Year: 2016

How You’re Going To Get Used To A Whole Foods Diet

If you’re looking to cut the fats, the salts, and the sugars from your diet, there’s one thing, in particular, you need to cut out of your life wholesale. It means that whatever supermarket you might have used before is likely about to become more than 80% out of bounds.

We’re talking about cutting out processed foods. It can be difficult to make the transition, but there are a few tools that you’re going to need to really make it.salad-791891_960_720

Get disciplined

If you’re getting into a whole foods diet, you have to commit. That means drawing a line in the sand and not allowing yourself any temptation to the dark side.

No, the occasional treat that forays back into the processed foods is not allowed. The science says that a lot of those ‘treats’, like chocolate, cake, and breads only make you hungrier. Meaning it’s even easier to slide back into bad habits. Continue reading “How You’re Going To Get Used To A Whole Foods Diet” →

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If Healthy Eating Is Your Life, You Need These Kitchen Items Now

We all know that it can be a struggle sometimes cutting back on salt, fat, and sugar. But we also know that these things are not great for our health, that is why we did it. But did you know that there are lots of awesome kitchen gadgets out there that make cooking without these things, not only possible but easy? No? Well, keep reading for a cooking revelation.

Blenders

Blenders are a great tool to have in any kitchen. Bt they can particularly help the low salt, low sugar, low-fat kitchen because they are brilliant at creating flavor. Continue reading “If Healthy Eating Is Your Life, You Need These Kitchen Items Now” →

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Garlic-herbed scallops — hold the butter, still delicious

Recipes cards at supermarket fish and beef counters seem a bit old-school, bu I still like to pick them up when looking for new ideas to meet my low-salt, low-fat, low-sugar diet requirements. I recently grabbed one for garlic-herbed scallops because I knew I had a package of scallops in my freezer and hadn’t been sure how to cook them.

My dinner of garlic-herbed scallops, zucchini slices and whole-wheat spaghetti.
My dinner of garlic-herbed scallops, zucchini slices and whole-wheat spaghetti.

I love garlic, herbs are fine, so I thought this would be worth a try. When I looked at the recipe, I saw it included butter and salt. I decided to leave those out. The result was a still very tasty olive-oil-based basting sauce that conveyed a wonderful taste to the scallops. Continue reading “Garlic-herbed scallops — hold the butter, still delicious” →

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A fun seafood restaurant in food-heavy Highwood, Il.

Highwood, a far northern Chicago suburb, has been known traditionally for its Italian restaurants but the foodscape there is becoming much more diverse these days. Lucky Fish Deli is just one example, a fun seafood shack that can make you feel like you’re in some sleepy East coast fishing town. Indeed, the decor was inspired by a trip the owner took to Maine, according to one story I’ve read.

Grilled octopus and asparagus at Lucky Fish, loved it.
Grilled octopus and asparagus at Lucky Fish, loved it.

The seafood was excellent. I went with a half-dozen oysters, which came out clean, fresh and cold as they should be served. I think the waiter said they were bluepoints. I was a little surprised there weren’t several varieties to choose from, but was very happy with what was available. Continue reading “A fun seafood restaurant in food-heavy Highwood, Il.” →

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Low-sodium Thanskgiving hacks from across the Web

Finding low-sodium options for Thanksgiving has been a passion of mine since my angioplasty in 2012. I’ve written about being sure to buy a low-sodium turkey, making low-sodium stuffing and low-sodium sides.

Time to eat all those turkeys! Happy Thanksgiving!
Time to eat all those turkeys! Buy a fresh one to cut salt that comes in self-basting, frozen ones. Happy Thanksgiving!

But the online world is amazing for the amount of information out there. I did a search for low-sodium thanksgiving turkey, for example, and found some other greats sites worth checking out as you plan your Thanksgiving.

Hackingsalt.com has what it terms a complete guide to a low-sodium Thanksgiving that includes a low-sodium apricot mustard glazed turkey and many sides.

Sodiumgirl.com, a site I love, has a guide to low-sodium turkey that includes the tip I’ve used of injecting salt-free broth into a turkey to juice it up.

And the dailydishus.com has 50 low-sodium Thanksgiving dishes to pick from.

