Get the Salt Out

by Ann Louise Gittleman, Ph. D. , C. N. S.

  351 The worst way to quench your thirst if you eat too many salty snacks in a bar, for example, is to drink sugar-rich fruit juices, sodas, or alcoholic beverages. (Alcohol acts like sugar in the body.) According to Chinese food therapy, salty foods and sweet foods act in totally opposite ways: salty foods cause the body’s fluids to contract while sweet foods cause the body to expand or relax. If you overindulge in salty foods, your body usually craves sweet drinks as a way to maintain balance. However, if you have sweet (or alcoholic) drinks, you then will want more salty snacks. A vicious cycle results—an unhealthy salt-sugar or salt-alcohol interdependence that is often hard to break. (Bar owners count on this cycle, frequently providing free, salt-soaked tidbits on every table to increase the sales of alcoholic drinks.) To prevent this unhealthy habit from beginning, simply try to avoid salty snacks at bars, nightclubs, and parties. If you do accidentally eat more salty snacks than you should, stop the cycle dead in its tracks: order low-sodium bottled water and drink plenty of it to flush the unnecessary salt out of your system. Evian is a good, low-sodium brand of water you can order in most places.

  BONUS TIP: If you have high blood pressure, avoid alcohol as much as possible. Although it is low in sodium, alcohol contributes to hypertension, just like salt. Even if you don’t have high blood pressure, much evidence suggests that you also should avoid drinking alcohol, except for occasional glasses of wine. Alcohol interferes with the utilization of essential fatty acids and can prematurely age the skin. In excess, it also can cause liver dysfunction, malnutrition, depression, and blood-sugar instability. However, research also shows that wine contains beneficial substances that may raise good HDL cholesterol levels and may protect against heart disease. If you do decide to drink wine occasionally, drink no more than a glass or two a day, and try to buy organic wine (wine made from organic grapes, which don’t contain potentially harmful preservatives) whenever possible.

  TAKE A DIP

  352 Salsa is a party favorite, but you could be offering your guests a salty food if you serve a store-bought brand. Make salsa yourself instead. Homemade salsa always tastes better than the commercial varieties, and it is so quick and simple to prepare that there’s simply no excuse for not making your own. The recipe in tip 339 is so tasty you can serve it to guests, and it takes only about five minutes to prepare. One Salt Shaker.

  353 If you want to have store-bought salsa on hand just in case guests stop by unannounced, look for salsas by Mollina’s Finest or Enrico’s in health food stores. Both brands are made with sea salt and contain between 30 and 40 milligrams per tablespoon. Two Salt Shakers.

  354 Here’s a party pleaser: Spicy Bean Dip. Serve it with unsalted toasted blue-corn tortilla wedges for a novel (and just plain fun!) presentation your guests will love. Two Salt Shakers.

  SPICY BEAN DIP*

  1½ cups Refried Beans [from tip 263] or 1 (15-ounce) can of no-salt-added refried beans

  1 cup Simple South-of-the-Border Salsa [see tip 339] or other low-sodium salsa

  2 ounces freshly grated cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

  ¼ cup chopped cilantro (optional)

  Combine the beans and salsa in a saucepan over medium heat and stir to blend well. Heat until hot, then stir in the grated cheese and cilantro. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 5 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Serve warm. Makes about 2½ cups.

  355 Another dip that can turn a get-together into a fiesta is guacamole. Make it by mashing the inside of one avocado and combining the mashed avocado with ingredients like finely chopped tomato, onion, salt-free chili powder, and fresh lemon or lime juice to taste. An even easier way of preparing guacamole is to mash up an avocado and mix it with the amount of low-sodium salsa you desire. One Salt Shaker.

  356 To make ultra-quick dips when you don’t have any time to spare, use salt-free mixing packets like those from The Spice Hunter or the Canadian Herb and Spice Company (both can be found in health food stores). Combine these savory herbal combinations with nonfat yogurt and a tablespoon of light sour cream for simple yet tasty dips that are low in both fat and sodium. One Salt Shaker.

  357 A small amount of miso (see tip 65) is excellent for giving bland bean dips a slightly salty, robust flavor. This simple bean dip recipe from my book Super Nutrition for Menopause gives you an easy example of how to use miso. Two Salt Shakers.

