A quick primer on low-sodium, reduced-sodium, et. al.

This blog is all about eating less sodium (and less fat and sugar). Cutting back on salt helped lower my blood pressure over the years and can do the same for you. We write about low-salt foods and recipes so much, we assume everyone knows how much salt they should be eating every day. But of course that’s not true, so here’s a quick primer we found recently on tylerpaper.com.

“The American Heart Association recommends no more than 2,300 milligrams a day of sodium and moving toward an ideal limit of no more than 1,500 mg per day for most adults. On average, Americans eat more than 3,400 milligrams of sodium each day,” writes Claudann Jones Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.

Looks promising, lots of protein too. — Read every label for salt content!

The author talks about where to find salt content on food labels and also includes this handy primer of all the terms food processors use about salt, most designed to make you think the products have less sodium than they actually do:

• Sodium-free – Less than 5 milligrams of sodium per serving and contains no sodium chloride

• Very low sodium – 35 milligrams or less per serving

• Low sodium – 140 milligrams or less per serving

• Reduced (or less) sodium – At least 25 percent less sodium per serving than the usual sodium level

• Light (for sodium-reduced products) – If the food is “low calorie” and “low fat” and sodium is reduced by at least 50 percent per serving

• Light in sodium – If sodium is reduced by at least 50 percent per serving

She also reminds readers to think about how many servings of a given product they would normally eat. The label lists salt for one serving but who really eats only one serving of anything?

May 20, 2021 0

A Record Year for Nosaltnofatnosugar.com Thank You All

We had a record number of visitors to our No Salt No Fat No Sugar Journal in 2020, more than 34,600 people, eclipsing our old record set in 2017.

“Covid and the move to more eating at home sent a lot of people looking for healthier recipes like we provide,” says site Founder and Editor John N. Frank. “While a lot of people were binging on chips and junk food, I’d like to think some realized they need to get the salt, fat and sugar out of their diets as they think more about what they eat every day.”

This site’s recipe page remains its most popular feature.

Frank started the blog in late 2012 after his first angioplasty to open a blocked artery which nearly killed him. He’s since had a second stent inserted in a different artery in 2017.

He has utilized his prior experience as a food journalist to find or modify recipes to get out the excessive salt, bad fats, and high amounts of sugar that many Americans eat every day without realizing what’s in their food.

Frank recently was named a 2020 top executive by Marquis’ Who’s Who in recognition of his career in journalism, his work on this blog, his efforts to start a small theater and his volunteer work with Mended Hearts, a national peer-to-peer support group for those dealing with heart disease.

“I’ve been stuck inside all year like everyone else but I’ve tried to keep busy,” he jokes.

December 30, 2020 0

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

Is black pepper the next super food?

I’m always wary of claims that various foods can cure anything or even improve health. The science of how what we eats impacts us is still too primitive and too general for my taste. Case-in-point is this story I read recently about black pepper.

Find a spice store that will create salt-free blends for you

For someone trying to cut salt from their diets, pepper becomes a go-to flavoring It’s usually available when eating out, for one, and it’s tasty without being spicy hot which I tend to shy away from. So I’m using more pepper in my cooking.

But this Time article says black pepper could aid digestion and have other health benefits as well. It also can counter-act some carcinogens in charred beef (barbecue fans take note).

I hope all that is true, but for now, I’ll just use black pepper because I like the taste. If you have a local spice shop, ask for a salt-free mixture of various peppers as I’ve done to get some variety of flavor.

January 16, 2019 1

Let’s talk heart attacks for a minute…just a minute

Regular readers of my blog know I began this after having angioplasty to open an 80% blocked artery very close to my heart. Doctors told me I did not have a heart attack but had come very, very close on the day when I felt the pressure on my chest and it seemed like air had stopped reaching my lungs.

