We know eating a low-sodium diet can feel impossible when you’re just starting out. But, it is possible and not as hard as you might think. You may have to make adjustments, but there are lots of options out there. Here are some tips to help you get started reducing sodium today and continue to eat low-sodium and eventually turn it into a lifestyle
- Throw out the Salt-Shaker – First thing’s first do not use any table salt or add salt to your meals. I will say here, that if you are just starting out and you feel like your meals taste bland without salt, that is normal. For some meals, you can add lemon juice or True Lemon and this will give your dish a salty flavor without the salt. Also, after while of eating low-sodium your tastebuds will adjust and things will begin to taste better without salt. Make sure to throw out your garlic salt too and replace it with garlic powder or garlic granules. Also, get rid of or give away any spice mixes that have salt already in them, and many of them do. Special Steak, Hamburger Seasonings, Taco Seasonings mixes, Lemon Pepper mixes etc… could all have salt already mixed in them. You can replace just about all of these with no salt added ones. Ms. Dash has a ton of different mixes and flavorings to use, all no-salt added. They have a general table blend which tastes great on lots of things, a Lemon Pepper and Steak seasonings that are delicous! There’s also a brand called DAK’s which has a ton of all-natural salt-free seasonings. There are also other brands like Tabitha Brown No Salt Seasonings/ Seasoning mixes and Kinder. (Take a look at Low-Sodium Products and Where to Find Them page for more brands and where to find them.)
- Cook from Scratch – Cooking at home can be a lot of work, but it really is the best way to lower your sodium. Take out and restaurant food is loaded with salt. When you are cooking at home do be aware of products you buy at the store, especially ones that are processed. Many items have a ton of salt even if you may not think it does. Be sure to use fresh ingredients or use frozen unseasoned items or no-salt added items. Looking at the sodium content on the nutrition label is key to understanding how much sodium you are consuming. More on this below.
- Beware of Sodium Labels – The biggest thing to look out for when you are grocery shopping is the nutrition label. The Nutrition Label will have the calories, sugars and sodium amounts per serving. Typically, you want to find items that less than 150mg per serving. Serving size is another part of keeping your sodium levels in check. If you are using a sauce on your chicken or steak that has 150mg per serving and the serving size is 1tbsp, if you don’t measure that out, you could easily add 2 or 3tbsp without realizing it and be eating 300 or 450mg of sodium just in sauce. There is more information on this on our Reading Sodium on Nutrition Labels page.
- Use No-Salt Added Products – There are an array of No-Salt added and Low-Sodium canned products out there as well as broths. Items like Black Beans, Kidney Beans, Tomatoes, Tomato Sauce, Corn and more can usually be found canned with no-salt added. By just using these products to cook at home, you can lower your sodium in-take significantly! For example, a typical can of diced tomatoes can be around 200mg per serving. Where an entire can typically has 3.5 servings, this would mean that one can is equal to 200mg x 3.5 which is 700mg for one can! Use a can of No-Salt added Tomatoes at 5mg per serving instead, and you will only add 17.5mg of sodium to your dish. What a difference! Take a look at our Low-Sodium Products and Where to Find Them page for specific brands and where to find them.
- One-Meal At a Time – If you are having a hard time starting, don’t be too hard on yourself. One way you can begin to adjust to your new low-sodium diet is to try to make at least one of your meals low-sodium for one week or two. Just one meal – easy peasy. Then add another and another until all your meals are low-sodium. The easiest meal for me to make low-sodium is breakfast. Find a low-sodium breakfast or two that you like a make it a routine to eat that for one week. Then find a low-sodium lunch you like and add that to your routine. Next dinner… just making one of your meals low-sodium, will make a difference and as you find more and more meals that you like, it will be easier and easier for you to follow a low-sodium diet full time. Take a look at our Getting Started Low-Sodium Breakfasts page, Getting Started Low-Sodium Lunches page, and Getting Started Low-Sodium Dinners page.
- Portions – If you can’t easily make all your meals from scratch or if you’re craving that special something that is higher in salt, look at the label. Make a point to eat just the portion size allotted so you know you’ve eaten exactly that much sodium, and fit it into your daily allotment so that you can stick to your daily sodium limit and still enjoy a little bit of a treat you might not be able to eat on a daily basis.
Eating Low-sodium can be hard at first, but as understand what to look for in foods and products and find meals that you like, it can get much easier. You, too, can live a low-sodium lifestyle! This site will give you the information you need to start that journey today!
Good luck on your Low-sodium Journey!