Check your pasta nutrition

If you haven't read the nutrition facts on your box of pasta, please do so. There are finally lots of very tasty alternatives to the high sodium regular noodles. Ronzoni smart taste spaghetti has 180 calories (nothing special there), 5 mg of sodium -WOW (compared to 210 in regular spaghetti!), and 7 grams of fiber per serving. I didn't notice a bit of difference in flavor. It was delicious. There are also other "smart taste" types of noodles out there, so try something new next time you're in the store.

No-bake cookie oatmeal anyone?

I love my instant oatmeal. I'm currently hooked on the high fiber cinnamon swirl kind (just wish they made it reduced sugar as well). Now and then I like to stir in one tablespoon of peanut butter and 1/2 tablespoon of semi-sweet chocolate chips (13 chips in case you were wondering). It tastes just like no-bake cookies!!! Also, the added protein and fiber keeps me satisfied until lunchtime.
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The total calories are 290 with 285mg of sodium. The chocolate chips only add 35 calories and no sodium, but they certainly add to the flavor.
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Once it's warmer, I'll be switching back to smoothies or cereal for breakfast.

The Dirty Dozen

Okay, so this has nothing whatsoever to do with sodium, but I wanted to share it anyway.
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This is a list of the 12 "dirtiest" produce items you should buy organic. (By dirty, I mean the ones that contain the highest pesticide load.) I also found another list that included carrots and lettuce. I should add that I did my own taste test on the organic carrots vs regular ones and the organic ones are soooo much sweeter.
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1. Apples
2. Bell peppers
3. Celery
4. Cherries
5. Grapes
6. Nectarines
7. Peaches
8. Pears
9. Potatoes
10. Raspberries
11. Spinach
12. Strawberries

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I'm not a health nut by any means, but I don't see the point in eating homemade salsa if it's laden with pesticides. I have also switched to organic milk and will eventually switch to organic meat as well. That being said, I still won't give up all my processed foods. I know it's 1000x healthier to make something from scratch, but I'm not a factory.

Creamy Peas and Potatoes

Okay, so I didn't have new potatoes or fresh peas from the garden, but it still tasted pretty good. I just used the better homes and gardens cookbook recipe (using unsalted butter and omitting the salt). I also added turkey sausage to give it more substance and upgraded it to main dish status. This is such a cheap and easy meal to make. Yum!
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Anyway, my calorie totals are higher than the original recipe since I added sausage and doubled the amount of potatoes and peas (steamfresh sweet peas taste as close to garden fresh as you can get). This made 4 servings at 399 calories with 366mg of sodium (from the milk and sausage). Also, keep in mind that the total calories includes your serving of vegetables.
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Stop back by tomorrow for information on "The Dirty Dozen."

V8-Fusion

This is a lazy post as I don't have any new and exciting meals to blog about. I love love love any flavor of V8-Fusion juice, especially the mixed berry ones. I made a new year's resolution a couple of years ago to eat more fruits and vegetables and this juice really helps with that goal. FYI, I tried the V8-Fusion light juice but it just tasted like watered-down juice so I only drink the regular kind.
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On a side note, last night I made onion rings from scratch, but they didn't turn out as good as I hoped. They turned out crunchy but kind of bland and the onions dried out too much. Next time, I'll add spices to the coating and use thicker pieces of onion (as well as bake them for less time). I might also see what kind of dip I can come up with since I'm a huge fan of fry sauce (but not the calories or sodium).
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Oh, I also want to share with you another sweet treat I've discovered: Murray Sugar Free Fudge Dipped Mint Cookies (think thin mints). Man oh man are they good and the 2-year-old likes them too.

Sweet Treats

Okay, so there aren't very many "healthy" sweets out there but at least there are some decent alternatives. Sorry, this list is not intended to be sugar free, just low calories and sodium.

