Thursday, June 23, 2022

SALT SALT SALT

 

Everyone has different tastes and preferences, but perhaps some of what I've worked out for myself in the area of salt reduction will be helpful.

First, I've found shopping on Amazon very helpful. Supermarkets have grand sections devoted to “gluten free” but for “salt free” we have to hunt and peck. They also do not carry the products I find online.

Having a magnifying glass is helpful because even though the nutritional label may be visible, it is often in such tiny print that the naked eye can't make out the amount. This is especially true when shopping on line.

If the label is not with the ad for the product, try a search with the products name and "nutrition."  That usually works.

I can't keep grams straight in my brain, so I use the percentage of daily salt allowance per serving on the nutritional label as a way to sort out what I buy.

I actually should not go beyond about 80% of the daily recommendation.

Generally, I try for foods that are 2-3% of daily allowance per serving. Sometimes I go higher, but then I limit what I eat.

Eating out is more difficult unless we just want to eat salads. Salt is everywhere and usually the server has no idea how much salt is in anything.  

Sometimes a menu on line will list salt content.  The Longhorn restaurant.(high is salt)
I have my server talk to the chef, but even there I am skeptical. Chinese and Mexican are just not worth bothering with. Indian food buffets will often contain some good choices and there will be someone there who knows which choices have no added salt.
Places that make their own french fries or potato chips can sometimes be helpful and not add salt to them. Others do automatic salting.  This the server usually does know.



So, the best I can do some days when I eat away from home is to be certain to have nothing with salt all the rest of the day and limit portions.


Okay, let's get to some low salt foods I like.

I don't have links for all of these, but if you can't find them in an Amazon search, ask me and I'll find them for you.

I was a big salt lover. 

 

The key to satisfaction has been Benson's salt substitute that not only eliminates salt, but also sugar and other questionable stuff. I love it and buy it in two pound bags.

Some of it is a fine powder, so if moving it to a shaker with a funnel, wear a mask.  Some of it is course, so the smaller shaker sizes won't let it out.  I use left over shakers from Trader's joe's 21 Salute spice.  They have nice large openings and are glass, so they can be washed clean between fillings.  I get lazy and don't run them through the dish washer sometimes between fillings, but I pay for it with more caking.

I have a wooden skewer handy to stir it up and get it to come out again.

I was not impressed with the Mrs. Dash line most common in local groceries. 

 The basic did not satisfy;  the mixtures did not satisfy. 

 I carry the Benson's in a bag to restaurants along with a no salt hot sauce and sometimes unsalted butter.

Benson's is pretty expensive, but worth it. I just use the basic blend.

Other salt substitutes rely on potassium, but too much of that is not healthy either.  Also, it has an unappealing taste.


SPICES

I also experiment with no salt spice mixtures. There are a lot out there. My son just bought me one from the hot sauce store at Crossgates, but it is too bland for me. My favorite is Trader Joe's 21 salute.

I dropped all soy sauce, even that called “reduced sodium” and substituted worchestershire sauce when I can get that at 3%.

HOT SAUCE

For a while I thought I would be denied hot sauce. Frank's was my favorite, and it is just too salty.

Tabasco has less salt.

However, Bruh Bruh hot sauce has no salt or sugar. And Palo Alto hot sauce, sold by firemen in New Mexico has three no salt varieties, and I like all of them. 

I also use “everything bagel” for adding a nice taste. It comes in a salt free version. It is a nice mixture of seeds.

Speaking of bagels, they are too high in salt as are most breads. I use a tiny torilla shell called Mr. Tortilla as it is good for both salt and carb reduction.Sometimes I stretch to 7% on a slice of bread.

Eziekiel bread has a no salt version, but I'd rather eat sawdust.

Dave's is a decent choice for bread. Also, you can make a kind of bread easily in the microwave. It is called “bread in a cup”
Here is my experience with making that,
Recipes: Bread in a mug (weightlossveggie.blogspot.com)

Crackers are hard to find as well. I go to 4% and get Stoned Wheat Thins and am careful not to overeat.


Meats are generally about 3% per serving. No smoked meats. I go to either Shop Rite on Western Avenue Albany or the Prime butcher  in Stuyvesant and buy pork belly to substitute for the taste of bacon. No one will slice it thin, and although I bought a little home slicer, I cannot either. 