  WINTER BEAN PATE

  4 cups adzuki beans, cooked and drained

  1 tablespoon light miso [see tip 65]

  ¼ teaspoon cayenne

  2 tablespoons rice vinegar

  2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  1 garlic clove, minced

  1 teaspoon dried thyme

  1 teaspoon dried oregano

  Blend all the ingredients in a blender or food processor. Serve with whole grain tortillas or crackers. Makes 4 cups.

  358 Emphasize vegetables at parties. It’s one way to make sure you serve low-sodium, nutritious foods. Do not use vegetables only as crudites around the dip; use them as flavorful additions to the dip itself. Here’s a healthy vegetable dip idea from Cooking for Healthy Healing by Linda Rector-Page. One Salt Shaker.

  MEDITERRANEAN SPINACH DIP FOR CRUDITÉS

  1 bunch fresh spinach, washed well and chopped

  1 cup plain low-fat yogurt

  1 green onion, chopped

  ½ teaspoon dill weed

  Blend all the ingredients in a blender until finely chopped. Makes 4 cups.

  359 Use the rich flavor of unsalted nut butters to create tasty dips. Sesame seed butter, known as tahini, is the most popular nut butter used in dips. It’s a standard in Middle Eastern hummus (a chickpea bean dip with garlic, olive oil, and lemon) and Greek babaghanoush (eggplant pâté with garlic, olive oil, and lemon). Other nut butters such as almond butter also can be used creatively. In the following recipe, nutritionist Melissa Diane Smith combines unsalted peanut butter with yogurt, ginger, garlic, onion, and aromatic sweet spices to create an exotic Thai Peanut Dip. One Salt Shaker.

  THAI PEANUT DIP

  1 small to medium onion, finely chopped

  1 tablespoon sesame or peanut oil

  1 to 2 garlic cloves, crushed

  Small piece of fresh gingerroot, peeled and finely chopped

  2 teaspoons ground coriander Pinch of turmeric

  3/4 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)

  1 cup plain nonfat yogurt

  1 cup unsalted and unsweetened natural-style peanut butter

  Juice of 1 lemon

  Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

  Sauté the onion in the oil a few minutes until soft. Add the garlic and ginger to the onion and cook for another minute. Mix in the spices and the yogurt and cook over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until the mixture thickens and most of the liquid is absorbed. Combine the cooked yogurt mixture, peanut butter, and lemon juice in a blender or food processor and blend until the dip is medium-thick in consistency. Add a few drops of water or lemon juice if the mixture is too thick, then blend again. Sprinkle chopped parsley on top before serving. Spread thinly on low-salt, whole grain tortilla or pita wedges or serve with vegetable sticks. Serves 6 to 8.

  APPETIZERS AND HORS D’OEUVRES

  360 Transform low-salt entrées into low-salt appetizers by changing the way you present them. For example, make cocktail meatballs out of the Herbed Hamburgers recipe in tip 231 or the Mexican Turkey Burgers recipe in tip 232. Bake the meatballs in a 350-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes until done, then serve them on a festive warmed plate. One Salt Shaker.

  361 Miniature-style casual foods also make great hors d’oeuvres. Double or triple the Turkey Sausage Pizza recipe in either tip 301 or 302, and after baking, cut into bite-size squares. Two to Three Salt Shakers.

  362 Or make cocktail burritos instead of the Bean Burros in tip 305. Cut whole wheat tortillas in quarters or sixths, add a dollop of refried beans to each portion, and wrap into mini-burritos. Hold each one together with a frilly cocktail toothpick if necessar
y. Two Salt Shakers.

  363 Mini-shish kebabs are versatile crowd pleasers. They can be made with chicken, turkey, lamb, beef, shrimp, scallops, or even a firm fish like swordfish. To make them, marinate the pieces in a low-sodium salad dressing like herbal vinaigrette or a combination of lemon juice, herbed olive oil, garlic, and Italian seasonings. Skewer the marinated pieces on wooden sticks that have been soaked in water for at least 30 minutes, then broil. Add a few dashes of herbal salt if desired. One to Two Salt Shakers.

  364 Make festive broiled vegetable brochettes to go alongside the meat kebabs. Colorful vegetables to arrange on skewers are zucchini and yellow squash rounds, bell pepper and onion chunks, and whole mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. One Salt Shaker.