• Sunmaid Dark Chocolate Yogurt Raisins -I'm not wild about dark chocolate, but these are excellent!
• Banana Oatmeal Cookies from the American Institute of Cancer Research -go to their website at www.aicr.org and click on the test kitchen link on the lower right hand column (If you do decide to make the cookies, make sure to double the recipe, grease your pans, and don't worry about putting pans on different levels and switching them. Just bake them at a lower temperature and leave them on the same rack.) They taste like banana bread and I like to add craisins instead of raisins for a different twist.
• Reese's Puff's cereal -Now I don't eat these with milk. Yuck. However, eating one serving of them curbs my craving for peanut butter cups.
• Dibs ice cream treats -Just a handful of these makes for a perfect cool treat. (Just wish they still made the peanut butter ones. Those were awesome!)
• Skinny Cow mini fudge bars -Have one word for these: YUM!
• Kashi cookies -Decadent tasting, yet actually nutritious

Once the weather warms up, I'll add more frozen treats to the list. These are just my favorites for now....

What's for lunch?????

Monday and Tuesday we ate leftover chicken gumbo and I must say it was even better the second and third time around. Mmmmmm.

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Anyway, I had such a low sodium day that I decided to make one of my cheapo freezer pizzas for dinner. I ended up having 2 servings of the digorno garlic bread pizza which was 600 calories with 1080mg sodium. Now, you might say that's crazy, but it really wasn't for me. My total sodium for the day ended up around 2000mg, which is just fine by me.
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So, the above picture is one of my favorite lunches. Today I had fresh snow peas, celery, carrots, cucumbers, wheat thins (hint of salt), a wedge of laughing cow light swiss cheese, grapes (not pictured), and water. Anyway this lunch was 301 calories with 374mg of sodium (mostly from the cheese). This is the reason why I could have the pizza and eat it too.
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Some of my other fav lunches include grilled cheese, peanut butter and jelly, pasta noodles with butter and garlic, tuna mixed with salsa and crackers to spread it on or a regular tuna sandwich. I used to love turkey sandwiches but once I looked at the sodium content, I stopped. I recently found one that has around 350mg per serving, so I'll have to crunch the numbers and see how that fits into a normal day. Considering the amount of sodium in bread and mayo-type spreads, it might not work out.
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Tomorrow, I'll be posting some of my fav sweet treats. Yay!!

Chicken & Turkey Sausage Gumbo

This is one of those everything goes meals. Whatever kind of veggies you have in the freezer or leftover in the fridge. You are only limited by your imagination with this type of food. Mine came out a little bit soupier than I like, so feel free to add more flour or even some corn starch to thicken it up. I can't remember where I found this recipe online, but I take absolutely no credit for it. If you've never tried gumbo, you should at least once in your life. Please don't be intimidated by the ingredient list, because this was easy to make.

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Chicken & Sausage Gumbo

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1/4 c unsalted butter

1/4 c flour

1 bag frozen gumbo veggie mix -12 oz (mine had okra, peppers, corn, and onions)

(or whatever veggies you like)

2 stalks celery diced

4 c water

4 tsp sodium free chicken boullion

4 oz tomato sauce

1 can diced tomatoes (14 oz) drained

8 oz cooked chicken -diced

4 oz cooked turkey sausage -diced (any kind you like or is on sale)

1 clove garlic -minced

1/4 tsp red pepper

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp paprika

a liberal sprinkling of dried onion flakes

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp file powder (also called ground sassafras leaves)

I could not find anything called file or sassafras, so I left it out.

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Heat butter in a large pot over medium-high heat and add flour. Cook and stir until mixture is the color of an old copper penny; nice and dark. Add celery and veggies and cook for several minutes until they begin to sweat and smell great.

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Mix the water and boullion and add slowly to the pot while stirring and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until veggies are tender (about 20 minutes). Add all tomato products, chicken and sausage, cover and simmer another 10 minutes. Lastly, add the seasonings (except for the file powder), bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes.

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Turn heat off and add file powder, stir well, remove bay leaf and serve over cooked rice. Makes 8+ servings at 9.4 ounces each.

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Now I know traditional gumbo is cooked over a long period of time, but this is a pretty good substitute for the bayou original. You might be tempted to use cajun seasoning, but look at the sodium content first. I looked at the ingredients on a bottle of cajun seasoning and came up with my own salt-free substitution. Mine came out pretty spicy but actually enjoyable (esp. considering I don't like spicy food). The amounts on the spicier seasonings above are half of what I actually used, so don't worry about it being too spicy. Feel free to kick the heat back up a notch if you like.

