

Looking for ways to shrink your salt intake? You're in luck! Here are some food finds, product lines, and recipe tips for kicking unwanted sodium to the curb...   
Organic Bistro Whole Life Meals, Pasta Puttanesca

PER SERVING (1 container): 320 calories, 6g fat, 380mg sodium, 55g carbs, 8g fiber, 6g sugars, 11g protein -- POINTS® value 6*

Finding a frozen entrée with only about 15% of the RDA of sodium is RARE. Finding one that also tastes good, is packed with fiber, and is totally reasonable in the calorie and fat departments? Practically unheard of... but this one fits the bill. It's made with more than 20 organic ingredients (so it has lots of flavor), and salt didn't make the list. This is actually one of the better nuke-n-chew pasta dishes we've tried. It's packed with unique and delicious stuff (like porcini mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, and artichoke hearts), and it includes a nice portion of steamed broccoli on the side. Good work, Organic Bistro! Look for this meal at select supermarkets (like Whole Foods), purchase some online by clicking here, or click here to locate a store near you that stocks 'em. (P.S. Remember that stats on company websites aren't always the most current. The ones on the box -- shown here -- are.)
Low Sodium Better'n Peanut Butter

PER SERVING (2 tbsp.): 100 calories, 2g fat, 95mg sodium, 13g carbs, 2g fiber, 2g sugars, 4g protein -- POINTS® value 2*

Unless you're new, you already know we LOVE Better'n Peanut Butter, the world's only ready-to-eat, truly low-fat peanut butter. (No, Walden Farms' lame-o Peanut Spread doesn't count.) Slightly sweet and very creamy, Better'n Peanut Butter is a good swap for regular PB and a great ingredient for peanut buttery desserts. Well, not only does this version have half the sodium of the original, but it's also often easier to find. Trader Joe's tends to stock the low-sodium kind. If there's no TJ's in town, click here to find a store that stocks this peanut butter.
Amy's Light in Sodium Shepherd's Pie

PER SERVING (entire 8-oz. pie): 160 calories, 4g fat, 290mg sodium, 27g carbs, 5g fiber, 5g sugars, 5g protein -- POINTS® value 3*

OK... we were already in awe of Amys delicious, hearty, personal-sized pot pie (complete with a smashed potato topping!) and its impressively low calorie and fat counts. But now that Amy's has released a version with less than HALF the sodium, we're really impressed! The meatless mini-meal is loaded with organic veggies and chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans, but chickpeas sounds so much cuter). Find this in the freezer aisle, along with a slew of other low-salt items by Amy's.

Salt-Slashing Tip! Rinse and drain canned foods, like beans, veggies... even tuna and chicken! You'll send tons of sodium down the drain.
Low-Sodium Lines to Love

Some of our favorite brands offer entire line-ups of less salt options...

* Progresso Reduced Sodium and 50% Less Sodium (soups)
* Organic Bistro (frozen meals)
* Amy's Light in Sodium (frozen meals, soups, and more)
* Boar's Head Lower Sodium and No Salt Added (deli meats and cheeses)
* Campbell's Low Sodium, Healthy Request, and 25% Less Sodium (soups)
* McCormick 25% and 30% Less Sodium (seasoning mixes and seasoning blends)
* Health Valley 40% Less Sodium and No Salt Added (soups, chili, and broths)
* Del Monte No Salt Added and 50% Less Salt (canned veggies)
* Green Giant No Salt Added and 50% Less Sodium (canned veggies)
* S&W 50% Less Sodium and No Salt Added (canned beans and tomatoes)
* Mrs. Dash (salt-free seasoning blends and marinades)
* Tabatchnick Low Sodium (frozen soups)
* Hunt's No Salt Added (canned tomato products)
* Butterball Lower Sodium and Reduced Sodium (turkey and turkey bacon)
* Sara Lee Lower Sodium (deli meats)

Salt-Slashing Tip! When dining out, avoid anything blackened or seasoned -- go for broiled or baked instead. Also avoid soy sauce and most salad dressings -- instead, request a few lemon wedges, and then use the juice to bring out flavor in your food.
Salt-Saving Recipe Swaps!

When it comes to HG recipes, our goal is to make them delicious, low in fat and calories, and (when possible) high in fiber. We provide nutritional info for sodium, carbs, etc., so you can look at a recipe and decide if it works for you. That being said, here are some super-easy ways to save hundreds of milligrams of sodium when whipping up recipes...

Broth - Go for no-salt-added broth instead of regular, and you'll save at least 400mg sodium for every cup used.

Canned Tomato Sauce - Instead of standard sauce, use no-salt-added. For every cup of sauce in the recipe, you'll knock off about 1,000mg!

Salsa - Trade salsa for fresh diced tomatoes, onions, and herbs. You can save 700mg for each half-cup that's called for!

Deli Meats - Instead of using prepackaged slices of meat (like turkey, ham, and chicken), bake the stuff yourself and thinly slice it. Save as much as 250mg for each ounce of meat in the recipe.

Canned or Pouched Tuna - Using low-sodium tuna in place of regular will save you 300mg for every half-cup of tuna in the recipe.

Low-Fat Turkey or Veggie Chili - Regular kinds have an average of about 750mg sodium per cup. Switching to reduced-sodium types (like the ones by Amy's) will cut around 400mg for each cup used. And if you use no-salt-added (like Health Valley's), you can save 675mg per cup!

Sodium savings are for the entire recipe and are based on averages. To determine approximately how much sodium you'll save per serving, divide the total sodium savings by the number of servings.
Friday, April 24th, is National Pigs-in-a-Blanket Day. We've got THREE ways for you to celebrate -- with our famous De-Pudged Pigs in a Blanket, our jumbo Pig on a Stick in a Bacon-Wrapped Blanket (click & scroll for that), and our Smothered Pig in a Blanket (a 200 Under 200 exclusive!). Mmmmm!
  Pass the salt... er, the LACK of salt. Just hit "send to a friend" and share the low-sodium news!

