simplenutritiontips.com » Cooking Tips

Oranges A Weight Loss Aid?

admin — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 22:31:19 +0000

Low calorie high nutrition food!

Beets for Color and Added Nutrition

admin — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 04:33:24 +0000

Beet roots and greens are healthy!

Colorful Roasted Beet Salad

3 to 4 medium roasted, diced beet roots (direction in audio)
A large bunch of mixed greens of your choice

Mix together and drizzle on top:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Pinch of sugar

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Optional additions: feta cheese, chopped walnuts, sliced almonds

Tips for Potassium Restricted Diet

admin — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 19:52:17 +0000

Low Potassium Foods

Keep the following suggestions in mind when you need to be on a potassium controlled diet. Your doctor can prescribe your level of potassium restriction. It is usually 1.5 – 2.7 g/day or 1,500 to 2,700 mg / day.

Choose foods from list for “Low Potassium Foods”. Eat 3-4 servings from this list daily. A serving is ½ cup cooked, 1 cup raw or one medium piece of fresh fruit.
Avoid or limit foods from list for “High Potassium Foods”. Eat only one serving from this list a day.
Check nutrition label for total potassium content as well as any ingredients containing potassium such as additives.
High potassium food is 400 mg or higher / serving.
Low potassium food is 200 mg or less / serving.
Soak you peeled and cut up vegetables in cold water over night to leach out potassium. Don’t eat baked potatoes, French fries, potato chips.
Cook vegetables in lots of water and drain before serving.
Use canned fruits and only eat the well drained fruits.
Usually clients I see on potassium restriction diet are also on a sodium restriction diet. Do not use potassium chloride salt substitute on your food. Fresh or dried herbs, no salt added spice mix like Mrs. Dash is fine to use.
Stay current with your prescriptions. Check with your doctor/pharmacist about any medications that may contains potassium. You would be surprised the information you receive when you ask questions.

Low Potassium Foods

Salt Substitute and Sea Salt for Low Sodium Diet

admin — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 23:07:11 +0000

SeaSalt, Salt Substitute

When you are on sodium (salt restriction diet) you have the following choices:

Lower your total salt intake – This is the preferred and healthy way to reduce sodium in your diet.

Reduce your intake of high sodium foods such as in processed foods.
Add less salt during cooking and at the table.
Get used to the less salty taste and get more out of the natural flavors from foods and added herbs/spices.

Salt substitute
Most are a potassium chloride source. Some are part sodium chloride and part potassium. Many clients of mine reported a bitter after tastes that they eventually get somewhat used to it. The caution you must take is to talk to you doctor and pharmacist about potassium chloride salt substitutes. Too much potassium in your diet can be very harmful and not suited for everyone. It all depends on what medical conditions you have and what medications you are taking. As far as salt substitute brands AlsoSalt has been mentioned having the best taste.

Sea Salt
There are a lot of discussions about sea salt having less sodium. I am not a chemist but from what I read there is very little difference when it comes to sodium content. The perceived difference is like comparing whole coffee beans verses ground coffee. Sea salt is available in larger crystals than table salt. So when you compare one teaspoon of one with the other, one teaspoon of sea salt would have less sodium than one teaspoon of table salt. But when compared in gram per gram they contain about the same amount of sodium ~380 mg of sodium per gram.

Many people prefer sea salt over table salt. Table salt has additives to prevent caking and is a refined product with trace minerals removed. It does have iodine added and some iodine is necessary for healthy thyroid function. Most of us get enough iodine from eating meat, dairy products or seafood regularly. Many chefs and gourmet cooks prefer using sea salt for the cleaner flavor. Sea salt can offer a range of flavors depending on where it was harvested.

Conclusion: Getting used to the less salty flavor naturally is best in the long run. If you elect to use a salt substitute be sure to check with your doctor. You can try natural sea salt to add variety of flavors but know that sea salt sodium content is about the same as table salt.

See natural herbs/spices salt substitute recipes

Tips for Low Sodium Diet Plan

admin — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 20:04:02 +0000

Fresh Grilled Vegetables

Vegetables – eat fresh, frozen and canned with “no added salt” or with no added sauces. Meats – cook fresh lean meat, poultry and fish, avoid canned or processed meat such as corned beef, sausages, and deli meats.
Cook and eat rice, pasta, cereals in their plain form without added salt. The instant varieties with flavorings most of the time have high sodium. Buy unprocessed grains when available.
When using canned goods – you can drain the liquids and rinse or soak canned vegetables in cold water to reduce sodium content.
Seasonings – Substitute for salt- free spices, spice blends, fresh herbs during cooking. Don’t keep the salt shaker handy at the eating area. Try different salt substitutes from the supermarkets and inform your doctor and pharmacist first. Salt substitutes are not appropriate for everyone.
Be careful what you drink - Softened water, vegetable juices, sports drinks can have high sodium.
Eat low sodium snacks – Avoid or limit high salt snacks such as nuts, seeds, pretzels, chips, crackers and other snacks. Buy the unsalted kind. Opt for fresh fruits and cut up vegetables for healthy snacks.
Always read nutrition label for sodium content of all foods, drinks and over the counter medicines you take. Buy low sodium foods labeled no-salt-added, low- or reduced-sodium for canned, packaged and bottled foods.
Keep a food record and add up your sodium intake when you first get started on your low sodium diet. It will give you an idea of you’re your over all eating habits and where your high sodium food sources are. You will be surprised how fast that sodium number goes up.
When eating out – choose plain foods without sauces or gravy on top, plain vegetables, fresh salads without salad dressing. Avoid ordering foods that are pickled, marinated, smoked, or barbequed. Flavor your food with a dash of pepper, fresh lemon juice, cut up fresh parsley or chives. Bring your own salt free seasonings!
Home cooked meals are the best. You know how much salt is added by the ingredients used. After you have been on a low salt diet for a while you will find that many foods eaten outside your home will taste too salty.

Resources:

Easy Low Sodium Recipes 156 pages

Low Sodium Diet – Food List

Zero milligrams of sodium per serving!