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So, here's the breakdown: 1/2 cup cooked minute rice (yes, I'm still using up my stockpile of white rice and I'll make the switch over to brown), 1 serving of gumbo, fruit and milk came to 473 calories with 403mg of sodium. The gumbo by itself has 201 calories with 283mg of sodium.

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I love tinkering with new recipes. If you have a recipe idea you would like me to post on here, please let me know.

Take a night off!!!!!

So, I will try to post information for restaurants if I can find it. I enjoy the fresco menu at Taco Bell, the petite burgers at Red Robin, and several items are decent at Applebees. That being said, I took the night off from sodium and calorie counting last night. We went to Cheeseburger in Paradise and I had mini crabcake burgers with fresh sweet potato chips. My, oh my was it good! Almost too good. I decided that once a month I'm giving myself a splurge night.
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Anyway, the night before that we had freezer pizza as I didn't feel like cooking anything complicated. I found that the digorno garlic bread crust (square-shaped one) has the lowest sodium and is the most filling. I believe it's around 550mg per serving. Compare this to some of the other pizzas at over 1000mg per serving. Wow! Won't eat those anymore.

Chicken Parmesan -Kristin Style

Okay, so apparently I need to take lessons on food presentation and taking pictures of food. That being said, this was a mega delicious meal that I pulled out of thin air tonight. I didn't feel like making anything I had planned, so I went digging around my cupboards to see what else could be possible.

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Yummy Yummy Chicken Parmesan

(the whole family is sure to enjoy)

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1 lb boneless skinless chicken tenders

1/4 c plain bread crumbs (look for them by the stuffing section)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Italian seasoning (salt free kind)

1/2 tsp parsley

1 tsp dried onion flakes

1 egg white (or can use egg beaters)

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Mix together bread crumbs and seasonings in a shallow bowl. Add egg white to another shallow bowl and begin coating chicken in the egg white and then dipping in the seasonings. If you use one hand for each bowl, it keeps the coating from getting too gooey. Place the coated chicken on a shallow baking pan and bake at 400 degrees for at least 20 minutes.

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While the chicken is baking, boil water for the pasta. I used Ronzoni smart taste penne noodles which only has 5mg of sodium per serving. (I will eventually make the switch to whole wheat pasta, but this is a decent alternative for now.) I also used spaghetti sauce from the jar since I didn't have time to make any from scratch. Unfortunately, spaghetti sauce is horribly high in sodium, so I only used 1/4 cup on my portion to cut down on the sodium.

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So, my meal consisted of 2 ounces of penne pasta, 1/4 c spaghetti sauce, 4 ounces of chicken, 2 tsp of parmesan cheese sprinkled on top (I put mozzarella cheese on top of everyone else's chicken and melted it in the microwave), green beans (no salt added), fruit and a glass of milk.

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The entire meal added up to 593 calories with 750mg of sodium. Almost half of the sodium, 325mg, came from the cheese and spaghetti sauce so if you omit the cheese and make your own sauce you will lower the sodium drastically. As always, I budgeted my sodium intake for the day, so I had room for dinner.

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Side note: I realize that traditional recipes call for the chicken to be pounded flat and I don't like to waste time on something that doesn't really change the flavor. Also, you might be tempted to use Italian flavor bread crumbs, but please look at the sodium content first. I opted for plain since it had the lowest sodium. When these are all used up, I'll switch to either panko or whole wheat or maybe whole wheat panko bread crumbs. We'll see....

Homemade Salsa and Chicken Quesadillas

So, I gave up my search for low sodium salsa a couple of months ago and have made mine fresh ever since. It is really not that hard to make and tastes way better than any store-bought variety!

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Homemade Salsa

1.5 pounds roma tomatoes -chopped

1/2 c bell pepper -chopped (frozen is fine)

1/2 c sweet onion -chopped (frozen is fine)

1 TB extra virgin olive oil

1 jalepeno -seeded and finely chopped

1 tsp garlic powder

cilantro to taste (dried or fresh)

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Saute the peppers and onion until nice and soft in olive oil and set it aside to cool. While it's cooling, chop the tomatoes and jalepeno. Stir together all ingredients and add cilantro to taste.
Canned sweet corn (no salt added) is a great addition but does bump the calories up a bit.

