Recipes

[Scorpio1971]

Many companies make low salt versions or no salt versions of their regular products.  Start looking for these items and use them in your recipes.  

For example, canned vegetables...a couple major companies make some without salt, such as no salt corn or peas, and even small cans of mushrooms, check Green Giant and others.  Use frozen plain unseasoned vegetables if not using fresh and add herbs and seasonings to taste, or NO SALT BUTTER.

Herb-ox makes both LOW sodium & NO sodium versions of their chicken & beef bouillons....comes in packets in small boxes and jars.  These can be used to make soups or use as flavorings to other things, such as using in place of water.  Can also combine them together to get an even lower sodium count in soups, etc., such as using an equal number of LOW sodium AND NO sodium packets or spoonfuls automatically brings the already low salt sodium level down by half.   Can even poach food in it such as chicken and make chicken salad sandwiches.

Cans of tomato & the 8 oz. cans of tomato sauces....Hunt's in particular, and others, make no sodium versions.  And Pastene Kitchen Ready has a SO SALT version of their ground tomatoes.  Cans of Italian whole peeled tomatoes usually have less salt....always check the labels to see if it is added in the ingredients list or not, AND check the sodium level per serving in the nutritional breakdowns.

Just by starting to use items such as these will help.  I do not use any added salt, and do not like salted foods.  Use seasonings & herbs instead.  I even use No salt potato chips and if I ever go to fast food places I order my French fries with no salt!

I have a chicken recipe I can share, similar to a chicken cacciatore recipe, only baked in the oven, and it's pretty easy.  I cannot give measurements, I just sort of wing it and always comes out tasty.  I usually make about 8 of them and then package & freeze some.  I use boneless skinnless chicken thighs, cleaned of extra chicken fat too, (might also work with bone-in chicken breast...boneless chicken breast might get too dried out but it's up to you, as I do not like chicken breast).  Place in a 9×13 in., 2-3 in. deep baking dish, season with pepper, and light sprinkle of garlic powder to taste if desired, NOT garlic salt.  

Cut up some onions & carrots into pieces, depending on size of each and how much chicken you are making, (i.e. 2 medium onions, 3-4 carrots if 8 pieces of chicken) if desired and place among chicken pieces as desired.  Use a large can (28 oz) of the Pastene Kitchen Ready ground NO salt tomatoes, empty in a bowl, or if using whole plum tomatoes with no salt or low salt, place in bowl and crush by hand or potato masher, (...whole can if 8 pieces of chicken...half can if 4 pieces...you can store & freeze other half of can).

Add some dried parsley flakes...maybe 2 tablespoons, some dried basil if desired, black pepper, garlic powder, all to taste, mix together (use pepper & garlic powder lightly as you can always taste some of mixture to add more seasonings or add others as desired), add couple cans of drained NO salt mushroom pieces, or clean & cut fresh mushrooms, mix all together and spoon all over the chicken in baking dish.  Just be careful not to have tomato mixture too high or could overflow when cooking....but you do not need it to quite cover all chicken pieces...no set rule, just to keep chicken moist.  Cover with foil, bake at 350° until just about done, time depends on size of chicken pieces and amount you are cooking, maybe 45 min-1 hr.  Remove foil, will look watery because was covered with foil, & put back into oven for another 15-30 min until you are sure chicken is done and to also help bake off some moisture.  No sodium meal or low sodium meal depending on tomatoes used!

So basically my recommendation is to look for low-sodium & no sodium alternatives as you shop and incorporate them into cooking.  Best to always cook at home because restaurant & takeout is highly seasoned with various forms of sodium...salt, soy sauces, worcestershire, and many others. And if eating out choose baked, broiled or grilled, and everything without marinades or sauces.

Good luck & good health to your mom!  

[AngelPuppy1]

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@Scorpio1971 wrote:

Many companies make low salt versions or no salt versions of their regular products.  Start looking for these items and use them in your recipes.  

For example, canned vegetables...a couple major companies make some without salt, such as no salt corn or peas, and even small cans of mushrooms, check Green Giant and others.  Use frozen plain unseasoned vegetables if not using fresh and add herbs and seasonings to taste, or NO SALT BUTTER.

Herb-ox makes both LOW sodium & NO sodium versions of their chicken & beef bouillons....comes in packets in small boxes and jars.  These can be used to make soups or use as flavorings to other things, such as using in place of water.  Can also combine them together to get an even lower sodium count in soups, etc., such as using an equal number of LOW sodium AND NO sodium packets or spoonfuls automatically brings the already low salt sodium level down by half.   Can even poach food in it such as chicken and make chicken salad sandwiches.

Cans of tomato & the 8 oz. cans of tomato sauces....Hunt's in particular, and others, make no sodium versions.  And Pastene Kitchen Ready has a SO SALT version of their ground tomatoes.  Cans of Italian whole peeled tomatoes usually have less salt....always check the labels to see if it is added in the ingredients list or not, AND check the sodium level per serving in the nutritional breakdowns.

Just by starting to use items such as these will help.  I do not use any added salt, and do not like salted foods.  Use seasonings & herbs instead.  I even use No salt potato chips and if I ever go to fast food places I order my French fries with no salt!