So don’t despair about enjoying your Thanksgiving meal, you can get the salt out.

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Low-sodium Thanksgiving green beans — pick and choose here

A low-sodium Thanksgiving menu is possible and tasty, just look at the post I did outlining what you can make.

Green beans with balsamic vinegar and olive oil
Green beans with balsamic vinegar and olive oil

One of my ides is usually green beans. I included a low-sodium green-bean recipe in my menu. Bon Appetit recently sent me a piece entitled 19 Recipes to Make Green Beans Actually Exciting for Thanksgiving. Continue reading “Low-sodium Thanksgiving green beans — pick and choose here” →

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Here’s your low-sodium Thanksgiving menu!!!

Editor’s Note: This was written well before the Pandemic had an impact on U.S. food supplies. To read the latest for Thanksgiving 2021, click here. To read which items have disappeared froms tore shelves during the Pandemic, click here.

Thanksgiving is sneaking up on me this year as I’m just finishing up another long-term project. So I started my Thanksgiving menu food shopping yesterday. My first item, a low-salt fresh turkey at Costco.

You can read my past writing on low sodium Thanksgiving turkey, never buy a self-basting turkey, those are loaded with salt!!! Read the label before buying any turkey. Many, many have salt added. A regular turkey will have only about 70 mgs of sodium a serving, not hundreds.

You don’t have t spend a ton for a low-sodium turkey either. As I said, I bought

Always check the salt content of any turkey you want to buy. Many, including pre-packed turkey breasts, are loaded with salt.
Always check the salt content of any turkey you want to buy. Many, including pre-packed turkey breasts, are loaded with salt.

mine at Costco for 99 cents a pound. True some stores have other turkeys cheaper, but 99 cents a pound isn’t bad to get the salt out. Continue reading “Here’s your low-sodium Thanksgiving menu!!!” →

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If you believe foods can speed your metabolism, try these

Claims about foods and superfoods come and go, so I usually don’t put a lot of faith into anyone touting any food as helping with your health or specific aspects of it. But I tend to be more skeptical than most on the subject.

Put the trimmed broccoli in the steamer basket, cover and set the timer to the recommended cooking time.
My take on broccoli for Thanksgiving — steam it

So when I recently read this piece on 8 Foods That Can Help You Speed Up Your Metabolism I decided I’d share it with you all and you can decide whether you believe it or not. As we age, our metabolisms supposedly slow down, making it more difficult to maintain a healthy weight. So maybe these can help a bit. Continue reading “If you believe foods can speed your metabolism, try these” →

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Think you’re eating healthy? Think again

When I first met with a nutritionist to discuss health eating after my 2012 angioplasty, I brought along four pages of foods I liked to eat. She told me one by one that they were all unhealthy. Most had too much of one or more of what I call the evil triangle of American food — sugar, salt or fat.

My low-salt, low-fat, low-sugar pantry.
My low-salt, low-fat, low-sugar pantry. Are these healthy? For me, they are. Read every label before buying any food products.

This blog is the result of that meeting and of my attempt to keep eating foods I find tasty while cutting out the evil triangle. But it is extremely tough in a world of so many mixed food messages. That point was brought home to me by a recent piece I read on npr.org headlined 75 Percent of Americans Say They Eat Healthy — Despite Evidence To The Contrary. Continue reading “Think you’re eating healthy? Think again” →

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More on eating healthy and smart shopping at Costco

One of the most popular posts on this blog is a piece I wrote about how to make a Costco food court salad healthier by not using the dressing and eliminating even more salt by taking off the cheese as well. I’ve also written about how to shop smarter at warehouse club stores like Costco.

Smart shopping means buying items low in fat, salt and sugar. Know how to fill your shopping cart while avoiding this evil trio of additives.
Smart shopping means buying items low in fat, salt and sugar. Know how to fill your shopping cart while avoiding this evil trio of additives.

So I enjoyed coming across this story recently headlined Get the Skinny: The ‘Costco Diet.’  the piece really isn’t about a diet plan, as the headline might suggest. Rather, it lists products available at Costco that are relatively healthy, such as fresh produce and salmon, which I regularly buy there. Continue reading “More on eating healthy and smart shopping at Costco” →

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