NO-BEAN CHILI...FROM SCRATCH

It's finally a little colder outside, which means it's chili weather. Coming in at 450 mg of sodium per serving, this will warm your heart and soul!

When trying to make this low in salt, I eliminated the chili beans, store bought spice packet and processed tomatoes (used my own no-salt home-canned tomatoes).

Ingredients:

Meat mixture:
1 1/3 pound ground hamburger meat
1/4 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 TBLS olive oil

Veggies:
1 bell pepper, diced
1 medium red onion, diced
1 TBLS olive oil
2 cloves garlic, diced

Chili Base:
2 Mason jars of home-canned no-salt tomatoes
6 Mason jars of water (fill up the jars after you use the tomatoes)
4 TBLS double concentrated tomato paste

Spices:
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp white pepper (if you don't have this, use regular black pepper)
1 tsp table salt
1 tsp cumin
2 pinches of red pepper flakes
**Mix together and set aside

Green onions for garnish!

Directions:

Heat 1 TBLS of olive oil in a pan. Add meat. Add 1/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper to meat. Brown and drain.

Heat the other tablespoon of olive oil in the pan. Add the bell pepper, onion, and garlic. I used a red onion for this recipe. I find that it is a little more peppery in flavor and has a nice "bite" to it. If you don't have a red onion, any onion will do. Sauté the mixture until all are tender.

Next, pour tomatoes, water, meat, and sautéed veggies into a stock pot. Bring to a boil. Add tomato paste and spices and stir for one minute. Turn down to simmer, stirring occasionally. Let the chili simmer for 30 minutes to one hour, then turn down to low. Keep on low until you serve. Garnish with green onions, if desired.

This makes approximately Eight 1 cup servings at 450 mg of sodium per serving. Enjoy!

Taco Soup

I thought I would share my Low-Sodium Taco Soup. When you limit salt, you have to increase the flavor profiles of your other ingredients. This is done easily by adding spice. Taco Soup is a perfect example of trading spice for salt. 

Ingredients:
1 1b. hamburger meat 
1 jar of home-canned no sodium tomatoes (I will show you how to do this in another post)
1 14.5 oz can of stewed tomatoes
1 bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1/2 white onion, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 packets of low-sodium taco seasoning (found in the Mexican aisle)
2 TBSPs of Cumin--more if you like it!
2 TBSPs of tomato paste
pinch of red pepper flakes
pinch of black pepper
About 30 oz of water (just fill up the tomato can twice with water)
3 TBSPs olive oil
Green Chile split down the middle with seeds removed (optional)

Toppings:
sour cream--aim for 1 Tablespoon per person
sharp cheddar cheese--about 1/8 cup per person
Tortilla chips---about 7 per person
Green Onions

**The key to all of this is to make sure you pick the product with the least amount of sodium as possible. For example, I found a can of stewed tomatoes with 270 mg of sodium per 6 servings and one with 370 mg. I obviously went with the 270 mg can. Also, I shopped around to find a tomato paste tube with 65 mg of sodium per Tablespoon. You may find one lower. 

Also, the more you can do at home, the better. I had some tomatoes I canned that had no salt, whatsoever. By doing it myself, I skipped the salt. That helps tremendously, since I use these tomatoes for the base of several soups, spaghetti, and chili. 

Directions:
Pour the home-canned tomatoes and stewed tomatoes into a large stockpot. Once the can of tomatoes is empty, fill it up with water and pour it in to the pot. Repeat this step---you want to add two full cans of the water. Turn to Med-High and let it bubble. Once bubbling, add one and one half packets of taco seasoning, cumin, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. 

***To make it extra spicy, add a green chile to the stock pot when you add the tomatoes. It will simmer in the soup and ooze a great flavor. This is optional of course! It is also good without it. 

In a skillet, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and turn on a Med-High heat. Sauté the bell pepper and onion until they are translucent and soft. Add them to the stock pot. 

Put the skillet back on the burner and add the final tablespoon of olive oil. Then add the hamburger meat and cook until the meat has browned. You can crumble the meat as much as you like during this stage. If you like chunky soups, don't break the meat up as much while you cook it. 

Drain the meat and add it to the pot. Next, drop in the tomato paste. Stir all of the ingredients until they are well combined. Let the soup simmer for about 15 minutes until all of the flavors "marry."

To serve, ladle in bowls and top with Tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream, and green onions to taste. To keep this low-sodium you need to monitor your toppings carefully. The above amounts listed in ingredients help keep this low. If you go over this amount, adjust your sodium intake, accordingly. 

Makes 8 1/2 cup servings at just under 500 mg of sodium per serving.

Ranch-like Dip

This is a great substitute for your typical ranch dip that is loaded with salt. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Sour Cream

2 TBSP Mayo

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/8 tsp kosher salt

Green onion tops for garnish

Makes Four 1/8 cup servings at 108 mg sodium per serving! 

Directions: Mix the first six ingredients together. Garnish with green onions. Chill until served. Enjoy!

SHORTCUTS FOR COUNTING SALT

Tired of counting every grain of salt you eat or drink? Tired of constantly doing the math in your head to figure out if you have enough room in your daily salt budget to eat one more helping of food?

Me too! Here is an easy shortcut.  I base this on an 1800 mg/day salt restriction. If yours is higher or lower, adjust accordingly.

Step 1:  Compile a recipe bank with complete meals under 500 mg of salt. For example, my pulled pork, yellow rice, and a sauted spinach is a meal under 500 mg of sodium.

Step 2: Add in some "freebie" items: vegetables, fruits, and other sides that you can prepare without sodium.

Step 3: You can eat 3 meals per day out of the above. This leaves about 300 mg of sodium per day left to play around with. Use this for drinks, snacks, desserts, etc.

Step 4: Don't forget to choose some fast-food meals to add to your arsenal. Although we try to avoid these places, sometimes they are inevitable. You need to know what you can eat at your local/favorite establishments for under 500 mg.

By doing it this way, you can simply choose what meals you want to eat and stop worrying about the counting. You know that if you eat 3 meals out of that recipe collection, you are at least under 500 mg per serving. This has saved me a lot of time. I will share these recipes with you along and along, so you can add them to your "bank".

Citrus Salad with Panera's "Tangerine Honey" Dressing

Citrus Salad with Panera Tangerine Honey Dressing

1  cup of your favorite lettuce (I use a Romaine, Iceberg, and Radicchio mix)
1/3 cup of dried cranberries
10-12 canned mandarin orange slices
1/4 cup of walnuts
2 TBSPs of Panera Tangerine Honey dressing

Makes: 1 serving, multiply as needed to serve your guests

Salt Count:  30 mg of sodium

Need a pick-me up salad for lunch? Want a unique salad to serve your guests and still stay in your sodium budget? Panera has created a "Tangerine Honey" dressing that is low-sodium. There is only 25 mg of sodium in 2 tablespoons. It has a great citrus flavor with just the right amount of sweetness.

 I paired it with cranberries, mandarin oranges, and walnuts.  Mandarin oranges are easiest found in cans. Usually, I try to avoid canned items, but these have about 5 mg of sodium for all 12. So, they aren't throwing off my salt count too much. The cranberries, nuts, and lettuce are free of salt.

This salad is easy to make, tastes delicious, and best of all---low in salt! Thanks Panera!