Welcome to (NEW) Sodium Girl

WELCOME FRIENDS!

Welcome, welcome, watermelon salad and welcome!

I am so thrilled to finally be able to invite you inside the new Sodium Girl website–feel free to leave your shoes on. And I also can’t wait to tell you about this simple low-sodium, final days of summer salad.

But before we get to the arugula, watermelon, and heirloom tomatoes, let me tell you a few things about Sodium Girl’s brand new home.

First, we just moved in.

There are still a few boxes to unpack and I’m pretty sure I won’t find the good silverware for another year–you know how moving goes. So please be patient as I continue to adjust and rearrange the furniture in this beautiful new space. And by all means, if you have ideas, post a comment. I want to be sure you are comfortable too. Because, after all, this new site is for you and the entire Sodium Girl family, which continues to grow.

Second, you’ll notice that there are a few new do-dads, buttons, and fun things for you to explore on the site. So may I direct your attention to the right side-bar. Over there. On the right.

CATEGORIES: You know how organized people keep things in folders that are labeled with colored tags and easily identifiable names? That’s what this CATEGORY box is all about. It is a list of the most commonly searched post themes so that you can find what you’re looking for quickly.

Let’s say you want to find all my advice on TRAVELING. Just click TRAVELING. Go ahead, try it. Suddenly, you have all the posts about Traveling at your computer savvy fingertips.

Same thing happens when you want to read anything about SWEETS. Or DINNER. It’s like a time travel portal to the exact recipes, tips, tricks, and other delights you’re looking for.

And if you need a particular category that is not on the list, go ahead and type the name of what you are looking for (PIES, BACON, MISSING ARGYLE SOCK) into the search field below the CATEGORY list. Most likely, a few relevant posts will appear. But I can’t promise anything about that sock.

SUBSCRIBE: Do it! I know most of you were subscribers to my old WordPress site. But if you would like the email elves to continue sending you updates about posts, go ahead and resubscribe (by email or RSS feed). It will only take a minute or two and I’ll thank you with this glass of champagne.

TWITTER and FACEBOOK: If you want up-to-the-minute Sodium Girl advice, then these social media hubs are where you want to be.

On TWITTER you’ll find links to articles on health, cooking, and living that I think will enhance your low-sodium life. You’ll also find some friendly chatter between me and my other virtual friends. And who doesn’t like listening in on other people’s conversations. I know I do.

On FACEBOOK, I’ll regularly feature and answer questions posed by you (yes, YOU!) on this blog. So don’t be surprised to find your genius comments plastered on the Sodium Girl FACEBOOK page. It’s a great way for everyone to learn about my favorite brand of mustard or my recommendations for making pad thai at home.

YELP!: Now, this is what I’m really giddy about. If you haven’t used YELP! before, it is an amazing site where users review businesses of every kind–hairstylists to plumbers. But for our salt-free needs, I have started a list of the low-sodium-friendly restaurants that I frequent.

Currently, the list is short. But with your help, I hope to grow it so that we cover many states, many meals, and many genres of food. So let me know about your successful salt-free food experiences and I’ll add it to the YELP! list. And the next time you’re traveling to Tennessee or Timbuktu, you can just click on this map to find a treasure of low-sodium lunch spots, breakfast haunts, and romantic tables for two.

AMAZON: Okay, so I’m really excited about this feature as well. When you click on the AMAZON button you’ll be transported to a list of cookbooks, food products, and tools sold on Amazon that have the Sodium Girl stamp of approval (check out the tabs on the left side to click through the different lists).

But just to be clear, I don’t receive any money from this. I don’t get a paycheck if you buy this stuff. But I figured this was a great way to show you exactly what kind of beans I like to use. Or what that immersion blender (that I talk about all the time) looks like. I’ll continue to develop this list as well and, come the holidays, feel free to send it to friends and family. Who doesn’t dream of receiving no-salt-added chicken broth for Christmas?

RECIPE INDEX: Holy moly. It’s here. Recipes. Under easy to find categories. For your cooking pleasure. Enjoy.

And finally…

FLAVOR OF THE MONTH: This is just a little something fun that will be updated, well, monthly. It will feature interesting ingredients, spices, and anything that will perk up your low-sodium eating. And I welcome you all to contribute as well. If you’ve made a Sodium Girl dish (or have found a product that we all need to know about), send pictures. Send along your story. And who knows…it might appear in this little box.

Other than that, the rest of the site is pretty much the same and I’ll continue posting my low-sodium adventures, mishaps, and mind-blowing meals every week.

I hope you enjoy the new site and a huge thanks to the Shatterboxx team for building, remodeling, painting, and creating such an awesome new site with so much Sodium Girl flavor.

Oh, and before I forget about the salad…

Directions:

Chop (or rip up) 5 loosely packed cups of arugula and lay it out on a large salad plate. Then, dice 2 cups of watermelon and 2 heirloom tomatoes into similar sized cubes. Mix them in a separate bowl with a pinch of pepper, a drizzle of oil, and a sprinkle of champagne vinegar. A little chili powder or cayenne pepper doesn’t hurt either. Place the watermelon and tomato mixture on top of the arugula. Serve. Enjoy. And wave summer goodbye.

Chow on.