I have a chicken recipe I can share, similar to a chicken cacciatore recipe, only baked in the oven, and it's pretty easy.  I cannot give measurements, I just sort of wing it and always comes out tasty.  I usually make about 8 of them and then package & freeze some.  I use boneless skinnless chicken thighs, cleaned of extra chicken fat too, (might also work with bone-in chicken breast...boneless chicken breast might get too dried out but it's up to you, as I do not like chicken breast).  Place in a 9×13 in., 2-3 in. deep baking dish, season with pepper, and light sprinkle of garlic powder to taste if desired, NOT garlic salt.  

Cut up some onions & carrots into pieces, depending on size of each and how much chicken you are making, (i.e. 2 medium onions, 3-4 carrots if 8 pieces of chicken) if desired and place among chicken pieces as desired.  Use a large can (28 oz) of the Pastene Kitchen Ready ground NO salt tomatoes, empty in a bowl, or if using whole plum tomatoes with no salt or low salt, place in bowl and crush by hand or potato masher, (...whole can if 8 pieces of chicken...half can if 4 pieces...you can store & freeze other half of can).

Add some dried parsley flakes...maybe 2 tablespoons, some dried basil if desired, black pepper, garlic powder, all to taste, mix together (use pepper & garlic powder lightly as you can always taste some of mixture to add more seasonings or add others as desired), add couple cans of drained NO salt mushroom pieces, or clean & cut fresh mushrooms, mix all together and spoon all over the chicken in baking dish.  Just be careful not to have tomato mixture too high or could overflow when cooking....but you do not need it to quite cover all chicken pieces...no set rule, just to keep chicken moist.  Cover with foil, bake at 350° until just about done, time depends on size of chicken pieces and amount you are cooking, maybe 45 min-1 hr.  Remove foil, will look watery because was covered with foil, & put back into oven for another 15-30 min until you are sure chicken is done and to also help bake off some moisture.  No sodium meal or low sodium meal depending on tomatoes used!

So basically my recommendation is to look for low-sodium & no sodium alternatives as you shop and incorporate them into cooking.  Best to always cook at home because restaurant & takeout is highly seasoned with various forms of sodium...salt, soy sauces, worcestershire, and many others. And if eating out choose baked, broiled or grilled, and everything without marinades or sauces.

Good luck & good health to your mom!  

---

@Scorpio1971

Thank you so much!  And your receipt sounds delish!  I appreciate the well wishes! 

[Financialgrl]

At some point dad could no longer live alone (dementia related) and came to live with me.  He had hypertension and his doctor wanted a low sodium diet and gave me some suggestions which many on here have already suggested - I'll try not to repeat those here.

1) switch to frozen veggie - no canned at all.  I'd steam veggies and I'd drizzle a little butter over it and yes, lightly salt them.  I would not put salt out on the table cuz if there, he'd reach for it and use a lot.  Buy only the plain veggies - not ones with sauces or cheese.

2)  you can take pretty much any recipe and lighten the sodium.  Use powder versions instead of salt version of spices - or use the real thing.  For example, season with garlic powder instead of garlic salt or better yet buy heads of garlic and use the real thing.  Same with ginger and other real versions of something.

3) if you have a crockpot, make your own soup.  I made tons of beef veggie soup in the winter.  Yes, I'd season the flour with salt and pepper and many times garlic powder or just toss in some finely cut garlic,  I use a combo of lower sodium stock and the full salt version but usually a very small can of the salt version.  Making beef veggie soup, I'd use a little beef and lots of veggies. You should be able to work with your mom's doctor - dad's doctor said low salt/sodium didn't mean NO salt.  If you love Chinese food you can google recipes for that and it contains a lot of garlic and ginger usually.  Use the real thing, no MSG.  There are definitely ways to lighten the sodium levels using substitutes for ingredients.  I've made Chinese food for dad and before putting it in front of him sprinkle just a tiny bit of soy sauce (low sodium) - but again I asked dad's doctor about how to best go forward with dad's diet.  You should be able to do the same. 

[Nonametoday]

Best thing to do is ask the doctor to send you to the resident dietitain.  Some of these things suggested herein would not be acceptable for my husband's diet because he is a heart fialure patient,  dwindling kidney function and diabetes.  

Everything you buy (with few exceptions) has sodium content listed on the packaging.  

[Noel7]

Hi @AngelPuppy1

I try to keep salt down also.  There are A LOT of low salt/low sodium recipes online.

Just do a quick google search "low salt recipes" and many will come up for you.

[AngelPuppy1]

Thank you all --- very much!  I am learning a lot!  

[ID2]

I choose to eat low/no sodium. When I was preggers with my first 36 years ago I developed HBP during my pregnancy. I gave up consuming sodium then and never went back. I hate salty things! Cooking is easy, you just make a recipe and don't add the salt....easy. I buy only salt-free canned goods or most often I just make my own. I brought my family up with no sodium cooking and we are all much healthier and happier. 

[kitty4me]

I'm on a no salt diet and it's very hard to get away from Salt so I pretty much now don't use Salt when I cook at Home. I was using Morton low salt and asked my Cardiologist if I could use it. He said no salt. So like French Fries when I make them I sprinkle a tad on them. I do use other salt alternatives as well.