THE list of low sodium diet tips is ready!

As some of the followers of this blog know, I have been running a Facebook fan page for low sodium dieters for sometime. The first comers to the page usually are starting a low sodium diet and look for quick tips and tricks to lower their sodium intake. When I was answering to one of these inquiries the other day, I had an a-ha moment and decided to put all the quick tips I can think of in a webpage. Just to have a central location where I can refer people to. Here is the link to this 'tips' page I made:

http://eatlowsodium.com/osc/low-sodium-diet.php

If there are any ideas you would like to add, please add a comment below. I will update the list per your comments.
Thank you,
Umit

Useful ideas on low sodium meals

Even though you watch your sodium intake, things slip sometimes. You cook healthy meals, bring home-made meals to work and shop for low sodium versions of foods, but sometimes you find yourself at a restaurant, worse a fast-food chain eating that delicious but not so healthy sandwich!

What do you do then? If only I knew which meals have lower sodium so I make a more conscious choice while ordering my food. I guess it is all about preparation!

So I decided to go through nutrition facts of restaurants and filter out the meals with the lowest amounts of sodium. I place my findings at the following link: Low Sodium Meals

You need to click on a restaurant name (on the left hand side of the page) in order to see my meal ideas for that restaurant.

Some of the meals I found are fairly low in sodium. Examples:

At Subway: 6 inch Veggie Delite + a chocolate chip cookie = 430 mgs of sodium.

At Wendy's: 5-piece chicken nuggets + garden side salad (no croutons) + sour cream and chives baked potato + apple slices = 540 mgs of sodium.

At McDonald's: A medium-size McNuggets + premium southwest salad (without chicken) = 750 mgs of sodium.

At Chili's: Grilled salmon with garlic and herbs + house salad (no dressing) = 880 mgs of sodium.

At Arby's: Chopped farmhouse chicken salad (roast) + marinara sauce = 840 mgs of sodium.

At Panera Bread: A four cheese egg souffle + Caesar salad (no dressing) = 830 mgs of sodium.

At Taco Bell: One gordita supreme chicken + cheese nachos = 740 mgs of sodium.

If you are on a strict low sodium diet due to a health condition, my suggestions may NOT be good for you. Also my suggestions only consider sodium content. If you need to consume less cholesterol or gluten or are allergic to certain ingredients, please check nutrition facts provided at the websites of these restaurants as well.

Download this low sodium cookbook for free

I did not know that there is a week for salt awareness! Frankly I found out by coincidence. I came across this article about the World Action on Salt & Health organization and then checked their website. The site gives some information on the upcoming World Salt Awareness week (May 21st thru the 28th).

More importanly I found a link on the site to download a low sodium cookbook for free. The cookbook can be very helpful to many as it has various categories of low sodium recipes. Now download the book and start low sodium cooking, at least for the sake of the World Salt Awareness week :-)

Here is the link to the book:
http://www.worldactiononsalt.com/publications/books.htm

Cheers,
Umit