203 What’s sauerkraut without salt? Both very delicious and extremely healthful. When you make sauerkraut the traditional way, you need a little bit of patience to wait for the results, but the rewards you receive are well worth it—fresh flavor, lots of nutrients, and beneficial enzymes that promote healthy digestion. Use raw sauerkraut as a salad or as a cold side dish to go with sandwiches or oven-fried chicken. One Salt Shaker.
SALT-FREE SAUERKRAUT*
2 heads green cabbage and 1 head red cabbage
1 to 2 onions, chopped (optional)
1 to 2 celery stalks, chopped (optional)
2 tablespoons celery seeds, crushed or ground (optional)
2 tablespoons caraway seeds, crushed (optional)
2 tablespoons dill weed or dill seeds, crushed (optional)
1 teaspoon ground kelp [see tip 60] (optional)
1 tablespoon garlic powder (optional)
½ to ¾ A cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (optional)
Pull off the outer leaves of the cabbage and grate the rest. Put the grated cabbage in one mixing bowl, the other vegetables in a second bowl, and the ground herbs, spices, and lemon juice, if using, in a third bowl. Pound the cabbage lightly with a wooden tenderizing mallet. Put a layer of the cabbage a few inches deep in a crock or in a glass or stainless steel pot. Add a similar layer of the vegetable mixture over the cabbage and pack it down. Then sprinkle with the spices or some of the spice-lemon juice mixture. Continue the process with more layers until you are finished with the ingredients and press down each layer so the vegetables will be saturated in their own juice. Allow at least a few inches of space from the top of the pot because the fermenting vegetables are likely to expand. Cover the vegetable mixture on top with the outer leaves of the cabbage, tucking the leaves around the mixture as completely as you can. Put a plate on top that fits nicely in the crock. Then add a weight or a filled glass jar on top of the plate. Place a clean dish towel over the crock and let the fermenting vegetables sit in a well-ventilated room at room temperature for 5 to 7 days. After 5 to 7 days, throw away the old cabbage leaves and any moldy or discolored vegetables on top. Put the remaining sauerkraut in glass jars and refrigerate. This sauerkraut will last a few months in the refrigerator if the glass jars are opened minimally. Yields several quarts.
DRESSED FOR SUCCESS
204 The biggest problem with salads, of course, isn’t the vegetables that go in them, but the commercial salad dressings that are put on top of them. If you use two tablespoons of a dressing that contain 200 milligrams of sodium per tablespoon, you consume one-fifth of the total amount of sodium I recommend for most individuals in a single day. What’s worse, the sodium in commercial dressings is unhealthy, being derived from common table salt and sodium additives and preservatives. To keep a healthful salad from turning into a meal with loads of unhealthy sodium, buy low-sodium dressings that are made with sea salt and that do not contain sodium preservatives. One Salt Shaker.
205 Or buy unsalted dressings like Cardini’s No Salt Added varieties. You always can add natural salt (either unrefined sea salt, Real Salt, sesame salt, herbal salt, or kelp powder) on your own if you need to. (See tips 54, 55, 58, 59, and 60.) One to Two Salt Shakers.
206 When in doubt, use vinegar and olive oil or lemon juice and olive oil for a dressing. Either of these are simple but tangy ways to top your salad without salt. One Salt Shaker.
207 Use salt-free herbal blends or different medleys of dried herbs to vary the flavor of either of these basic dressings. One Salt Shaker.
208 Utilize the pungent power of garlic in salad dressings. Garlic is a wonder food, providing plenty of flavor as well as abundant health benefits. In this recipe from The Healing Power of Foods Cookbook by Michael T. Murray, N.D., garlic is combined with a variety of fresh and dried herbs to create a delightfully tasty Herb Dressing. One Salt Shaker.
HERB DRESSING
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chervil or 2 teaspoons dried chervil
Black pepper to taste
½ cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons water
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons dried mustard
In a blender, combine all the ingredients and blend thoroughly. Serves 8 (2 tablespoons per serving).
