Wednesday, April 23, 2014

A visualization of sodium in your food

This site provides a well put together visual presentation of how much sodium is in the foods we eat (or don't eat for that matter)....

http://www.healthline.com/health/high-blood-pressure-hypertension/daily-value-sodium

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Abigail's Bakery: Low Sodium Bread available for delivery

There is a great organic bakery located in Weare, NH most of their products fall into the very low sodium category.  They carry a variety of sandwich breads, rolls, and even pizza crusts. I live close enough that I stock up when I'm in New Hampshire but they will deliver. Freeze it when it arrives as the low salt content is conducive for mold.

http://www.abigailsbakery.com/

Monday, January 14, 2013

Salt free (and delicious) bagels delivered to your door!

I went to the University of Vermont for undergrad and they had a wood fired montreal style bagel shop.  They use no salt in their baking process and their bagels are amazing whether you are on a low sodium diet or not.  They will ship them to your house (USA) overnight and come in a variety of flavors.  I like the everything and the plain myself but their are cinnamon raisin, sesame and a few more to choose from. Stay away from the montreal spice as they have a little bit of salt in the coating. two dozen will run you about thirty dollars with shipping (to MA at least).  Pick up some Temptee whipped cream cheese and you can have yourself a 65 mg breakfast as these bagels are sodium free.  Call (802) 863 5013 and please tell them you heard about them from me, Anthony Costello.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Low Sodium Recipe for Candied Pecans



These are great for salads or as a snack.  They take a while to roast but once they are done you can store them for later use. Omit the salt in the recipe and they will come out fine.  


http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sugar-coated-pecans/

Thursday, May 10, 2012

                   
Garden Fresh Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Serve with NSA added tortilla chips. If you cannot find them (they are online and in some grocers, I prefer Trader Joe's) you can cut corn tortillas into triangles and fry or bake them.

Makes a great topping for fish, chicken, rice, eggs or anything you can imagine. Mix with sour cream or greek yogurt for a tasty treat.

Store salsa in sealed containers and let sit overnight so flavors can mingle and vegetables can tenderize.


Ingredients:


Can be halved for a smaller portion
  • 2 red bell peppers
  • 1 yellow pepper
  • 1 green bell pepper
  • 1 orange bell pepper
  • 1.5 large vidalia onion
  • 1-2 crushed habanero's or 1-2 teaspoons of your choice of hot sauce
  • 6 fresh medium tomatoes
  • 6 cloves of garlic crushed
  • 2 cups loosely packed fresh cilantro
  • juice of 1.5 medium limes
  • 1 Tbs of white distilled vinegar
  • 1 15 oz can NSA black beans or equivalent from dried black beans
Instructions:

Please refer to video first but here are the instructions.
  1. Chop all fresh ingredients. Chopping instructions are provided in the video with subtitles.
  2. Combine all fresh ingredients in large bowl or stock pot.
  3. Add habanero's, lime juice, vinegar, beans, and corn.
  4. Stir.
  5. Store salsa in sealed containers and let sit overnight so flavors can mingle and vegetables can tenderize.
  6. Enjoy!

Wednesday, May 2, 2012





Tomato Based Low Sodium Chicken and Rice Soup


Ingredients:

  • Approx. 5lb chicken (no brining or sodium solution)
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest from lemon
  • 1 large onion
  • 10 medium carrots
  • 2 yellow summer squash
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 medium or 1 large stalk of celery (it's naturally high in sodium so I don't use too much)
  • 1 packet sodium free chicken bouillon
  • 1 cup NSA (no salt added) frozen corn
  • 2 cups of pureed tomatoes - I use whole canned plum tomatoes NSA from Trader Joe's but you can use Pomi brand NSA or any canned tomato with no salt from your local grocer. You can use fresh tomatoes if needed. 
  • Fresh ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 1/2 cup loose packed fresh parsley (before you chop it)
  • 1 cup jasmine white rice (not parboiled or minute rice)
Instructions:

Please refer to video first but here are the instructions.
  1. Place ~5 lb. chicken in 8 qt. stock pot. fill with water till chicken is almost covered. No more than 1 inch from the top of the pot. Place on low/medium heat for 1 1/4 hr with 3 bay leaves in the water. You can leave the chicken in longer on low heat but avoid a rapid boil as this will make the meat tough. Also add any vegetable trimmings as you go such as carrot, onion and celery ends.
  2. Rinse and cook one cup of dry white jasmine rice according to instructions on the bag in covered pan or rice cooker.  Use less water for a firmer rice as the rice will soften in the soup.  I use 1 cup of rice to 1 1/4 water.  Zest one teaspoon of lemon zest from rind of lemon and add to rice.
  3. Chop all fresh vegetables and parsley (see video for chopping instructions) and deposit any remnants such as carrot ends into the simmering stock pot.  This will add even more flavor to the broth and waist nothing.
  4. Once chicken has finished cooking carefully remove it from the pot and place in the fridge to cool for at least 20-30 minutes. Remove any bay leaves and vegetable pieces. Personally I have another large part and I transfer the broth through a sieve or strainer then pour the strained broth back into the original stock pot.
  5. Add sodium free bouillon packet. Add all vegetables and parsley to broth. Pour in 1 cup of frozen corn and 2 cups of pureed tomatoes. Add juice of one lemon. I cut the lemon in half and hand squeeze them over a sieve to catch any seeds and usually let half a lemon sit in the broth for 2-5 minutes. Make sure you remove this lemon as it will leave an unpleasant taste if you leave it for too long. Cover lid and cook on low/medium heat for 30 minutes.
  6. Clean chicken so that you have all the white/dark meat in a bowl broken into bite size pieces. Add chicken and rice to pot. Add fresh ground black pepper to taste, I use 2 teaspoons, and stir and cover and let simmer for 20 minutes but like most things this soup tastes better after sitting in the pot for a couple hours (no heat).
  7. Serve with low sodium toast and a wedge of lemon.
  8. Enjoy!