There is a common misconception that eating well means eating bland, boring foods. Not true! There are many ways to jazz up your meals without using a lot of salt. Whether you use tricks like "oven frying" instead of deep frying, sauteeing in low-sodium chicken broth instead of oil, or incorporating fun herbs and spices, like Mrs. Dash salt-free seasoning blends into your dishes for extra flavor.
Twittermoms and Mrs. Dash are asking us to share our favorite recipes and tips for low-sodium meals. In the end you’ll be able to find a ton of recipes at: http://mrsdash.twittermoms.com make sure you check them out! A mom can never have too many recipes on hand.
Dealing With High Blood Pressure
During this pregnancy I have had bouts of high blood pressure even though for the past 2 years I have made a conscious effort to lower my sodium intake (sometimes it just happens) but usually it’s brought on by our own actions. I have to admit that I have slipped once in a while, who hasn’t. I find the most important thing you can do when you’re watching your sodium intake besides eliminating table salt is to read labels. You’d be amazed all all the things you consume that actually contain salt.
Eliminating Salt From My Diet
Let’s go back to eliminating table salt for a moment. When I first started doing this it really annoyed my husband. Now he will never admit it but he used more salt than anyone I know. He just didn’t realize it I think. I was going through a regular size canister of salt that usually lasted me years (yes years) in a matter of 6 months. How? Because the number one thing he did was add it to pasta when he’d cook it and he’s a big pasta lover. Well I took that over and no more salt. Guess what? He didn’t even notice unless he was watching me! Mmhmm. I know people crave salt but as far as I’m concerned most of it is in your mind.
After removing salt from our pasta I started doing it with everything else. Eggs and potatoes were big ones. I moved over to egg beaters for less cholesterol and I stopped adding salt and added more pepper. For the potatoes I added other herbs and spices and I started slicing them and baking them in the oven instead of frying. They were just as good.
It’s Just A Matter Of Getting Used To It
As far as vegetables, there are very few instances where I will add a minimum amount of salt. After learning how much salt is naturally in a lot of vegetables, such as cabbage I knew what I was doing was absolutely ridiculous. I don’t even make soups anymore with added salt unless I absolutely need to for taste and even then it’s very very little. Make the same changes and when you’re craving that bag of potato chips (which you won’t as often) you won’t feel as guilty!
Here Are A Few More Quick Tips For Eliminating Salt In Your Diet
- No Canned Food but if you have to, rinse it beforehand.
- Read up about how much salt is in vegetables, it will deter you from adding more.
- Use Low-Sodium foods when you can. Ie: Broth etc.
- Eat Fresh – Cut out the processed foods, especially things like noodles.
Here is a recipe I regularly make that includes absolutely NO salt, is quick, easy and very colorful, which makes it more appealing to children.
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Low Sodium Chicken Fajitas
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast or tenders
Cut into thin strips the following peppers and onion:
1/4 red bell pepper
1/4 green bell pepper
1/4 yellow bell pepper
1/4 orange bell pepper
1 medium onion
4 Tbsp. Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime Seasoning
2 Tbsp oil or margarine
1/4 – 1/2 cup water
Cut chicken into small pieces, cook until no longer pink. (I steam my chicken to make sure it’s well done)
Remove chicken, set aside
Add peppers, onions and oil to your pan and cook for approximately 5 minutes. Return chicken to pan and let it get slightly browned.
Add Mrs. Dash and water. Depending on how much “sauce” you like, use less or more water. I like mine saucy. Carefully stir together and cook for approximately 5 minutes.
Serve in low-fat warm tortillas.
Disclaimer: I wrote this blog post while participating in the Mrs. Dash and TwitterMoms blogging program for a chance to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here (make sure to link to: http://mrsdash.twittermoms.com/about)