209 Add a gourmet touch to everyday salad: use herbed vinegar or herbed oil, either by itself or in combination. (See tips 44, 45, and 46.) When the essence of delightfully fragrant herbs graces every drop of vinegar or oil that you sprinkle, you’ll be amazed at how much less dressing you need to use for flavor. One Salt Shaker.
210 Also experiment with different kinds of unrefined oils. When you buy a high-quality oil, the aroma and taste of the nut, seed, or plant from which the oil is derived should come through loud and strong. If the brand of oil you use is bland and not distinct, no matter whether you buy almond, sesame, or olive oil, you’re probably buying an oil that has been bleached and deodorized. In fact, it may be so processed that it is actually harmful to the body. Switch to using oils labeled “unrefined” in salad dressings and get the healthy fats, vitamin E, and distinctive flavor that you’ve been missing. This recipe from my book Beyond Pritikin uses the unique nutty flavor of sesame oil. One to Two Salt Shakers.
SESAME-LEMON DRESSING
½ cup light sesame oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon grated fresh lemon zest
¼ teaspoon salt (optional)
½ teaspoon dried dill
Combine all the ingredients in a covered jar and shake well. Refrigerate. Serves 8.
211 Try mustard oil, which is available at East Indian stores and some specialty food markets. Usually used in combination with other ingredients, this pungent oil is a fantastic help for dressing lettuce-or bean-based salads with flavor but no salt. One Salt Shaker.
212 Don’t forget about garlic oil, a natural to use on salads. (To make a quick garlic oil, blend garlic with extra-virgin olive oil in a blender.) Combine garlic oil with fresh lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to create an enjoyable and very healthful dressing. One Salt Shaker.
213 Another salt-free condiment is chili oil, which you can find in the Oriental section of most health food stores and upscale supermarkets. Just a splash or two of hot chili oil combined with fresh lime juice makes a wonderful dressing for bean salads. One Salt Shaker.
214 Salt-free tomato sauce and tomato juice are two other versatile salad dressing ingredients. By changing the herbs and other ingredients you combine with them, you can create everything from a tomato-basil Italian vinaigrette to a hot and chunky, Mexican salsa-style dressing. Here Harriet Roth, the author of Deliriously Low, uses salt-free tomato sauce in combination with yogurt to make a creamy Russian dressing. One Salt Shaker.
MY FAVORITE RUSSIAN DRESSING
1 cup nonfat yogurt
¼ cup salt-free tomato sauce
2 hard-boiled egg whites, chopped
¼ cup diced green pepper
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon low-sodium vegetable seasoning
Dash of Tabasco
Place all the ingredients into a bowl and blend well with a whisk. Makes 1 1/2 cups.
215 If you’re used to salty dressings, gradually wean yourself away from them by diluting them with water or lemon juice to lessen the saltiness. Two Salt Shakers.
216 Apply the same concept to creamy dressings that are overly salty: thin them out with plain nonfat yogurt. Two Salt Shakers.
217 Beware of fat-free dressings, which often have extra salt (and sometimes extra sugar) to compensate for the flavor the fat used to provide. If you pile on the fat-free ranch dressing because it’s “fat free,” you should know that a two-tablespoon serving of Hidden Valley Original Ranch Dressing contains 260 milligrams of sodium, but the same a
mount of Hidden Valley Fat-Free Ranch contains 320 milligrams. That additional unhealthy sodium will add up every time you eat a salad. To avoid all that salt, try this recipe from The American Heart Association Low-Salt Cookbook. It will show you how to get much of the unnecessary fat out of ranch dressing without adding extra sodium. Two Salt Shakers.
REDUCED CALORIE RANCH DRESSING
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons minced onion 1 tablespoon fresh dill
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
In ajar with a tight-fitting lid, combine all the ingredients. Shake well to blend. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, allowing the flavors to blend. Makes P/2 cups.
