Actual Brands - Info request

Hi ...me again asking for some of the tricks you have already learned. If there is already a thread for this please just send me there.

I am such a wimp .... a few weeks of low salt cooking and, I swear, I feel like I am back in the 60's again. For some reason stores are rather tricky for me to spend much time in without becoming very nauseous. So, I am asking for ALL of you to please give me ALL of the brand names of no salt (or very low salt) items that you know of so I do not have to read all the boxes. Luckily, salt and potassium are the only things on my "no-no" list. Decreasing the salt has made noticable improvement so I really want to give it a good try.

I am very happy that today I found 0 mg sodium bread. Whole Foods Bakehouse Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Bread. 7700 Peters Road Plantation, Florida 33024

They had Gluten and Salt Free Bread there also but I have to say the pricetag on that baby did not even let me touch it.

I also see Heinz has a no salt catsup .... they put that potassium substitute in it tho so I guess that is not a great solution.

Arrowhead Mills Peanut Butter. 0 mg sodium. I tried creamy valencia today and it is tasty.

Publix Spring Water 0mg Sodium.

XX
OO

 

Moogs, you need something like 1200 milligrams of sodium to maintain body wellness. All I do is real labels, but I have been doing that for thirty years so I am accustomed to it. I never salt my food, don't add salt to what I am cooking and that is a big deal. You could start there and see how it goes.

 

Hi, Moogs!

I'm with Gardenfish on this one...I never cook with salt, I never salt my food, and I rarely eat packaged food unless I read the label carefully.

When I eat out, I make sure to tell them "No added salt, please..."

In the beginning I tried to go completely salt-free. That drove me crazy. Then I realized that if I just stuck to what I described above, I was o.k. I generally try to keep my sodium levels around 1500 - 2000 mg per day.

That means I can eat just about anything - as long as I watch it. If I eat something especially salty, I have only a small portion, and keep everything else pretty lo-so for the rest of the day.

There's really no way to list all the name brands we use, as they differ greatly from area to area. If you have a Trader Joe's near you, you can pick up a list of Low Sodium foods they carry. I think Whole Foods might have a list, as well.

I read every label of every new item that goes in my shopping cart. Unfortunately, I'm not sure there's a way around this....

Try looking back at previous posts here in The Kitchen. Many folks have recommended certain products that they like. At least that's a start....

It really does get easier with time!!!

 

Well here's a few for starters.

Got to www.healthyheartmarket.com for some great options. Many of their items I can find around town and not pay shipping, but here are a few staples I buy regularly through them:

Hains Featherweight Baking Powder
Enrico's nosaltadded Pasta Sauce (delicious!)
Lum Taylors BBQ sauce (the best anywhere!, even if I didn't have to go low-sodium)
B&G unsalted Crunchy Kosher Dills
Westbrae Natural nosaltadded Stoneground Mustard
Heinz nosaltadded Ketchup

If you have access to a Trader Joes, these are regulars (their own brand) I get there:
Roasted Garlic Salsa
Solid White Tuna, no salt added
Whole Tomatoes, canned, no salt added
Omega Seed bread (this is the BEST I have found)

Other faves:
Niman Ranch bacon (lower than most low sodium bacon and tastes the BEST)
Saffola mayonnaise (lower sodium than most, and tastes the BEST)
Crown Prince natural Kipper Snacks
Crown Prince boiled Baby Clams
Eden Organics whole beans (black beans, cannellini, pintos, etc.)
Amy's Light In Sodium organic Refried Beans
Western Family has canned peas, beans and corn that are no salt added
Pacific Island American Soy Sauce (this is bought only online unless you live in Kansas, it is the BESt tasting soy sauce I have ever had, besides being the lowest in sodium I have seen) www.pacificislandspecialties.com
Crich Biocrackers, onion flavored, 100% organc, delicious!

For deli cuts, bacon, sausage and hotdogs that are all much lower in sodium than name brands, and nitrite/nitrate-free, check out Beeler's, Organic Prairie, Applegate Farms, and Niman Ranch.

Hormel is now selling uncured deli cuts (at Walmart), even pepperoni and salami,next to the standard stuff. What I'm discovering is that usually uncured meats, along with being healthier and better tasting, are naturally lower in sodium.

For frozen:
watch for sodium levels in frozen veggies and hashbrowns, they vary greatly
Birdseye sweet Garden Peas
Flavorite veggie stirfry combinations
OreIda shredded hashbrowns

I'm discovering heat-and-eat things in the freezer cases at healthfood stores, mostly made by Amy's, Kashi, and Cedarlane. Be sure to check labels as they differ remarkably.

Alvarado Street Breads (Sprouted Sourdough, and Flax seed varieties. Not no sodium, but low sodium, and taste GREAT!)

Corn Tortillas instead of flour

 

Even before this diagnosis, I never cooked with salt or added salt. So, now have eliminated the prepackaged salty stuff. Of course salt still comes in naturally in even raw products. But, so far aiming at a self-decided level of about 1200 mg seems to be helping me.

I am just a little frustrated about not being physically able to really stand and read the labels in the grocery so anyone who has already done this and passes it on has my grateful thanks.

XX
OO

 

I didn't cook with much salt or add much on a meal before meniere's but I did eat so much of the high sodium stuff most people do in the name of convenience and fun indulgence. It was quite an education, and an overwhelming one, when I started reading labels for sodium content.

I highly recommend this book for everyone goinmg low-sodium:

The No-Salt, Lowest Sodium Cookbook, by Donald A. Gazzaniga

Not only recipes for entrees, but sauces and dressings substitutions. And this stuff is delicious. It helps us to retrain our methods of food prep and also lays a good foundation for modifying our old favorites.