So while this blog is about eating no salt, no sugar, no fat recipes and no salt, no sugar, no fat restaurant meals, if you can find them, I continue to watch news about heart disease. Recently two different e-mails came to me listing heart attack triggers, one from AARP and the other from WebMD. Continue reading “Let’s talk heart attacks for a minute…just a minute” →

January 19, 2017 0

Ready for some 2017 food advice? Here’s what Cooking Light says

My e-mail inbox continues to be flooded with advice on how to eat better in 2017. I’ve written one post about this and here’s another. Cooking Light magazine has an entire guide called “Start Your Year Off Right.”

Ready for healthy eating in 2017? Check my recipe page for no salt, no sugar recipes.

Included is a three-day detox regime that I think I would shy away from. Anything that says detox makes assumptions about foods I’m not comfortable making. Continue reading “Ready for some 2017 food advice? Here’s what Cooking Light says” →

January 18, 2017 0

No salt, no sugar Memorial Day recipes — a great grilled berry dessert

Memorial Day grilling recipes usually involve meat or fish or some sort, whether it be chicken or, my personal favorite, salmon. So I was intrigued to see this recipe on FoodNetwork.com for a grilled strawberry dessert.

Here’s the ingredient list and how I’d modify it to get some sugar and fat out of it: Continue reading “No salt, no sugar Memorial Day recipes — a great grilled berry dessert” →

May 28, 2016 1

No salt, no sugar Memorial Day recipes — barbecued chicken

Memorial Day weekend is the official start to the summer cook-out season, so naturally every food site and publication has been posting Memorial Day barbecue and grilling recipes. But most are loaded with salt and sugar because most prepared barbecue sauces are as well.

Chicken rosemary skewers were wonderfully flavorful and easy to make. — Time to put some chicken on the grill for Memorial Day?

So for the next four days, I’ll be posting no salt, no sugar, low-fat variations on what everyone else is telling you to make. some times I’ll be referring back to past recipes fo mine, like my salmon done five ways on the grill. Continue reading “No salt, no sugar Memorial Day recipes — barbecued chicken” →

May 27, 2016 2

Some simple, yet tasty, salmon recipes from Costco Connection

Low salt, low fat and low sugar recipes are the main reason readers come to this site, so I’m always on the look-out for more great, and easy to make recipes. I found these two salmon recipes in the May issue of The Costco Connection, Costco’s magazine.

In another sheet of aluminum foil, place your four pieces of salmon and separate with aluminum foil. Then rub in marinades for each. — Grilling salmon is a luscious experience. Click the links here to see two grilled salmon recipes form Costco.

One is for grilled salmon with grilled vegetables. I’ve done variations of this many times, either grilling veggies on skewers or in big pans. This calls for putting zucchini, pepper and onions in foil, seasoning with basil, garlic and olive oil and then just grilling the packet for five minutes. What could be easier? The salmon itself int his recipe is simply brushed with olive oil and grilled. Continue reading “Some simple, yet tasty, salmon recipes from Costco Connection” →

May 20, 2016 2

How Much Salt is in a McDonald’s Premium McWrap?

McDonald’s has been getting a lot of advertising mileage out of its new Premium McWraps, touting them as healthy offerings. But how healthy are they if you’re on a restricted diet, specifically if you’re on a no-salt diet as I am?

Unfortunately, not very, according to nutrition information on the McDonald’s website. A premium chicken McWrap with grilled chicken and ranch sauce has 1,130 mgs of sodium. I’m not supposed to have more than about 1,200 mgs a day, so one of these new McWraps would be a day’s salt for me. That’s unacceptable, and should be for you too if you’re watching your salt. Order it without the cheese, and you’re still at 1,030 mgs, still way too high. Leave off the ranch sauce and you’re down to 930 mgs, still more than half a day’s sodium.

Please McDonald’s, I want to be able to eat at your places again, you’re everywhere, no place is more convenient for a quick lunch. But all I can order these days is a side salad without any dressing. I carry my own oil and vinegar to avoid your high-sodium dressings. Please get the salt out.

John

April 29, 2013 1

Tag: No salt