218 If you’re used to making a dressing from a mix, did you know that salt is often a major ingredient in almost all of those handy mixes? It is, unless you’ve already discovered a brand like The Spice Hunter, which makes a complete line of mixes that are both salt-and sugar-free. One Salt Shaker.
*This recipe was adapted from a recipe for Basic Chicken or Turkey Stock that appeared in my book Get the Sugar Out (Crown, 1996).
* This recipe was adapted from a sauerkraut recipe entitled Our Favorite Beginner’s Recipe in The Body Ecology Diet by Donna Gates.
Get the Salt Out of Entrées and Side Dishes
Getting the salt out of meals can be done a number of different ways. Judging from my experience as a professional nutritionist, I would say that most people who are told to eat a low-sodium diet go about it in exactly the wrong manner. They pay little attention to whether different foods supply good or bad forms of sodium and often assume the lower the sodium, the better. As a result, they tend to emphasize nutrient-poor, low-sodium white bread and white pasta and to use convenience products like low-sodium bouillon cubes that have few recognizable food ingredients.
When you add the antifat propaganda that has swept across our land, many people who are trying to reduce their salt intake also give up nutritious foods like zinc-rich beef and seafood, and some avoid animal protein altogether. Their overzealous and unhealthy fat phobia also causes them to avoid magnesium-and potassium-rich nuts and seeds, and to avoid using even the tiniest amount of healthy oil in cooking. The result is a group of well-intentioned individuals who give up salt for health reasons but who develop across-the-board deficiencies of certain nutrients, which lead to far worse health problems than they had before.
The key to reducing dietary salt healthfully does not involve eating uninspiring, unbalanced meals or relying on unpalatable “fake” foods that are low in sodium but have virtually no other nutritional value. Quite to the contrary, the secret must involve keeping as many healthy nutrients in your diet at the same time you get the unhealthy sodium out. The only way to strike this ideal balance is to take a tip from nature. When you learn how to combine natural foods creatively and choose only healthful convenience products made from natural foods, you then will have discovered the secret of how to get salt out of meals the right way.
The tips in this chapter will teach you how to do that. They’ll show you that you can enjoy everything from Vegetarian Chili to Chinese stir-fries to Tandoori Chicken in less salty ways. A few of the tips also may cause you to rethink your attitudes about protein and fat, helping you to understand that receiving a balance of quality nutrients from entries and side dishes is equally as important for health as getting the salt out.
MEATY MATTERS
219 Feel free to enjoy small portions of lean, natural meat. Although many people believe meat is high in sodium, its not. A three-ounce portion of beef, for example, contains only between 40 and 114 milligrams of sodium (depending on the cut). Meat also supplies high-quality protein that stimulates the body’s production of a fat-burning hormone and is a great source of hard-to-find zinc and iron. If you’ve been afraid to eat meat because you’ve heard it was bad for you, don’t believe it: I find meat a necessary addition to many of my clients’ diets.
BONUS TIP: Meat, per se, is not bad for our health, but there is no question that the antibiotics and hormones added to most commercial meat these days can be harmful Avoid the problems these chemicals can cause by buying organically raised meats whenever possible. Look for natural meats, including chicken and turkey from Shelton’s, and beef from Coleman Natural Meats.
220 Always choose simply prepared unprocessed meats over processed meat products. Natural steaks, roasts, and burgers are all low in sodium and usually contain three to five times more potassium than sodium. Once meats are processed into things like hot dogs, sausage, and smoked, cured, and deli meat products, however, they are loaded with salt, and their all-important potassium-to-sodium ratio is totally reversed. Four ounces of pot roasted beef (from choice round), for example, contain 348 milligrams of potassium and 58 milligrams of sodium. Once beef is processed into four ounces of canned corned beef, though, its composition changes dramatically—to 153 milligrams of potassium and 1,139 milligrams of sodium! If you want to make a dietary change that will make a major reduction in the unnecessary sodium you consume, steer clear of processed meats. One Salt Shaker.