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Next time I make this, I think I'll soak some black beans to add to the salsa. The canned variety has way too much sodium for my liking.

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I love my quesadilla maker. It makes really crispy invidual pieces just like the restaurants do. I used flour tortillas I had in the freezer (when I run out of those, I'm going to make them fresh from a mix), mexican blend cheese, chicken and some of my salsa. It's fun to add all kinds of things from the fridge, but this is what I happened to have on hand. I also served it with more salsa and reduced fat sour cream for dipping.

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So the total for my entire meal (including milk and fruit) was right around 600 calories with 815mg of sodium.

Sodium daily intake numbers

Here are the numbers broken down for you:


Daily intake of sodium should be within 1500 - 2300mg per day (the average american consumes around 4000mg per day)
People with health problems should stick to the lower end, while healthy people can go as high as the limit.


To figure out how many calories you need to eat to lose weight, first you need to figure out your basal metabolic rate.
The formula for female bmr is: 655 + (9.6 x (your weight /2.2))

+ (1.8 x (your height in inches x 2.54)) -(4.7 x age in years)

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I'll plug in an example for you. I'm 169 pounds, 5 foot 6 inches and 35 years old. My formula would look like this: 655 + (9.6 x 76.82) + (1.8 x 167.64) - (4.7 x 35) = 1529.72

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Keep in mind that this is the resting rate and you should multiply it by 1.2 for a sedentary lifestyle (charts online will tell you what to multiply by for a more active lifestyle). This means my sedentary activity bmr is around 1835. Any exercise or activity I do will add to this! A pound of fat equals 3500 calories so you need to burn at least that much if you want to lose a pound a week. (Always weigh yourself at the same time of day and only once a week.) You also need to keep in mind that muscle burns more calories and weighs more than fat so measurements are important as well.

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If this is confusing for you, just head over to http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/calorie_calculation101.asp for the complete explanation. This is a free site to join and has a wealth of information from articles, to a calorie and fitness tracker, to a recipe database, and much more.

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Remember that slow and steady wins the race. When you slowly lose weight, you will keep it off. Aim for no more than 1 or 2 pounds of weight loss per week.

Breakfast for Dinner

I forgot to take a pictureof tonight's dinner, but you can imagine 2 scrambled eggs with cheese, 4 ounces hash browns, 2 slices of bacon and 6 ounces of orange juice. I really enjoy scrambled egg beaters (any brand that's on sale) topped with some shredded cheddar cheese and a sprinkle of pepper. Two slices of low sodium bacon (yes, it exists and no I'm not fond of turkey bacon, so don't suggest it) added up to 80 calories and 160mg of sodium. I fried the hash browns in canola oil, so that brought the total calories up but it makes them nice and crispy.

So the total for the whole meal was 519 calories with 574mg of sodium. Now, I wouldn't eat bacon everyday but now and then it won't kill you. My total for the day was 1617 calories with 1374mg of sodium (typically I hover around 1800-2000mg). This is the lowest sodium I've ever had in one day. Don't forget, the point of this blog is to show everyone that there are easy ways to reduce sodium as well as calories without feeling like you're on a diet (shouldn't even mention that evil word). Remember, moderation is key and substitutions are critical.

I welcome your comments and/or suggestions on what you would like to see on my blog.

BBQ Chicken Sandwich

Okay, so this is technically more leftovers, but oh so easy, delicious and cheap. We have easy nights which we refer to as FFY (Fend For Yourself) nights. Everyone makes their own leftover concoction. Anyway, I used some leftover chicken mixed with BBQ sauce on a sandwich thin. I also had to have a side of sweet potato fries (store bought), unsweetened applesauce and milk. I made sweet potato fries from scratch several times before but quickly learned it wasn't worth the effort. The store bought ones come in spicy (very tasty) and regular flavors, just look in the freezer section.
So dinner contained around 800mg sodium (including my milk) for a total of 650 calories. (If you're curious, my total for the day was 1723 calories with 1800mg sodium.) I'll be on the hunt for a low sodium BBQ sauce next time I go to the store or maybe learn how to make my own. We'll see...