 

Burd covered alot of it.

I get the low sodium salsa at Trader Joe's, the Sodium Free whole wheat bread there and in the frozen dept, I get the delicious 'Grilled Vegetable Burritos' the sodium count for each (and they are big and filling) is 450 mg or so (the calorie count is also lower than the rest) one with a salad is a great meal. I also buy the Trader Joes low sodium chicken stock there. I get the pacific low sodium vegetable broth at my local health food store.

I also like Celantano's frozen Eggplant Pargmigana I just cut a slightly smaller slice and it comes into my range nicely and is delicious.

Lots of heath food stores carry a no salt rye bread from Canada by a brand 'Rudolphs. (Whole Foods has it. Wholefoods has great Wholewheat 'rollup bread' with 3mgs of sodium per serving.

I buy low salt/fat swiss cheese, and also mozzerella. Pomme Tomatoes are salt free.

Thanks for the tip on the oatmeal cinnamon bread at Wholefoods I will look out for it.

Again don't get depressed and crazy.......you will find after a while you can eat most anything with a few adjustments and stay within the 1500 to 2000 mg sodium range.

 

Just went to Wholefoods and I could not find that Apple Cinnamon bread...........was so disapointed! Will try again next week.

 

I also use Saffola unsalted margarine when I need it for toast or baking and cooking.

 

Hi,
The Whole Foods I go to bakes everything on the premises. I am not sure if it is that way everywhere or not. But, I am sure that they will either bake it or have it on hand for you if you request it.

I really am loving the apple cinnamon oatmeal bread. I keep it in the freezer and just pop it in the toaster. I am happy to hear about unsalted margarine too. Where do you get that? Usually I just dip my bread in olive oil (if I am ambitious I add garlic and organo) , but that does not work so well with sweet bread.

Tonight I am having Chicken Marsala ....really, really low salt ...but only because I made the broth from scratch a few days ago and froze it.

XX
OO

 

You mention broth...how could I forget?

Herbox Bouillon -
chicken or beef, make sure it says "very low sodium" on the label. (Only 5 mg. per teaspoon, tastes better than regular salted bouillon)

 

moogs-I buy the low sodium chicken, vegetable or beef broths so I can have them on hand, like when you are cooking the chicken marsala. You can get the big box ones for $1.99 if you look. I will check the homebaked section of the Wholefoods. That bread sounds yummy.

 

I use the Homemade Premium Stock from the healthy heart market. They carry chicken and beef:

http://www.healthyheartmarket.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=248

It's sodium free. Or I make my own, when I have the time and energy, then freeze it in usable quantities.

Good luck, Tracy

 

You can find Saffola products at many supermarkets.  Around here in my neck of the woods, I get it at WinCo or Fred Meyer.
The unsalted variety only comes in cubes.

 

Hi folks!

I am extremely happy with this hot hot sauce. A few drops go a very long way and only 15 mg Sodium per teaspoon. No msg. No added potassium. JCS Hot Cushed Peppers www.reggaecountrystyle.com

I bought it in the local grocery. MUST be refrigerated once it is opened.

XX
OO

 

Here's another website, most of these products should be able to be found around town instead of buying off the net.

http://www.livinglowsodium.com/index.html

 

Thanks AshleysMom for that helpful site!

 

Thanks Ashleysmom ... that site led me to some great other sites - some of them are more sophisticated than others. I have sent some of the less sophisticated ones email to ask for specific ingredient lists on the web as well as store locators.

very nice search engine here

http://www.arrowheadmills.com/products/index.php

These guys got a letter because I have seen their porduct on other sites and they have some things that would be great. http://www.littlebearfoods.com/products/index.php

These are all part of Hain .... sigh I guess they are probably part of the Moonies but what the heck. http://www.hain-celestial.com/brands.php

XX
OO

 

from a UK perpective:

i only add water or a home made stock now to recipes.
for a cereal i only stick with sugar puffs or kellogs optiva.
it seems that the supermarket own 'value' type tinned brands contain less sodium than the well known makes. eg: tinned tomatoes and beans.
crisps are available purely unflavoured (from smiths) with an added salt satchet - i forego the satchet and add my own flavour such as paprika, cayenne or chilli.
if i need to use tinned food (such as tuna or olives) i rinse first in water.



i tend to give the tinned anchovies a miss these days!!!


i appreciate the geniune flavours of foods so much more these days since avoiding processed / sodium rich foods and find, when i do come across a food containing salt, it overpowers all other flavours.

as far as a daily sodium allowance goes i'm a firm believer that in this modern world with our western diet - sodium will find us.... we do not have to find it.

steve

 

Saltlesstears- Your welcome

Moogs- Thanks and your welcome I use arrowhead mills products since their products are gluten free. Most have quite a bit of salt but not all. Montina baking substitute (sold in some health food stores is used in place of flour and baking powder and baking soda for recipes) is sodium free. Im not sure what it is, its made out of some special grain grown in montana It has a slight nutty flavor to it, its also gluten free, if you cook with it you need to add xantham gum to help hold it together so it doesnt crumble, good rule of thumb is 1 cup of gluten free flour to 1 tsp of xantham gum and adjust it accordingly to your recipe.

Steve- I use water too but I still end up making my food different since my husband likes the salt taste to his foods. If you rinse off your canned vegetables I read somewhere that 40 % of the sodium is rinsed off, I rinse mine in a colander to fully get it off. Corn, peas, and green beans can usually be found without salt with store name brands. For legumes I buy eden organic no salt added.