In honor of February’s American Heart Month, let’s talk heart health. One of the easiest ways for you to take control of this is, of course, nutrition and exercise.
Do you want to know the biggest trick to healthy eating? Making healthy food taste good! This month, we are focusing on creating bold, flavorful dishes while reducing one ingredient linked to heart problems: salt.
What’s the Deal with Salt?
A high-salt diet is related to heart issues like high blood pressure, strokes, or heart attacks. Click here to visit our Salt 101 blog, where you can learn the basics about salt and its impact. For now, let’s focus on practical heart healthy and low-sodium cooking tips!
The Salty Six
70% of extra salt in our diet comes from prepackaged food and fast foods. The following six foods are common culprits.
- Pizza
- Soup
- Breads
- Sauces and seasonings
- Cold-cuts and sandwiches
- Burritos and tacos
With a few easy, low-sodium twists, each of these foods can be enjoyed as often as you like! Try our recipes below.
Homemade Margherita Pizza
Customize with fresh veggies, lower-sodium pepperoni, or even a drizzle of hot honey!
Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Perfect for cold, chilly nights. Use leftover bacon from breakfast to speed up this hearty meal!
Homemade Spicy Marinara
Take your basic marinara sauce to the next level by adding a little kick!
Garlic Bread Tuna Melts
These lower-sodium tuna melts are a delicious way to get in some omega-3s!
Sweet Lime Fish Tacos
These tacos are fresh, flavorful, and full of nourishing ingredients.
Peanut Butter Banana Bread
This lower-sodium recipe will prove that bread doesn’t have to be full of sodium to taste good!
Low-Sodium Cooking
Rather than focusing on subtracting the amount of salt you eat (or worse, trying to cut out foods), focus on adding more heart healthy, low-sodium foods to your diet (like fruits, vegetables, fresh lean meats, eggs, and low-fat dairy). When you eat more of these foods, you have less room in your belly for those super salty foods, even if you aren’t consciously cutting back on them.
To learn how to make these fresh foods crave-worthy, let’s dive into some easy tips to create delicious, low-sodium meals.
Open Your Spice Cabinet
There is a world of flavor beyond just salt and pepper! Cumin and oregano and rosemary and cilantro, cinnamon and paprika and basil, even onion and garlic powder are shelf-stable and full of flavor. Using these spices, you may just find that you don’t miss the salt at all. Experiment with dried herbs, or try fresh herbs for an extra pop of flavor!
Use Aromatics
Nearly every recipe, no matter what corner of the world it originated from, uses garlic, onion, and olive oil as a flavorful foundation. Saute these aromatics as a base for everything from tacos to pasta sauce, and you may finding yourself needing to add a smaller pinch of salt at the end.
Add Lemon
Acidic foods, like lemons and limes, use the same taste buds as salt does.
The result? Dishes with less salt (and more acidity) can taste just as salty. So, garnish your dishes with a lemon wedge – not only does it make your food look appetizing, but a quick squeeze can take your flavor to the next level!
Choose Low-Sodium Products
These easy swaps make a big difference!
- Low-sodium soy sauce
- Unsalted butter
- Low-sodium chicken broth
- No-salt added canned tomatoes
Rinse your Canned Foods
Do you love canned goods? So do we! Just give your canned beans or veggies a quick rinse to remove excess sodium.
Homemade Seasonings and Sauces
Homemade seasonings and sauces are surprisingly easy – and affordable. Try our chipotle mayo recipe to get started.
Low-Sodium Snacking
Snacks like pretzels and chips are sneaky sources of salt. Instead of eliminating these foods, balance them out by adding low-sodium snacks into your rotation as well. Here are some easy ideas.
- Banana and peanut butter
- Yogurt and fruit
- Cottage cheese
- Apples
- Hardboiled egg
- Low-fat cheese
- (Unsalted!) popcorn
The Heart of the Matter
Let’s face it: life is better around a table filled with food, laughter, and loved ones – but salt doesn’t need to take the lead role. This month, take charge of your health with these simple tricks. Your heart will thank you!