Monday, February 26, 2007
Bacon Update
I recently found two more bacon brands that are lower in sodium. They are Boar's Head (190 mg per 2 slices) and Pederson's Natural Farms (140 mg per 2 slices). These are actually lower than the Niman Ranch bacon (135 mg per 1 slice). I plan on trying the Pederson's first (since it has the lower sodium level) as soon as I finish off my current package of bacon. I can't wait!
Friday, February 23, 2007
Crazy for Bacon!
Bacon is one of the most versatile & tasty foods around. You can use it as an ingredient for other dishes, have it as a side with your breakfast, zest up your sandwich with it, fry it up and use the drippings to cook other foods,....the list goes on. When I started eating a low sodium diet, I thought that bacon was just another fav food that was out the door, since I couldn't find any with less than 200+ mg of sodium per slice.
Then I found Niman Ranch Applewood Smoked Uncured Bacon at Trader Joe's. It's not super low in sodium, at 135 mg per slice, but better than most I've seen. Also, there are no nitrates or nitrites added, no antibiotics or added hormones, all vegetarian feeds and it says that their animals are humanely raised on environmentally sustainable family farms.
Because it still has 135 mg of sodium, I only use one slice at a time, usually as an ingredient to flavor other foods. One of my favorite & easiest recipes to make is bacon fried rice. Just cut bacon into small pieces and fry in a pan with a little grape seed oil & diced onions. Once bacon is browned & onions are translucent, then add refrigerated day-old rice and fry up together. Add black & cayenne pepper and no sodium salt substitute for added kick. One slice of bacon will provide enough flavor for about 2 cups worth of uncooked rice.
Then I found Niman Ranch Applewood Smoked Uncured Bacon at Trader Joe's. It's not super low in sodium, at 135 mg per slice, but better than most I've seen. Also, there are no nitrates or nitrites added, no antibiotics or added hormones, all vegetarian feeds and it says that their animals are humanely raised on environmentally sustainable family farms.Because it still has 135 mg of sodium, I only use one slice at a time, usually as an ingredient to flavor other foods. One of my favorite & easiest recipes to make is bacon fried rice. Just cut bacon into small pieces and fry in a pan with a little grape seed oil & diced onions. Once bacon is browned & onions are translucent, then add refrigerated day-old rice and fry up together. Add black & cayenne pepper and no sodium salt substitute for added kick. One slice of bacon will provide enough flavor for about 2 cups worth of uncooked rice.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Fried Chicken Anyone?
One of my favorite foods is fried chicken. Unfortunately, if you ever check the nutritional values of restaurant or fast food fried chicken, you'd be shocked at how much sodium there is. I looked up the websites for three chicken chains: KFC, Popeyes & Pollo Campero (a South American Fried Chicken chain). Below is the sodium content for one breast of each of their different types of chicken:
I've been making my own healthier version of fried chicken at home, that minimizes the amount of sodium used. Here's the recipe:
2. Put flour (about 1-1.5 cups) & dry ingredients (amounts up to personal tastes, but since there's very little sodium, I would suggest liberal use; if using curry powder, a little goes a long way to add some great flavor!) into zip lock bag and shake well to mix
3. Heat oil on high in a skillet (enough oil to have chicken half way submerged)
4. Put mustard-marinated chicken into seasoning bag, seal, and shake till chicken is well-coated. When oil starts to bubble, turn heat down to medium
5. Shake off excess flour from chicken and carefully place into skillet
6. Fry for 3-5 minutes (or until nicely browned), then flip over and repeat; Make sure chicken is cooked inside - try cutting one breast open to check
7. Remove chicken from oil and place onto wire rack, with paper towels underneath to catch dripping oil. Lightly blot chicken with paper towel.
I like to eat this chicken with rice, in a sandwich, with mashed potatoes or even by itself!
Enjoy!
- KFC Original Recipe - 960 mg
- No Skin/Breading - 600 mg
- KFC Extra Crispy - 1020 mg
- KFC Hot & Spicy - 1450 mg
- Popeyes Spicy - 1090 mg
- Popeyes Mild - 1380 mg
- No Skin/Breading - 960 mg
- Pollo Campero Traditional - 810 mg
I've been making my own healthier version of fried chicken at home, that minimizes the amount of sodium used. Here's the recipe:
- 2 Skinless/Boneless Chicken Breasts (est 230 mg sodium)
- All-Purpose Flour (0 mg)
- Gulden's Spicy Brown Mustard (50 mg/tsp)
- Dry Ingredients: Black Pepper, Paprika, Cayenne Pepper, Morton Salt Substitute (0 mg)
- Optional Dry Ingredients: Curry Powder (80 mg/tsp), Dried Oregano (0 mg)
- Olive Oil or Grape Seed Oil for frying
- Large Zip Lock Plastic Bag
2. Put flour (about 1-1.5 cups) & dry ingredients (amounts up to personal tastes, but since there's very little sodium, I would suggest liberal use; if using curry powder, a little goes a long way to add some great flavor!) into zip lock bag and shake well to mix
3. Heat oil on high in a skillet (enough oil to have chicken half way submerged)
4. Put mustard-marinated chicken into seasoning bag, seal, and shake till chicken is well-coated. When oil starts to bubble, turn heat down to medium
5. Shake off excess flour from chicken and carefully place into skillet
6. Fry for 3-5 minutes (or until nicely browned), then flip over and repeat; Make sure chicken is cooked inside - try cutting one breast open to check
7. Remove chicken from oil and place onto wire rack, with paper towels underneath to catch dripping oil. Lightly blot chicken with paper towel.
I like to eat this chicken with rice, in a sandwich, with mashed potatoes or even by itself!
Enjoy!
