serving of pretzels has DOUBLE the sodium of a one ounce serving of potato chips! (And who eats an ounce of either? I try, but fail!) I thought I knew a decent amount about food, but some of these numbers are really astonishing to me. Sodium has always just whizzed by under my radar.
It's really interesting too that I had the first of the severe vertigo attacks a few months after having my son when I had no energy to fix food. We were living on cold cuts, sausages, snack food and take-out salads & rotisserie chicken. Crazy huge amounts of sodium. But since I've always had low blood pressure, I never worried one whit about it until now.
A few of the basic changes I'm contemplating. I need to do this a little at a time and really make it STICK.
1. Far less bread. White bread is worse, but even the whole wheat bread packs a pretty major sodium punch. I should probably just get in the habit of cutting it out completely.
2. I need to switch my snacking to nuts and fruit, rather than salty snacks. One serving of something salty isn't bad, but I tend to overeat salty things and 2-3 servings can pack in a LOT of sodium.
3. Beans will now be prepared from dry, rather than canned. It's not too hard to do, I'm often just lazy about it. That needs to change. Especially in the summertime when we eat a lot of bean salads with our BBQ.
4. Meats... I'm going to need some help from my husband on this one, but I think I may be able to really cut back the sodium in the meats I eat. First, I found some well reviewed salt-free sausage seasoning mixes, and I'm going to use some ground meat to make a bulk sausage substitute for breakfasts & pasta sauces. Hmmm... I wonder if I can call my local meat market and have them grind me some good pork? They're usually super accomidating. Secondly, my husband just got a wonderful new smoker and he's been doing a lot of grilling. If I can work with him on a salt-free or low salt rub, then he can smoke me some meats and I can slice it up to make my own cold cuts, rather than the ultra processed ones from the market.
Things that will not change: Cheese. I'm sorry, but I just can't do it. I'd rather just eat a small amount of good cheese every day than give up cheese or search out low sodium varieties. Cheese is awesome.
In much, much happier news... a friend of mine wants me to help her start a food garden! She has a self-professed "brown thumb," but her 3 year old daughter has been asking about planting some vegetables. She was admiring our raised beds this weekend, and I offered to help her start a small garden that she could actually manage. I need to sit down with her and talk prices, but I'm thinking either self watering planters, or tapping a drip system into her existing lawn irrigation. Then we were talking about planting at least carrots & zucchini (both family favorites) as well as maybe some cherry tomatoes. Her daughter won't eat tomatoes, but mama loves them and we both think the little one might be more interested in trying ones from her own personal garden. I'm super excited to help them get started!
It's really interesting too that I had the first of the severe vertigo attacks a few months after having my son when I had no energy to fix food. We were living on cold cuts, sausages, snack food and take-out salads & rotisserie chicken. Crazy huge amounts of sodium. But since I've always had low blood pressure, I never worried one whit about it until now.
A few of the basic changes I'm contemplating. I need to do this a little at a time and really make it STICK.
1. Far less bread. White bread is worse, but even the whole wheat bread packs a pretty major sodium punch. I should probably just get in the habit of cutting it out completely.
2. I need to switch my snacking to nuts and fruit, rather than salty snacks. One serving of something salty isn't bad, but I tend to overeat salty things and 2-3 servings can pack in a LOT of sodium.
3. Beans will now be prepared from dry, rather than canned. It's not too hard to do, I'm often just lazy about it. That needs to change. Especially in the summertime when we eat a lot of bean salads with our BBQ.
4. Meats... I'm going to need some help from my husband on this one, but I think I may be able to really cut back the sodium in the meats I eat. First, I found some well reviewed salt-free sausage seasoning mixes, and I'm going to use some ground meat to make a bulk sausage substitute for breakfasts & pasta sauces. Hmmm... I wonder if I can call my local meat market and have them grind me some good pork? They're usually super accomidating. Secondly, my husband just got a wonderful new smoker and he's been doing a lot of grilling. If I can work with him on a salt-free or low salt rub, then he can smoke me some meats and I can slice it up to make my own cold cuts, rather than the ultra processed ones from the market.
Things that will not change: Cheese. I'm sorry, but I just can't do it. I'd rather just eat a small amount of good cheese every day than give up cheese or search out low sodium varieties. Cheese is awesome.
In much, much happier news... a friend of mine wants me to help her start a food garden! She has a self-professed "brown thumb," but her 3 year old daughter has been asking about planting some vegetables. She was admiring our raised beds this weekend, and I offered to help her start a small garden that she could actually manage. I need to sit down with her and talk prices, but I'm thinking either self watering planters, or tapping a drip system into her existing lawn irrigation. Then we were talking about planting at least carrots & zucchini (both family favorites) as well as maybe some cherry tomatoes. Her daughter won't eat tomatoes, but mama loves them and we both think the little one might be more interested in trying ones from her own personal garden. I'm super excited to help them get started!
Friday, March 25, 2011
Spring salmon cakes with snow peas
Don't these salmon cakes look yummy? It's an adaptation of the salmon cake recipe I've used before, replacing the red bell pepper with minced parsley & chives, and using a wee bit of mustard for extra flavor.
The dressing is a garlicky buttermilk dressing, that I came up with mixing and matching recipes. It is a little thin, but full of flavor and with no weird ingredients.
Garlicky Buttermilk Dressing
1/2 cup cultured buttermilk
1/2 cup full fat greek yogurt
1 large or 2 small cloves of garlic minced
1/8-1/4 cup minced herbs (whatever you've got)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
Blend thoroughly and enjoy.
The dressing is a garlicky buttermilk dressing, that I came up with mixing and matching recipes. It is a little thin, but full of flavor and with no weird ingredients.
Garlicky Buttermilk Dressing
1/2 cup cultured buttermilk
1/2 cup full fat greek yogurt
1 large or 2 small cloves of garlic minced
1/8-1/4 cup minced herbs (whatever you've got)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
Blend thoroughly and enjoy.
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