Salt Substitutes

Sorry, tonight was leftover chicken so no new food to post. However, I thought I would warn everyone about salt substitutes (esp. potassium chloride). Talk to your doctor before using them. They can cause heart failure and certain types have been utilized in assisted suicides. Scary thought.

Soda Can Chicken

Okay, so the picture doesn't quite do it justice but it was super tender and juicy chicken, broccoli steamed with garlic and herb mashed potatoes.

Soda can chicken is so easy and delicious. You have to try it at least once in your life.

Soda Can Chicken

1 fryer chicken 2 to 3 pounds (remove the skin and giblets, rinse and pat dry)

1 can of diet lemon/lime soda (or whatever flavor you like)

1/2 cup of BBQ sauce (whatever type or flavor you like)

Your favorite spices. I used 1/2 tsp each of thyme, sage, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, pepper and 1 TB of basil. Again, use your favorites and you can't go wrong.

Remove the top oven rack and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together all the spices in a small bowl and set aside. Pour out or drink half of the soda and add the BBQ sauce to the can. Place the can in the middle of your pan and make sure to use a pan with tall enough sides to catch any juice (not a cookie sheet). Carefully slide the chicken cavity over the soda can as far down as possible and position the legs out for stability. (Remember, it's not the end of the world if it tips over in the oven -it still tastes good). Next, rub the spice mixture into the surface of the chicken and make sure to completely cover it. Roast your chicken for at least 90-120 minutes or until the meat thermometer reads at least 165 degrees and the juices run clear. This cooking method takes longer than just laying the chicken in the pan so don't follow the cooking instructions on the chicken package, unless you have a death wish.

This is a tricky recipe to calculate the exact sodium and calories since I removed the skin and only ate the breast meat. I happened to use a Tyson whole fryer chicken which has 210 calories and 150mg of sodium per 4 ounce serving. Also, some people like to use the sauce in the soda can to serve over their chicken and this will definitely kick the calories and sodium up a notch. The chicken is so juicy and tender that I opt out of using the sauce.

Hope you enjoy it!

Mini Meatloaves, steamed asparagus and mashed potatoes

So, this is what I had last night and tonight as well. I am a huge fan of leftovers.

Anyway, I steamed the asparagus with lots of minced garlic. I also used milk and sodium-free chicken bouillon to zest up the potatoes without butter.

Mini Meatloaf

1 lb lean ground beef

1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Textured Vegetable Protein* (TVP) -hydrate before adding to the mixture

1/4 c egg beaters

3/4 c. quick cooking oatmeal

1 TB yellow mustard

1/2 tsp salt

1 can tomato sauce 8 oz (no salt added)

1/4 finely chopped onion

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp pepper

Combine all ingredients thoroughly. Shape into individual meat loaves and place in a shallow baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 - 45 minutes.

This recipe yields 6 servings at a little less than 6 ounces each. Per each serving there are approximately 283 calories with 303 mg of sodium (if you choose to omit the salt then there are 109 mg of sodium). Also, if you omit the salt you will need to add more spices to boost the flavor or else use a low sodium topping. Keep in mind that you can have a larger portion since the TVP cuts down on the calories and fat (each portion only has 2.67 ounces of red meat).

*TVP is a great way to stretch your meat. It takes on the flavors of the dish and my family has no idea they're eating it. =)

Dining Out

You'll notice I didn't post anything for Wednesday night's dinner, but this was simply because we had tomato soup and grilled cheese again. The soup was even better the second time around!

When I began this low sodium journey, I realized that there was no way I could or would stop eating at restaurants. There are so many restaurant websites with nutrition information available that I feel like a kid in a candy store. Now, every Thursday morning I go online to the restaurant we're going to go to and plan ahead for my meal. I'm indecisive in restaurants, so this has really helped to speed up the ordering process.