  365 Dress up chicken drumsticks by brushing with any Mr. Spice sauce before baking. (See tip 289.) One Salt Shaker.

  366 Or dress them up with flavorful herbs that are beneficial to the mind and body. One herb, rosemary, for example, has for centuries been used as a folk remedy to combat stress and bring about positive effects on the mind. Some research suggests that rosemary does in fact lessen stress, presumably because of a compound it contains called rosemaricine or possibly because of its rich calcium content. Rosemary also is known to contain potent antioxidant substances. I tend to use this aromatic herb as a flavorful, healthy addition to fancy party foods. Here’s a recipe from Jane Kinderlehrer, author of Smart Chicken, who uses rosemary to add a sophisticated touch to chicken leg appetizers. One Salt Shaker.

  STUFFED BROILED CHICKEN LEGS ROSEMARY

  8 whole chicken legs

  1½ teaspoons sodium-free herbal seasoning

  Pepper

  1 tablespoon canola oil

  ¼ cup lemon or lime juice

  2 teaspoons dried rosemary

  2 teaspoons prepared mustard

  Parsley and 1 orange, in sections, for garnish

  Carefully pull the skin of the thigh away from the meat. Sprinkle the flesh with herbal seasoning and pepper. Blend together the oil with the lemon or lime juice, rosemary, and mustard. Spread about 2 teaspoons of this mixture under the skin of each thigh. Place the chicken pieces, skin side down, in a broiling pan coated with nonstick cooking spray (or oil). Broil about 6 inches from the heat source for about 14 minutes, or until brown. Turn and broil the other side for another 14 minutes. To serve, spread the cooked chicken with any remaining rosemary mixture (which has not come in contact with the raw chicken), pour the pan juices over the chicken, and garnish the platter with parsley and orange sections. Serves 8.

  367 Serve simple appetizers made out of small portions of fresh fruit to balance out any spicy or slightly salty foods you may serve. Try offering kiwi cups (halved kiwi fruit) served with miniature spoons, or apple slices. (To prevent them from browning, soak them in lemon juice.) Another idea is to make miniature fruit skewers by threading whole strawberries and chunks of fresh pineapple onto long party toothpicks. One Salt Shaker.

  HOLIDAY FOODS

  368 Moderation is the key word to keep in mind during the holidays. Taste the special foods of the season, but don’t overindulge. Understand that standard holiday foods like mashed potatoes, stuffing, and gravy have a lot of salt hidden within them. If you decide you want a regular serving of mashed potatoes, try to skip the gravy and stuffing, or if you want a little bit of everything, compromise and allow yourself a very small dab of each.

  369 Drink a large glass of low-sodium, filtered water before a holiday meal. It will help take the edge off your appetite (so you’ll be less likely to load up on too many salty foods), and it will also help your body rid itself of any unnecessary salt you may eat.

  370 To lower the sodium content of your typical holiday meal, revise your holiday recipes by following the tips in the Lower Sodium Cooking Substitutions section in Chapter 1. For example, if a holiday recipe calls for three tablespoons of butter, substitute unsalted butter instead. Making just this one change will lower the sodium content in a recipe by 360 milligrams.

  BONUS TIP: Also be sure to increase the heart-healthy potassium and magnesium content in meals by substituting unrefined grain products in place of refined carbohydrates. The extra potassium and magnesium supplied by whole grains will be helpful if you accidentally eat more salt than you should.

  371 If serving ham is traditional for holiday meals at your house, see if you can start a new tradition. Garlic-and rosemary-studded roast leg of lamb or roast turkey breast rubbed with sage are wonderful holiday entrees that are much lower in salt. One Salt Shaker.

  372 Make homemade gravy instead of relying on a saltladen mix. Try this basic recipe from Secrets of Salt-Free Cooking by Jeanne Jones. If you like, experiment with adding herbs for extra flavor. One Salt Shaker.

  UNSALTED CHICKEN OR TURKEY GRAVY

  2 cups defatted chicken or turkey drippings

  2 cups unsalted chicken or turkey stock

  3 tablespoons arrowroot

  ¼ cup cold water

  1 tablespoon unsalted butter

  2 tablespoons minced onion

  1 cup thinly sliced fresh mushrooms

  Freshly ground black pepper

  Fresh lemon juice (optional)

  Heat the defatted drippings and stock in a saucepan. Dissolve the arrowroot in the cold water and add to the saucepan. Cook slowly over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens slightly.

  While the gravy is cooking, heat the butter in a skillet and add the minced onion. Cook until the onion is tender, then add the sliced mushrooms. Continue cooking until the mushrooms are tender, then add to the gravy. Season to taste with pepper and a little fresh lemon juice, if desired. Makes 2 to 3 cups.

