| I have been cooking vegetarian food for over a decade but now need to make it low-salt for health reasons. I am really having a tough time - there is so much sodium in so many foods! Any bright ideas? |
| I'm not sure I understand - if you're making things from scratch, you can adjust the sodium yourself very easily. |
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This is a good recipe search engine. You can search for vegetarian options, then sort by sodium levels: http://www.mealsforyou.com/cgi-bin/advancedSearch?term=
This cookbook isn't strictly vegetarian, but tried and true: http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Without-Grain-Salt-Elma/dp/0553579517/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373249799&sr=1-4&keywords=no+salt+cookbook |
Thanks! That website seems awesome. |
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If you're cooking from scratch, slowly reduce how much salt you add - I find that the less salt I eat, the more sensitive I am to it (and so the less I need for something to be pleasantly salty).
Also, if you use a lot of canned products, especially beans, you may need to start rinsing them to remove more of the salty packaging liquid, or buying no-sodium versions. Packaged foods are the main salt bombs, so start checking labels to identify the worst offenders in your pantry and then either find lower-sodium options or make your own. |
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I heard on the Splendid Table today that rinsing and draining canned beans reduces their sodium by 40%. Pretty significant.
Have you cut out pickles and olives (and their little cousins, capers)? I hated to do that. But they're sodium bombs. Also, try making your own stocks. Then you can make a much wider variety of your own soups, and avoid processed soups. Those are typically a sodium fest. |