February 2: EAT LESS SALT- EASY ALTERNATIVES

29 Days to a Healthier Heart

Canadians eat a lot of salt! We consume most of it in the form of processed foods, frozen meals, prepackaged foods, salad dressings, bagged snacks, tomato soup and tomato juice. Even when we prepare meals ourselves, we often end up topping the recipe off with a dash (or two or three) of salt. Many don’t realize that too much sodium can increase blood pressure, which happens to be the number one risk factor for stroke and heart disease.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation recommends that Canadians eat a total of 1 tsp (2,300 mg) of salt a day whether it’s from processed foods or salt added in meal preparation. For those who have been diagnosed with high blood pressure (hypertension), or those who are salt sensitive, sodium intake should be even less (2/3 tsp a day / 1,500 mg).

With the convenience of fast food and prepackaged foods, it’s easy to consume two or three times the healthy amount each day without realizing it. Here is one idea for lowering your sodium intake:

Do It Yourself Toppings:

1. Instead of mayo, try greek yogurt with any mix of herbs and spices and a dash of lemon.
   Yogurt Tahini Sauce
   (1 tbsp of mayo = 100 mg sodium / 1tbsp of greek yogurt = 15 mg sodium)
   
2. Try making your own vinaigrette salad dressing, which can be as easy as mixing olive oil with balsamic vinegar. Dijon Lemon Vinaigrette
   (2 tbsp of Kraft salad dressing = 290 mg sodium / 2 tbsp of homemade vinaigrette = 2 mg sodium)
3. Throw some tomatoes, peppers, onions and fresh herbs together for an alternative to store-bought salsa. Mediterranean Salsa
   (2 tbsp of jarred salsa = 230 mg sodium / 1 cup of homemade salsa = 125 mg sodium)
4. Make your own BBQ sauce in just 15-20 minutes. Plus you can make it as sweet or spicy as you want.
   Tangy Coffee BBQ Sauce
   (2 tbsp of bottled sauce = 300-500 mg sodium / 2.5 tbsp of  homemade sauce = 24 mg sodium)
5. Herbs and spices make tasty alternatives to salt. For meat, poultry and fish try adding curry powder, garlic rosemary sage, thyme, dill or poultry seasoning. For veggies, experiment with cinnamon, cloves, dill, ginger, nutmeg and rosemary. Try any of these DIY blends:

Frugal Café Herbal Salt-Free Blend #1: Onion-Garlic Blend

• 5 tsp. onion powder (not onion salt)
• 1 T. paprika
• 1 T. garlic powder
• 1 T. dry mustard
• 1 T. thyme
• 1/2 tsp. white pepper
• 1/2 tsp. celery seeds

Frugal Café Herbal Salt-Free Blend #2: Mediterranean Blend

• 3 T. grated Parmesan cheese (dried, not fresh)
• 2 T. dried marjoram
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 T. oregano
• 1 T. basil
• 2 tsp. dried chives, crumbled
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. powdered lemon rind (or dehydrated lemon juice)
• 1/2 tsp. white pepper

Frugal Café Herbal Salt-Free Blend #5 – “Mrs. Dash “Clone” Blend

• 1 T. ground cayenne pepper
• 1 T. garlic powder
• 1 T. onion powder
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
• 1 tsp. dried savory
• 1 tsp. ground mace
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. dried sage
• 1 tsp. dried marjoram leaves
• 1 tsp. ground dried grated lemon peel

Frugal Café Herbal Salt-Free Blend #6: Wowey-Zowey Blend

• 1 T. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 1-1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1-1/2 tsp. white pepper
• 1-1/2 tsp. dry mustard
• 1 tsp. dried lemon peel
• 1 tsp. celery seeds
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• 3/4 tsp. dried thyme leaves
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano

(More recipes at www.frugal-cafe.com)