Homemade Salsa

HOMEMADE Low Sodium SALSA

Making your own homemade low sodium Salsa can reduce your sodium intake on those snacks and you will have a more flavorful healthy option. And it’s as easy as this:

Ingredients

1 can of no salt added diced tomatoes

2 green onions, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 fresh jalapeño, chopped

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

1/2 teaspoon of cumin

1 teaspoon of dried oregano

Pulse all ingredients in a food processor or blender until the larger items are small and chunky - don’t over blend because you’ll end up with a salsa smoothie!

Refrigerate for 2-3 hours to allow the flavors to taste the best.

Low Sodium Desserts

Here are some wonderful low sodium dessert recipes, it’s not always easy finding a dessert that is not full of sugar and salt, but here are a few gems.

BLUEBERRY CHIA SEED PUDDING

Chia seeds are a super seed filled with fiber, protein and omega-3 fatty acids. On top of being really good for you, they taste great, especially when combined with berries.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tablespoons whole chia seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
• 1/2 cup hot water or Oat milk or a nut milk
• 1/2 cup washed organic berries
• 2 tablespoons hemp seeds (or raw pumpkin or sunflower seeds)
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes (optional)

Preparation

In a medium bowl, combine the chia seeds, cardamom, and cinnamon and pour the hot water over the mixture. Let rest to firm up, about 20-30 minutes.

Wash the fruit and slice into bite-sized pieces if needed.

Top the thickened chia seed pudding with berries, coconut flakes and any other seeds. Enjoy!

Nutritional analysis per serving (with water)

Calories: 262 • Fat: 16 g • Cholesterol: 0 mg • Fiber: 13 g • Protein: 12 g • Carbohydrates: 24 g • Sodium: 7 mg

BANANA SPLIT

 This plant-powered banana split incorporates some of the best health-promoting ingredients. Both berries and nuts are good for your heart and have been shown to reduce or prevent type 2 diabetes.

Prep time: 3 minutes

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

• 1 banana
• 3-oz unsweetened non-dairy yogurt
• 1 cup mixed berries
• 1 tbsp peanut or almond butter
• 1 tbsp walnuts or cashews

Directions:

1. Cut the banana in half lengthwise.
2. Place in a bowl or a plate and top with non-dairy yogurt and berries.
3. Drizzle with nut butter. (You may have to heat it to make it runny.)
4. Garnish with nuts and serve.

Ginger Poached Pears

This has such a wonderful combination of flavors with the combination of the ginger and wine with the sweetness of the honey it is an absolutely delicious low sodium dessert.

Ingredients

3 cups of water

1 cup Dry White wine

2 tablespoons port or red wine

¼ cup Manuka Honey

1 piece of fresh ginger (¾ inch)

4 Ripe firm Bartlett Pears

1 Vanilla Bean (split in half lengthwise)

Low Sodium Shopping Here

Cooking Instructions

Bring all ingredients except pears to a simmer over medium-high heat in a large saucepan. 

Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel pears and cut in half lengthwise. Use a small spoon,scoop out core and seeds from each half, leaving stems intact. Trim fibrous strip from center with a paring knife. Gently lower pears into pot. If not completely covered by liquid, lay a piece of parchment paper directly on pears.

Cook until a paring knife slides easily into pears, meeting slight resistance, 15 to 20 minutes. 

Remove from heat; let cool in liquid 30 minutes. 

Transfer pears to a large bowl; cover with parchment paper. Cook liquid over medium heat until syrupy, about 15 minutes; discard vanilla pod and ginger. Let cool. 

Serve two pear halves in each bowl; spoon syrup over pears.

Low Sodium Blueberry Pies

These are a nice treat if you have the access to Pillsbury products, each pie has approximately 170 mg of sodium.

Ingredients

1/2 tbsp. cornstarch

2 cups blueberries, fresh or thawed from frozen

2 tbsp. granulated white sugar

1/2 tbsp. lemon juice

1/8 tsp. vanilla extract

1 package refrigerated Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations Seamless Dough Sheet

Directions

In a small nonstick pot, combine cornstarch with 1/3 cup cold water, and stir to dissolve. Add blueberries, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla extract.

Set heat to medium. Stirring frequently (mixture will boil), cook until mixture is thick and gooey, 16 - 18 minutes.

Transfer to a medium bowl, and let cool completely, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray.

On a lightly floured cutting board, roll or stretch out dough into a large rectangle of even thickness, at least 12" X 9". Evenly cut dough into 12 squares. Place each square in a muffin cup, and press it into the bottom and up along the sides. Bake until golden brown, 10 - 12 minutes.

Let cool completely, about 15 minutes.

Chocolate & Nut Butter Bites

This little chocolate delite only takes a few minutes to make and has only 6 mg of sodium per serving size: 2¼-ounce squares chocolate, 1 teaspoons nut butter and is only 79 calories.

Ingredients

8 ¼ ounces bittersweet chocolate squares

4 tablespoons of almond, cashew or pistachio butter

Preparation

Top each piece of Chocolate Square with ½ teaspoon of nut butter of your choice.

Pumpkin Pie

Get Your Low Sodium Pumpkin Pie Recipe HERE

Low Sodium Soups

It’s so nice to find a good low sodium soup recipes, here are some of my favorites. It's so much better to make your own, you know exactly the goodness you are eating. 

LoSo Squash Soup

Makes 4 - 1 cup servings: 36 mg sodium per cup

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 large carrots, peeled and grated

4 cups Butternut squash,

3 cups low sodium Chicken Broth 
1/8 tsp Cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

Directions

Peel the squash, cut and remove the seeds, chop into cubes. Then peel and grate carrots. Put both aside.

Sauté onions in the oil, when they are translucent add the cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir well; add the broth, carrots and squash. Bring to a boil, and boil until veggies are soft.

Remove from heat, and puree. Garnish with a little fresh parsley.
Cool a little bit and serve.

Low Sodium Shopping Here

Very Loso Tomato Soup

This makes a delicious soup, you can vary the consistency by changing the amount of water, or leave it out for condensed tomato soup.

Yields 4 servings.

Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 cup chopped celery

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

4 cups fresh cut up tomatoes (or can use No Salt Added Tomatoes)

1/2 cup water

Directions

Saute the onion, garlic, celery and pepper flakes in the oil until softened. Add the tomatoes and water. 
If you like to spice it up a little add some shirachi.
 Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer until tomatoes are soft, about 20 minutes. 
Puree, (I use a hand held blender, but you can use a blender or food processor as well.)

43 mg sodium per serving.

Low sodium Lentil Soup is packed with vitamins and mineral along with a ton of fiber, it's a very tasty lunch or dinner meal.

Low Sodium Burgers

Low Sodium Burgers

(Serves: 6)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon vegetable oil (for cooking)

2 cups brown rice (cooked)

½ cup whole wheat flour

1 cup carrots (grated)

1 clove of garlic (minced)

½ cup parsley (chopped)

½ cup onion (chopped)

2 eggs (beaten)

¼ teaspoons black pepper (ground)

Direction:

o   Mix all the ingredients except the oil in a bowl to make a smooth mixture.

o   Form patties from this mixture, pressing firmly using your hands.

o   In a pan, heat the oil over medium heat and fry patties for almost 5 minutes per side till golden brown on both sides.

Tip:

To make this recipe more DASH friendly, serve it with whole wheat buns, tomato slices, lettuce leaves, and onions.

Nutritional Information (per serving):

Calories: 120

Fat: 3.5 g

Carb: 18 g

Protein: 3 g

Sodium: 150 mg