221 Eat zinc-rich meats so you will want less salt. Beef, lamb, chicken, and turkey are some of the best dietary sources of zinc, a mineral deficient in more than 60 percent of the American population. Research with animals has revealed that a higher preference for salt is indicated in animals who are zinc deficient than in those who are not. Zinc deficiency is known to cause a dulled sense of taste. If you are trying to cut back on the salt you consume, you can do it much more easily if you are able to lessen your desire for salt. Eating zinc-rich meats is a means to this end: its a way to prevent zinc deficiency and, consequently, reduce the desire for salt.
222 BONUS TIP: The kind of protein you eat can make a big difference in how you feel Individuals with slow metabolisms usually feel better eating lean animal products like white meat from poultry, while people with fast metabolisms tend to thrive on higher-fat lamb and beef Try td determine which kinds of protein you feel best eating by experimenting with your diet and listening to the messages your body sends you. As I explain in Your Body Knows Best (Pocket Books, 1996), your body often gives you powerful physical signals about what foods are right for you.
222 Sufficient protein-rich meat also is needed to prevent fluid imbalance, water retention, bloating, and water weight gain. Although many people blame water retention on too much salt in the diet (and sometimes on too much water), this condition is often caused by protein deficiency, a condition that is becoming increasingly common as people avoid meat and load up on carbohydrates. While too much meat in the diet can be bad for your health, too little meat can be just as harmful. Two 3-ounce portions (about the size of a deck of cards) per day is a good amount for most people.
BONUS TIP: The whole subject of meat in the diet is shrouded in confusion and misinformation. If you would like to learn more about the real pros and cons of eating meat, I suggest you consult Your Body Knows Best, which covers the topic in great detail.
223 Beware of kosher meats. They’re salted and their sodium content is too high for sodium-restricted diets. If you observe Jewish dietary laws, it’s best to buy kosher poultry and fish, which are either not salted at all or are salted but washed three times to remove most of the salt. If you do purchase kosher meats, remove as much of the salt as possible: thoroughly wash the meats with low-sodium water, simmer them in a lot of water, and discard the cooking water. To leech as much salt as possible out of the meat, cut the meat into pieces before cooking.
224 Organ meats are higher in sodium than muscle meats, but they still don’t contain nearly as much sodium as processed meats. If you occasionally enjoy eating a few pieces of nutrient-packed liver (from organic sources), prepare liver this salt-free way: lightly coat the liver pieces in whole grain flour and quickly sear them with
sliced onions in a few teaspoons of canola oil until done. Then squeeze on lemon juice, add freshly cracked black pepper, and enjoy. One Salt Shaker.
225 Rub salt-free dry marinades into meat or poultry before grilling, broiling, or baking. With Caribbean, Barbecue, and Moroccan varieties, The Spice Hunter dry marinades are easy to use and can instantly transport your taste buds to faraway places. For the best coating and flavor, apply a very light coat of oil, broth, salt-free tomato juice, or a mixture of any of these first before shaking on and rubbing in the marinade. Then cook meat as usual. One Salt Shaker.
226 Give steaks and chops flavor before broiling by topping them with herbs such as oregano, rosemary, or thyme and seasonings like garlic powder or onion powder. One Salt Shaker.
227 Or sprinkle Robbie’s low-sodium Worcestershire sauce or Mr. Spice’s sodium-free Garlic Steak Sauce on them. These versatile seasonings can be found in health food stores. One Salt Shaker.
228 Say good-bye to Accent and other meat tenderizers that are high in sodium and frequently contain MSG. Instead, try adding blended papaya or pineapple to marinades. Both of these fruits contain enzymes that help with digestion and that also can be used to tenderize meat.
229 Other tenderizing liquids to use in marinades are wine, lemon, or lime juice, or different varieties of vinegar. If you use wine, be sure to use table wine instead of cooking wine, which has added salt. Here’s a recipe from my book Super Nutrition for Women that uses red wine. It’s tremendously flavorful, even though it has only a few ingredients. One Salt Shaker.
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