We went to Applebee's last night and I was a happy camper with my 7 oz sirloin, roasted red potatoes and steamed veggies. I couldn't even finish all the steak and there was no way I had room for dessert. The calories were around 500 for the entire meal and I'm not sure about the sodium (but can't be too bad since nothing was fried or tasted salty). I budgeted at least 900 mg of sodium for my eating out adventure so I'm sure it was okay. Since we only eat out once a week, this is usually my splurge "within reason" night.

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

I absolutely love sandwich thins! They come in bagel, hamburger bun or sandwich and can be whole wheat, multigrain, or white. Yum.

So, if you've seen a sandwich thin before, there's no way you could butter the outside to make grilled cheese. I turn the bread over and butter the inside and toast it inside out. Nothing special about the cheese here, just whatever you like. I usually use colby or mild cheddar. The entire sandwich is 221 calories and 365 mg sodium. I know this is rather high sodium, but that's why I made my own low sodium tomato soup to go with it.

Now, for the star attraction. Quite a few of the condensed soups contain 490+mg of sodium per serving (doesn't include anything added during cooking -like milk). I saw a recipe online and decided to tweek it and make it my own, so don't give me credit for this. It didn't turn out too bad, but I think next time I'll add more basil. Using low sodium ingredients can sometimes taste a bit bland, but I'm learning.

Creamy Tomato Soup
3 TB unsalted butter

4 cloves minced garlic

1 medium onion diced

4 cans diced tomatoes -no salt added (14-15oz cans)-undrained

1 T chicken bouillon -sodium free

fresh cracked pepper or black pepper to taste

1 c heavy cream

1/2 c milk

parsley to taste

basil to taste

Melt butter in a good sized pot. Saute the onions and garlic in the butter until soft. Use food processor or blender to puree tomatoes with their juice as well as the sauted onions to desired consistency (unless you like really chunky soup). Add the tomato mixture, bouillon and pepper to the pot and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, add the rest of the ingredients and cover to simmer. Let it simmer on low heat for at least 5 to 8 minutes, then add more seasonings if needed and serve.

This made 6 -9.5oz bowls of soup. I like a nice full bowl and at 221 calories and 38.5 mg of sodium (yes that says 38 and a 1/2), not too shabby.

Favorite food list to get you started

Since I will be posting everyday, I thought I would post a short list of some of my very favorite snack foods.

• Wheat Thins (hint of salt)
• Ritz Crackers (hint of salt)
• Lay's plain potato chips (lightly salted)
• Terra Sweet Potato Chips (love love love sweet potatoes)
• Yogurt covered raisins (any brand)
• Joseph Banks Cassava Root Chips
• Baked Tostitos Scoops with homemade salsa (hard to find low sodium)
• Almonds
• Dannon light and fit yogurt
• Orville Redenbacher's Smart Pop Kettle Corn mini bags (not as low, but way better than the alternative popcorn out there)
• Any fruit or veggies
• Oatmeal and raisin granola bars (and other flavors too)

A good rule of thumb that helps me decide whether or not to buy something is to compare the sodium content to the caloric content. For example, the sweet potato chips are 160 calories and have 10 milligrams of sodium. The popcorn has 100 calories with 180 milligrams of sodium. This is a little higher than I like, but I make sure to balance it with lots of other low sodium choices throughout the day. I refuse to completely cut any foods or food groups out of my food journey since it would only make me crave it more.

Welcome to my new blog

I'm new to the blogging world and excited to be here!

First, let me give some history about why I finally started this blog. I'm not a nutritionist or a dietitian. I read reports online and watched stories on the news about the average American consuming way too much salt. Just one teaspoon of salt contains around 2400 milligrams of sodium. If you think you're eating just the right amount, I challenge you to track your food for one week and see who's right.

I decided to lower my sodium intake and dropped 22 pounds in a few months. Imagine how well I would have done if I were more aggressive about exercising. (I walk 4 miles at least 3 times a week.) I'm not saying you shouldn't exercise, but we all have to start somewhere.

Anyway, my goal with this blog is to post pictures and recipes of my daily food journey as I like to refer to it since this is not a diet.

Thanks for stopping by,