  373 Old-fashioned bread stuffing is a high source of sodium because there is salt in the bread as well as in the dressing itself. One way to reduce the sodium content of stuffing is to used cooked grains like wheat berries, brown rice, or buck- wheat groats in place of bread cubes. In the following recipe, oats are used to create a lower-sodium dressing that still tastes very much like traditional bread stuffing. Two Salt Shakers.

  OATMEAL STUFFING*

  2 cups rolled oats

  2 eggs, lightly beaten

  2 tablespoons oil

  1 garlic clove, pressed

  1/2 cup finely chopped onion

  1/2 cup finely minced celery

  Freshly ground pepper and Real Salt [see tip 55], or unrefined sea salt [see tip 54] to taste

  2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

  1 teaspoon salt-free poultry seasoning

  ½ teaspoon dried sage, rubbed in your palms

  2 cups (or more) homemade or low-sodium canned chicken broth

  In a medium-size bowl, combine the oats and eggs. Stir together until the oats are coated with egg and set aside to soak for 5 minutes.

  In a large skillet, heat the oil, then add the oats. Toast the oats in the oil and stir and toss often until they are golden brown and make clumps, looking almost like ground beef. Add the garlic, onion, celery, and seasonings. Cook slowly until the vegetables begin to soften, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth and simmer until the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. The dressing should remain moist even when the liquid disappears. Add a little more broth or water if needed. Serve hot. Serves 6.

  374 If you make stuffing from a mix, I recommend that you use either Shelton’s Cornbread Dressing Mix or Shelton’s Whole Wheat Dressing Mix. Although neither one is low in sodium, both are made with sea salt and are much lower in sodium than commercial mixes such as Stove Top. Shelton stuffing mixes also don’t contain the MSG and partially hydrogenated oils found in commercial brands. Three Salt Shakers.

  375 What’s a delicious holiday food you don’t have to feel guilty eating? Roasted chestnuts, a low-sodium snack that’s so good its mentioned in Christmas carols. To roast chestnuts at home in your oven, follow these instructions from Harriet Roth’s Deliciously Low. One Salt Shaker.

  CHESTNUTS ROASTED ON AN OPEN FIRE


  (Or in Your Oven)

  1 pound raw chestnuts

  Pick over the chestnuts and discard any that are soft or wormy. Cut an X on the rounded side of each chestnut. Place them with the cut side up on a nonstick baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the baking sheet in the oven and roast for 1 hour, or until done. Sprinkle with a few tablespoons of water every 15 or 20 minutes during cooking. The chestnuts will burst open when ready. Remove the outer shells and inner skins before eating. Makes ½ pound roasted chestnuts.

  376 If you like to give food gift packs to friends for the holidays, carefully select the assortment of foods you send and diplomatically let others know that you would appreciate the same courtesy. There’s nothing nicer than giving foods to celebrate the season, but foods often found in gift baskets include salted roasted nuts, summer sausage, smoked meats, smoked cheese, and processed cheese spreads. All of these are high sources of sodium—an overlooked fact that does not convey your wishes for a healthy and happy holiday season very well. Instead of sending baskets with these items, start a health-promoting holiday tradition by giving gift parcels that contain unsalted roasted nuts, small amounts of natural cheese, and plenty of fresh fruit.

  This recipe was adapted from a recipe for Spicy Bean Dip that appeared in Feed Your Soul by George Fowler and Jeff Lehr.

  This recipe was adapted from a recipe for Oatmeal Stuffing that appeared in The Yeast Connection Cookbook by William G. Crook, M.D., and Marjorie Hurt Jones, R.N.

  Get the Salt Out of Baked Goods, Desserts, and Treats

  I have stressed throughout this book that if you eat natural foods, you will consume less sodium. Desserts are no exception to this rule. If you buy processed desserts (the kind that are designed to sit on grocery shelves for months), you’re much more likely to consume more sodium than you should. Surprisingly, many of them are laced with salt. For example, instant pudding is alarmingly high in sodium, with more than 400 milligrams per half-cup. On the other hand, our most natural dessert—fresh fruit—is essentially sodium-free. In between these two extremes are many low-sodium desserts, but almost all desserts found in traditional supermarkets, whether low-sodium or not, should be avoided because they contain refined salt (as well as refined sugar, harmful fats, and chemicals).