More pandemic food casualties: Salt-free teriyaki sauce, low- and no-fat cheeeses

Healthier food options have definitely been casualties of the Covid-19 pandemic. With demand up because people are eating at home more, food processors have stepped up production of their most popular offerings — normally the least healthy ones — and dropped healthier ones. The same is true for mainstream supermarkets which are having trouble keeping their shelves stocked, still today.

Preparing salmon with Mrs. Dash no-salt marinades.

The latest healthier product that’s become impossible to find in stores near me — Mrs. Dash sweet teriyaki sauce.

Mrs. Dash teriyaki is salt-free, a miracle when it comes to anything with an Asian flavor to it. I use it constantly on fish and in stir fry veggie, chicken and shrimp dishes I create.

In normal times, I could buy it locally at Food 4 Less, a Kroger store in my area.

But the pandemic has wiped it from the shelves here. Checking the store website, it’s not even listed for shipment. Continue reading “More pandemic food casualties: Salt-free teriyaki sauce, low- and no-fat cheeeses” →

July 9, 2020 0

13 food and beverage items not to keep in your frig

We’ve worked hard over the years to find condiments that aren’t overloaded with salt, sugar and fat. So we’ve found low-salt ketchup, low-salt salsa and even a low-salt teriyaki marinade. So I thought I’d be in good shape when I saw this post about the 13 Worst Foods in Your Fridge

I've found two brands of low-sodium,low-sugar ketchup, Westbrae and LocalFolks Foods. — I’ve found two brands of low-sodium,low-sugar ketchup, Westbrae and LocalFolks Foods.

Sure enough, regular ketchup is there, as are pickles (I’ve found low-salt pickles to substitute). I knew regular soda was loaded with sugar but tonic water surprised me, it made the list because of calories. Continue reading “13 food and beverage items not to keep in your frig” →

May 2, 2019 0

Here’s all you need to become an asparagus master chef

Asparagus has a variety of health benefits but can be intimidating to some to prepare and cook. If you’ve been in that group, fear not, this Food Network guide, How to Cook Asparagus, will turn you into an asparagus master chef who will soon be dazzling your friends with your asparagus prowess.

It gives you a basic rundown of how to prep asparagus for cooking, how to steam them and how to grill them.

I regularly use pepper on grilled veggies such as these asparagus and zucchini.

Once you’ve reviewed it all, move on to my recipe page to see how to make asparagus with balsamic tomatoes, or asparagus as part of a grilled veggie selection that will dazzle all your friends. The photo I’m using for this site shows asparagus cooking on my outdoor grill, one of my favorite ways to make them.

April 2, 2019 0

Getting the salt out — it’s everywhere, here are some examples

Salt has become one of the three evils for my body since my first stent in 2012, and the second in 2016. I’ve redone my eating, cooking and food shopping habits to get the salt out of my diet and seen my blood pressure fall as a result.

Salt can lead to stomach cancer, one more reason to get it out of your diet. — Too much salt will be in processed and restaurant foods for years to come.

Americans eat more than the recommended amounts of salt daily because salt is in almost every food we buy, especially at restaurants, If you don’t believe that, take a look at this WebMD slide show about where salt hides in our foods.

Some, like frozen dinners or processed meats, you might already know about. But what about cereals, juices and canned veggies? Yep, there too. Enjoy and learn from the show…and do pass [up on] the salt.

February 27, 2019 0

Looking for a diet plan? Here’s how U.S. News ranks the plans

I’ve said before this is not a diet site, its a site for helping you cut the salt, fat and sugar from your daily food intake (ok, diet). If you cut all three of those, chances are you’ll be losing weight because you will simply be eating less.

But that said, it’s January and this is when everyone realizes how much they over-ate during the year-end Holiday season and so searches for the best diet to help them drop some pounds.

The Keto Diet got lots of press in 20918, but it’s not at the top of the list of best diets U.S. News has put out for 2019. Number one is the Mediterranean Diet which I think of as very old-school since it’s been around, and recommended by healthcare professionals, for some time. Continue reading “Looking for a diet plan? Here’s how U.S. News ranks the plans” →

January 7, 2019 0

17 health eating tips for 2018

WebMd.com is a go-to source on health information for me, I check it several times a week. So I was happy to see among the frenzy of year-end lists that it put out a healthy eating tips list for 2018.

Cutting sugar, as found in treats like this, is on the WebMD list of 2018 eating suggestions.

Some of these 16 tips are basic, like the first two, eat more fruits and vegetables and cut down on fast food. Haven’t we all been trying to do both forever now? Continue reading “17 health eating tips for 2018” →

January 16, 2018 0

More low-salt, low-fat Thanksgiving side dishes

Turkey day is almost here and lots of you already have come to our site searching for low-salt turkeys and low-salt stuffing recipes. We also have recipes for low-salt side dishes, but went looking for more and found some that sound tasty in a big Thanksgiving roundup done by Bon Appetit magazine.

Roasted carrots with red onions, fennel and mint is the first. I’m not usually a giant mint fan, but here I might make an exception…or I might just leave out the mint along with leaving out the added salt recommended here to make this a low-salt recipe.

Here’s what you’ll need:

2 pounds small carrots (about 2 bunches), peeled, cut into 3-inch pieces
2 large red onions, each cut through root end into 8 wedges
1 fennel bulb, cut into ½-inch wedges
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper [leave out the salt]
2 tablespoons raw sunflower seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, coarsely chopped
½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper or a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon Hungarian hot paprika
2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons torn mint leaves

I normally link to the original page but some readers have complained about that, so here’s the instructions as well: Continue reading “More low-salt, low-fat Thanksgiving side dishes” →

November 21, 2017 1

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.

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!!!” →

November 18, 2016 5

Low-salt, low-sugar barbecue chicken with a garlic kick

My quest for low-salt, low-sugar ketchup led me to try Doc’s a while back but I’ve written about how it was too spicy for my tastes. Rather than throw out the bottle, however, I’ve been saving it to use as a barbecue sauce, figuring the spiciness would work better for such usage.

Ingredients for my barbecue garlic chicken.

I thought about it as I was preparing to bake some chicken breasts recently and, after looking to see what else was in my pantry and refrigerator, hit upon the idea of mixing it with a Localfolks barbecue sauce that I’d found tasty but quite mild. Continue reading “Low-salt, low-sugar barbecue chicken with a garlic kick” →

April 8, 2016 2

No-salt Christmas gifts? Here’s some suggestions

Healthy Heart Market has variety of low-salt and low-fat items. I’ve written about one product from there in the past. I initially bought items from it after my 2012 angioplasty, but haven’t in more recent days as I find more items locally, saving me the shipping costs of ordering online.

But I’m still on the Healthy Heart Market e-mail list, so I was intrigued to recently get something from there advertising gift boxes for Christmas. Boxes include one for soups, another for condiments, even as Asian box — a good trick since Asian food is notoriously high in sodium. The Asian box includes one of my favorite product, Mrs. Dash teriyaki marinade.

Continue reading “No-salt Christmas gifts? Here’s some suggestions” →

December 16, 2015 1

Tag: Low salt