Sodium

I feel like I am taking in too much sodium. Not from things like frozen meals (I rarely ever eat those). When I make things like chicken and ground beef, its the spices and marinades and salad dressings and sauces! So many of these things are so high in sodium! For example, I'll make a taco salad with lean ground beef, low fat cheese and lots of veggies. But then you have the salsa and taco seasoning which is high in sodium. Or I'll make grilled chicken with whole wheat pasta but the tomato sauce is high in sodium.

How can I have flavorful meals while also limiting my sodium intake? Any suggestions?

Re: Sodium

we can't really control the store bought stuff, so i would reduce/elimate salt while cooking..
boil pasta in plain water (sacreligious, I know, but I do it)
cook meats w/o salt if I'm add sauces/dressings.
add more citrus to salads, and slight pinch of salt to round it out..

little cuts here and there add up..

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I would try to make more things from scratch. If you make pasta, make a batch of simple marinara with low sodium/no salt added canned tomatoes, add fresh basil, your own spices, onion, garlic. I think it's a lot lower in sodium than jarred, and it tastes better to me. It stays well, freezes well.

I try to make my own homemade soups versus buying canned when I can. It's easy... I do use canned broth or stock, but lower sodium varieties.

I think you could even make your own taco seasoning by using spices (cumin, chili powder, etc.)... I am sure there are recipes online, instead of using the prepackaged. That way you control the salt.

I also like making my own salad dressings when I can... I saw someting on the WW site about a bunch of homemade salad dressings you can whip up, and they looked really good.

It is a bit more time consuming, but if you can make batches of things and store them in the fridge, freezer, airtight containers, etc. - the time investment is really a one time thing and then the homemade items can be just as convenient to use.

I try to keep a well stocked pantry with spices, flavored oils and vinegars, etc. to dress up foods without a lot of extra sodium.

Re: Sodium

I buy the 40% low sodium taco seasoning by Old El Paso.

For seasoning packets I use no sodium (chicken & beef). Pic is huge-it's by Herb ox.

For sauce, make your own. I buy low sodium paste, low sodium canned tomatoes, etc. Much healthier. Even if you have jarred sauce once in a while, it's not that bad.

All boxed/canned items have sooo much salt. I could eat them all but I know it's so bad for you. Go through the aisle with the rice packets or Chef Boyardee. You will die with the amount that is in there and most of them are more than one serving so you have to double the amount listed!

Watch with the canned soups. They are all very high in salt. I use the boxed noodle soups but make it with 5 cups of water instead of 4 since the sodium is so high.

Message edited 1/24/2013 12:40:53 PM.

Sodium

Thanks!! I will have to start making my own stuff if thats the case. More time consuming, definitely but I'll see what I can do!!

Anyone have any recos for salad dressings? Or what I can put in my own?

Sodium

I also noticed that wraps have so much sodium!! I like Chi Chi's WW wraps but there are 500mg of sodium in one!

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Sodium

I just wanted to thank everyone for the suggestions! I made my own salad dressing today and it came out great!!

I found a lower sodium mariana sauce at trader joe's. Once I have the time I might actually make my own (or have DH make it...he makes good sauce!). I also founda mrs. dash spice with no sodium to season my chicken. Hopefully these small changes help!