Tag: salt

Boltwood: a new restaurant with some interesting offerings

My wife and I recently tried a new restaurant in our suburb of Evanston that has been getting a lot of positive buzz because its owner is a well-known local restaurateur. My top-line review is Boltwood is good, with touches of great but with some work to be done. I, as always, would like to see more low-salt and low-fat options, plus more creative flavoring in what is available.

But I did have some wonderful surprises there, especially when I allowed myself to splurge on a side dish I knew would be salty by its very nature (it includes anchovies).

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We started with a beet and grapefruit salad that sounded like an interesting combination but basically tasted like beet salad with the grapefruit pickled as well. It also has nuts in it, which is a turn-off for me but not for most people so ignore my personal taste on that. Continue reading “Boltwood: a new restaurant with some interesting offerings” →

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Naf Naf Grill: finally some fast food that isn’t loaded with salt, fat

I’ve ranted here before about fast food and other restaurants these days that tout selling “healthy” food when in fact their offerings are still loaded with salt, fat and sugar. Some, like the Protein Bar, in Chicago are growing rapidly with these false health claims, basically pushing salt on unsuspecting patrons.

So it’s nice to be able to write about one new chain in our area, the Naf Naf Grill, that actually has new, tasty variations on familiar foods using low-salt and low-fat recipes. A Naf Naf lunch once a week has become a special treat for me. The menu has Midwestern-inspired offerings, but Naf Naf makes its own low-salt pita bread and uses extremely lean beef and chicken for its pita sandwiches while keeping them tasty and filling!

The menu board from a Naf Naf Grill location in Niles, Ill. Other outlets have slightly different offerings.
The menu board from a Naf Naf Grill location in Niles, Ill. Other outlets have slightly different offerings.

This past weekend I visited one of the chain’s original three locations in Niles, Ill., and tried something it doesn’t offer at its outlet on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue near my office, a chicken kabob sandwich in a pita. Continue reading “Naf Naf Grill: finally some fast food that isn’t loaded with salt, fat” →

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Outer Spice: a tasty low-salt approach to spicing up your food

A food blogger friend recently told me about Outer Spice, a brand of spices that offers no-salt and low-salt varieties. I’m always searching for low- to no-salt ways to give some taste to my post-angioplasty diet these days, so I got in touch with the Texas-based company and asked for samples to review.

Two varieties of Outer Spice, which offers no-salt and low-salt blends.
Two varieties of Outer Spice, which offers no-salt and low-salt blends.
The Outer Spice nutrition label for the salt-free spicy mix.
The Outer Spice nutrition label for the salt-free spicy mix.

I received the no-salt Outer Spice Spicy blend and Outer Spice original with sea salt — 95 mgs per half teaspoon. Tasting them straight out of the jars, the spicy variety tasted perhaps more spicy than I normally eat while the other tasted fine, if a bit salty to my palate which is largely devoid of salt these days. Continue reading “Outer Spice: a tasty low-salt approach to spicing up your food” →

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FDA salt guidelines will shake up the food industry: a guest post

This is a guest post that crossed my desk at my day job writing for a healthcare magazine. I asked for permission to use it on my personal blog, hoping it will help others wrestling with getting the salt out of their diets, as I am. It was supplied to me by Diane O’Donnell, senior public relations specialist at the North Shore-LIJ Health System in Great Neck, N.Y. A video also is available, simply click here to see it.

New FDA guidelines aimed at reducing the level of sodium that food companies and restaurants put in their fare can’t come soon enough for one New York nutrition expert.

Demon salt. keep it out of your diet.
Demon salt. keep it out of your diet.

“This is a long time coming,” said Nancy Copperman, a registered dietitian and corporate director of Public Health Initiatives for the North Shore-LIJ Health System. “Much of the sodium that we eat is hidden in foods, and we don’t realize how much we get from just the processed foods that we buy,” Continue reading “FDA salt guidelines will shake up the food industry: a guest post” →

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The No salt, no fat, no sugar Journal is growing, big-time

Last week, the No Salt, No Fat, No Sugar Journal reached a milestone in its less than two years of existence — our total views through just barely more than five month of this year reached double what they had been for all of 2013!

Our average daily page views are up almost five times where they were when we ended 2013 and we have had record month after record month of total views. We just finished three straight weeks of increased viewership.

Me before my surgery and before dropping about 30 pounds on my low-salt, low-fat, low-sugar diet.
Me before my surgery and before dropping about 30 pounds on my low-salt, low-fat, low-sugar diet.
Me at the farmers' market with a fig tree I bought.
Me at the farmers’ market with a fig tree I bought.