Friday, February 16, 2007
Low Sodium for Cheese Lovers
One food that I really love is cheese; in sandwiches, melted on corn chips, with crackers, etc...Unfortunately, cheese has quite a bit of sodium. The normal Cheddar or Jack typically has at least 150 mg of sodium per serving (which is 1 oz). If you only eat one serving, that's not bad, but how many of us really eat only 1 oz?
I recently found a company that sells low sodium Raw Milk Cheddar & Jack cheeses under the Landmark brand, called Rumiano Cheese, based in Willows, CA. You can order it from their website at http://rumiano-cheese.com for $3.85 per 8 oz block. The company says that there is no salt added during its production, and there's only 35 mg of sodium per 1 oz serving. The only brick & mortar store that I've seen it at is a local health food store, selling for $6.99 per lb (16 oz). Couldn't find it at any of the chains like Trader Joe's or Whole Foods though. I've bought the Jack cheese a couple of times and it's not bad. Of course there isn't as much flavor as regular Jack, but what do you expect when there's less than a third of the sodium!
One good way to give this cheese more flavor is to slice or shred it onto bread, chips or whatever you're gonna eat it with, then sprinkle some non-salt/zero sodium seasoning onto it (i.e. black pepper, cayenne pepper, dried basil or organo, etc.) and pop it in the microwave for about 45 seconds. The seasonings melt into the cheese and give it a nice flavor and aroma, without increasing the sodium level. Those seasoning that I listed above are my favorites to use.
I recently found a company that sells low sodium Raw Milk Cheddar & Jack cheeses under the Landmark brand, called Rumiano Cheese, based in Willows, CA. You can order it from their website at http://rumiano-cheese.com for $3.85 per 8 oz block. The company says that there is no salt added during its production, and there's only 35 mg of sodium per 1 oz serving. The only brick & mortar store that I've seen it at is a local health food store, selling for $6.99 per lb (16 oz). Couldn't find it at any of the chains like Trader Joe's or Whole Foods though. I've bought the Jack cheese a couple of times and it's not bad. Of course there isn't as much flavor as regular Jack, but what do you expect when there's less than a third of the sodium!
One good way to give this cheese more flavor is to slice or shred it onto bread, chips or whatever you're gonna eat it with, then sprinkle some non-salt/zero sodium seasoning onto it (i.e. black pepper, cayenne pepper, dried basil or organo, etc.) and pop it in the microwave for about 45 seconds. The seasonings melt into the cheese and give it a nice flavor and aroma, without increasing the sodium level. Those seasoning that I listed above are my favorites to use.
Intro
I'm a 32 y.o male, and up till about 1-1/2 years ago, I was eating all the foods that I loved, like fried chicken, hot pastrami dip, carnitas burritos, etc (you get the idea), whenever I felt like it. I hadn't been to the doctor for a while, so I thought it might be a good idea to get a check up. What a reality check. I was 190 lbs (5'9" tall) and my blood pressure was 190/115. My doctor said that I could have a stroke at any time! They put me on meds (Atenolol) and told me that I had to change the way that I ate, by reducing my sodium intake. They also said that I would probably be on medication for the rest of my life. The normal recommended daily intake of sodium is 2400 mg. I was told to keep mine between 500 to 1000 mg.
I had never thought about checking the sodium level in foods. I always thought that if you were trying to eat more healthily, you would watch the calories, fat & cholesterol. That's when I noticed that the sodium levels of so many prepared and prepackaged foods was so high. I used to eat out or pick up at least 10 times/week (a couple of those times were usually fast food for lunch). Unfortunately, almost all restaurant food is high in sodium. That's how you get the nice taste. Even most home cooked recipes use a lot of salt.
I started cooking a lot more at home, making my own low sodium versions of the foods that I liked. After 3 months, I got my blood pressure down to 160/90, and lost about 10 lbs. The only things that I changed in my diet were minimizing my sodium intake, and cooking with olive or grapeseed oil instead of other oils. After 9 months, my BP was down to 90/56 and total weight loss was about 20 lbs!
I'm now off the meds (after only being on them for less than a year - much shorter than "the rest of my life" like they had predicted), and maintaining my low sodium lifestyle. Of course I occasionally do eat regular restaurant food, but just try not to make it a frequent thing. My BP has gone up some, but is now maintaining a normal level, without medicinal assistance.
I'm starting this blog to raise awareness of the health hazards of consuming too much sodium, and to emphasize the potential benefits of living a low sodium lifestyle.
I had never thought about checking the sodium level in foods. I always thought that if you were trying to eat more healthily, you would watch the calories, fat & cholesterol. That's when I noticed that the sodium levels of so many prepared and prepackaged foods was so high. I used to eat out or pick up at least 10 times/week (a couple of those times were usually fast food for lunch). Unfortunately, almost all restaurant food is high in sodium. That's how you get the nice taste. Even most home cooked recipes use a lot of salt.
I started cooking a lot more at home, making my own low sodium versions of the foods that I liked. After 3 months, I got my blood pressure down to 160/90, and lost about 10 lbs. The only things that I changed in my diet were minimizing my sodium intake, and cooking with olive or grapeseed oil instead of other oils. After 9 months, my BP was down to 90/56 and total weight loss was about 20 lbs!
I'm now off the meds (after only being on them for less than a year - much shorter than "the rest of my life" like they had predicted), and maintaining my low sodium lifestyle. Of course I occasionally do eat regular restaurant food, but just try not to make it a frequent thing. My BP has gone up some, but is now maintaining a normal level, without medicinal assistance.
I'm starting this blog to raise awareness of the health hazards of consuming too much sodium, and to emphasize the potential benefits of living a low sodium lifestyle.
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