The Low Sodium Cookbook Read Online Free PDF

to make up for a lack of salt, to ensure that the food will be delicious.
    Seek out low-sodium recipes for your favorite foods, or adapt recipes yourself. The second half of this book provides more than one hundred recipes for favorite foods—from refreshing salads to spicy chilies, hearty grilled steak and beef stew to light grilled-fish dishes, as well as virtuous fruit desserts and luscious, but still low-fat, chocolate cream pie.
    The more you cook low-sodium dishes, the more adept you’ll become at using low-sodium substitutes. Soon it will become second nature. And once you’ve mastered low-sodium cooking, almost no meal will be off-limits to you. Whether it’s pizza, tuna casserole, or spaghetti and meatballs you crave, you can adapt recipes to fit your low-sodium requirements.
    The first rule of low-sodium cooking, just like low-sodium eating, is to choose whole, natural, fresh ingredients over processed foods whenever possible. Start with fresh tomatoes instead of canned, if you can, and you’ll immediately cut a huge amount of sodium. Dried beans are another place where starting from scratch can drastically reduce the sodium content, so start with dried beans instead of canned. Soak and cook a large batch and store them in can-size portions in your freezer to make substituting them for canned in recipes a cinch. Cooked beans will keep in your freezer for up to three months.
    The same goes for chicken, beef, or vegetable broths. Make your own from scratch, and not only will you know exactly what is in it, but you can control the salt and other seasonings to ensure that your broth is flavorful without being loaded with sodium. And again, you can make large batches and freeze them in can-size portions for easy substituting. If you don’t have time to make your own broth, by all means, choose a low-sodium version or dilute it with water.
    And, of course, don’t add salt to the food you are cooking. Many foods naturally contain sodium, and condiments often do, too, so adding table salt is unnecessary. But remember, low-sodium doesn’t have to mean bland. Take some time to explore the spice aisle at your supermarket and you’ll find dozens of ways to spice up your meals. Even if a recipe calls for just a pinch of salt, find another seasoning to replace it.
    Even when the cooking directions on the package say to add salt, don’t! It’s common for the directions for cooking dried pasta, rice, and other grains or grain-based foods to instruct you to add salt, but rest assured, this isn’t necessary. The food will cook up just fine without it, and you don’t need the extra sodium.
    Spices like ground dried chilies, peppercorns, cumin, fennel seeds, cinnamon, and ground mustard can be combined in a million different ways to create varied flavor profiles. Dried herbs, too, are a convenient way to bring various dishes to life. Basil or oregano make your spaghetti sauce taste like authentic Italian cooking. Curry powder makes it easy to reproduce some of your favorite Indian restaurant’s dishes at home. Ground chipotle powder is perfect for spicing up meat for tacos.
    In the produce section, you’ll find fresh herbs like cilantro, oregano, rosemary, thyme, sage, mint, and parsley that can add even more vibrant flavor to your dishes. Stirring a handful of chopped fresh herbs into a soup or stew at the last minute really brings the flavors to life.
    And while you’re in the produce aisle, be sure to pick up some lemons, limes, garlic, fresh ginger, onions, shallots, green onions, and leeks. All of these commonly available ingredients are low in sodium and add tons of flavor to any dish.
    Some foods like pickles, olives, and capers can be used only in very small amounts. A tablespoon of capers in a dish that serves eight is fine, but a tablespoon of capers on your bagel with cream cheese is not. When you do use these ingredients in your cooking, use the most flavorful brands or varieties you can find and use them