This site was born out of the tragedy of heart surgery for me. That event forced me to completely change what and how I eat. The process has been incredibly difficult for me but I resolved that something good should come from it and so started this blog to help others on the same road. Continue reading “The No salt, no fat, no sugar Journal is growing, big-time” →

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Birthday pig-out, part II: Oh what a night

I wrote last week about how after two years of starving myself for health’s sake, I decided this birthday would be a pig-out day for me, a day when I would leave my angioplasty mandated restricted diet behind and eat the way I did when I was young.

So the day started with my favorite potato chips and a giant chocolate chip cookie that I ate more than a third of. And my day went on to a dinner of what had once been a favorite ethnic food choice for me — Chinese food.

My Chinese birthday dinner, egg rolls, crab rangoon, Mongolian beef. Not shown was the fried rice.
My Chinese birthday dinner, egg rolls, crab rangoon, Mongolian beef. Not shown was the fried rice.

Chinese food is high in sodium and can be high in fat as well depending on the dish. I have not eaten it for almost two years and miss it a great deal since I once had it weekly. So I was determined to drive to a neighboring suburb, to what had been my favorite Chinese take-out place, to get all my old favorites — pork fried rice, Mongolian beef, egg rolls and crap Rangoon. Continue reading “Birthday pig-out, part II: Oh what a night” →

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A birthday with no salt and no fat? Forget it

Today is my birthday and, after nearly two years of basically starving myself on my angioplasty-induced low-fat, low-salt diet, I’m splurging today on some of my old, unhealthy favorites.

Pictured here is how I started my birthday, which I had taken a day off from work for. Wise potato chips are the chips of my youth in New York and still the best in the country, in my estimation. They remain thin, crispy and with just the right hint of oily lusciousness. It is difficult for me to resist buying them now that they’re sold in the Chicago area where I now live too. So today, I gave in and grabbed a bag.

My birthday splurge, part one.
My birthday splurge, part one.

Of the seven ounces in the bag, I likely ate five in one sitting. That’s 750 calories and 50 grams of fat, plus 800 mgs of sodium! I easily could have finished the bag but resisted. Continue reading “A birthday with no salt and no fat? Forget it” →

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Low-salt, low-fat ingredients: we’ve posted even more of them

Living a low-salt, low-fat, low-sugar lifestyle can be endlessly difficult because almost any food sold in traditional supermarkets these days has too much of one or more of those evil three. The same is true for restaurant meals. So since my angioplasty in 2012, I’ve been building an entirely new shopping list, going to more stores than ever before to find the low-salt and no-salt items I need along with the low-fat and no-fat options.

Grilled vegetables
Grilled vegetables

This blog is my attempt to help all of you in the same boat as me, for whatever health reason. To that end, I’ve created recipe, ingredient and eating away from home pages to help you. Check out the May updates to the ingredients page. Continue reading “Low-salt, low-fat ingredients: we’ve posted even more of them” →

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Low-sodium broth: skip it for sodium free

I blogged earlier this week about some low-sodium soups I’ve tried, unsuccessfully taste-wise. But I’ve also been searching for sodium free broth to use in things like turkey when I make a whole one for a special occasion.

Low-sodium broth is relatively easy to find. You have to look harder to find sodium-free broth, but it is out there. But always check the nutrition labels for the real story. You may find some so-called no salt added broth has more sodium than one calling itself low-sodium. That was the case for me with the broths shown below.

Low sodium broths are not created equal, always read the nutrition panels.
Low sodium broths are not created equal, always read the nutrition panels.
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The lesson is always check for yourself, never believe any on-package advertising or hype language.
John

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Soup that’s low-salt: this brand didn’t really make the grade

Canned soups are some of the highest sodium per serving products you can buy today in your local supermarket or food shop. One cup of Progresso chicken noodle, for example, has 690 mgs of sodium, more than half my daily recommended level. And a can often is more than one serving.

Imagine low-sodium soups: I applaud the effort, but taste is lacking, big time.
Imagine low-sodium soups: I applaud the effort, but taste is lacking, big time.

So I’ve missed soup terribly in the 18 months since my angioplasty. My wife has tried making some with only vegetables, but it didn’t really taste all that inviting to me. So I was excited to see some soups at my local Jewel recently calling themselves “light in sodium.” The soups, under the Imagine brand and made by Hain Celestial Group, an organic processor, even came in interesting flavors like garden broccoli. Continue reading “Soup that’s low-salt: this brand didn’t really make the grade” →

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