 So I cut inch long pieces and slowly fry them up crisp. I make five pounds at a time and freeze the results in small portions, refrying when I want bacon and eggs.

The only sausage I've found is a rather tasty Spanish chorizo.  

Aurelia's Spanish Chorizo - All-Natural, Keto Friendly, Fully Cooked Sausage w/ the Full Flavor of Spain. No Gluten. Paleo Friendly - 8oz

8 Ounce

I think that is 3%.

Salmon is acceptable for salt as long as you stay away from the glazed versions or smoked salmon.

:

"serving of baked salmon has just 55 milligrams of sodium, and most other fish follows suit. Just make sure your catch of the day isn't smoked, or covered with a glaze or sauce, because this piles on the sodium. Shellfish is higher in sodium than fish, often ranging up to 500 milligrams per serving."

Most fish is good. Most shellfish should be avoided.

Canned tuna is generally too high in salt.  However, Wild Planet Albacore Wild Tuna is just 4% and I like that.  It is more expensive.  However, I've discovered that the cheaper tuna in cans has a greater content of water.  The expensive cans are packed tighter with tuna, so that balances things a bit.

Yo Mamma is expensive for catsup, but it is low in salt.  3%

Turkey is hard. Most whole turkeys are brined in salt and sugar and that increases the salt load substantially. Whole foods told me they sell an unbrined turkey, but were having trouble getting them. Last holiday they only managed to get four.  Shop Rite had Kosher turkeys, but when I asked the meat manager said they had been brined.  I don't know if the brining salt shows up on the nutritional label.

Boar's Head has a no salt turkey, but I wonder if they don't have to report brining.

They have a no salt beef as well, but are usually out of it when I shop.

What I do for beef is buy a cheap fairly square roast of beef. I put it in a preheated oven at 500 for 20 minutes, don't open the oven, turn the oven off and let if cook undisturbed for about two hours. I get a nice roast of beef. This the slicer will cut easily. I had a slice with eggs this morning.

CHEESE

Boars Head makes a lacy swiss cheese that I love. Swiss will often be low salt, but you have to check labels because what they label in the deli as low salt or reduced sodium is often way off the charts.

This is true for broth as well. Swanson's sells a chicken broth and a beef broth that is low in salt. All the rest “low sodium” are very high in salt even if they are less than the usual. Sometimes “reduced sodium” means a score of 25% per serving.

Packages of chicken bullion can be high in salt, but they make a salt free version which I find very tasty.

Hannaford has low salt cheese, parmesan and some 3 and 4 cheese blends, all grated. It is in small plastic bags with their brand on them.

Sometimes for a sandwich like meal I'll skip the bread, take a slice of beef, roll it with lacy swiss cheese or grated Hannaford cheese and tomato or onion.

Mustards can run a gamut of salty to no salt. Amazon will give you options with a no salt search. Here is one
Amazon.com : Westbrae Natural Stoneground Mustard No Salt Added -- 8 oz (Pack Of 3) : Grocery & Gourmet Food

It is rare to find low salt food in cans, but Hunt's makes a no salt added tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. 

There is also an unsalted tomato paste.

 Also, Campbell's just started making cream of chicken and a cream of mushroom no salt added soup. It is snatched up quickly, so when I find it, I stock up.


POTATO CHIPS

We love the Kettle cooked no salt potato chips that can be bought in bulk on line at Amazon, but they are expensive.

Utz makes one that is pretty good.

They are hard to find. And if I find them on a two for one, I'll buy them up.

Potato sticks that we ate as kids are 4% a serving, but very good. They are online or in the Latham Hannaford store.

NUTS

There are generally unsalted versions of nuts.  Peanuts are very easy to find.  Some others require the internet.

PICKLES

  • I made pickles using the crisp smaller cucumber sliced length wise. Not as much shelf life. I also made pepperoncini, but finding the fresh peperoncini pepper  is hard. I substituted a Japanese pepper. 

  •  Again shelf life.

  • This one is on my pickle list:
    Healthy Heart Market No Salt Dill Pickles - 32 oz.


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