Let’s begin with the facts and the numbers, because that’s always a very good place to start:
- The recommended daily sodium intake for a healthy American is 2,300mg, which equals 1 teaspoon of salt
- The recommended daily sodium intake for over 50% of adults (due to health problems, age, and other needs) is 1,500mg, which equals just over 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- Nine out of 10 Americans (that’s 90%) eat almost double the recommended daily intake, averaging over 3,500mg per day (and if you really consider the soy-sauced sushi, chorizo burrito, and milk swamped cereal…that number climbs even higher and adds up quickly)
- More than 800,000 people die each year from heart disease, stroke and other vascular diseases, which cost the nation $273 billion health care dollars in 2010
- Over 75% of the high sodium consumption comes from processed foods
- Most products, from bread to balsamic vinegar to tomato soup to even raw pork and poultry can range in sodium content due to ingredients used in preserving and processing
- Many low-sodium and no-salt added products (pickles to potato chips) already exist and sit on major grocery store shelves (thank you, Whole Foods) ready for your snacking pleasure
- Almost any recipe, sauce, or favorite dish can be made from scratch, approximated at home, with creative substitutions and no salt
- And today, a kick-ass group of Virtual Tastemakers have kicked the shaker to the side to make a bounty of low-sodium dishes just for you
For a third year in a row, all these statistics and numbers add up to one thing: the LOVE YOUR HEART RECIPE RALLY. A day when a group of salt-loving bloggers offer up their valuable web pages and agree to take on one of the greatest challenges for a cook: cut back on the salt. All were tasked with taking a favorite dish and transforming it into something low-sodium, without sacrificing look, flavor, or enjoyment. Giving all those other flavor-makers, from a squeeze of citrus to a sprinkling of spice, a chance to shine. And proving that low-sodium food needs no apologies, just second helpings.
But why did these healthy individuals take on such a challenge?
This month is Heart Health Month and today is the official release date of Sodium Girl’s Limitless Low-Sodium Cookbook. And while low-sodium diets definitely benefit those with health needs, remember: the average daily sodium intake for Americans age two years and older is more than DOUBLE the recommended level. So everyone can stand to cut back.
Plus, eating less sodium all boils to down to eating less processed foods. And that means eating whole foods and eating well. It means understanding what you’re putting in your mouth, stomach, and body. Taking time to look at labels. Showing your pepper and sweet potato respect by roasting them. Swapping convenience for cherished time at the stove. Inviting others to experiment and enjoy with you. And not being afraid to take an old recipe, twist it, and make it personal. On top of all that, low-sodium food, fueled by creativity, can be way more than just healthy food. It can be jaw-dropping delicious, inventive, and crave-worthy food that doesn’t just stand up to its salty counterparts, but potentially, outshines them.
That’s what the Love Your Heart Recipe Rally is all about. A group of amazing bloggers inspiring people to eat well and to feel well, one recipe at a time. Aren’t you excited?
But wait, it gets better. Because beyond these dishes, there is something else exciting. A chance to win your very own Vitamix — the sports car of blenders.
Why Vitamix? Because with its different blades and endless recipe ideas, you can create everything from salt-free soups to dips to spreads to breads in your home. It is a powerful tool of creativity and creation. And it not only allows you to take your low-sodium meals to the next level, but it makes cooking low-sodium food as easy as one, two, three, dishwasher. And you know this is something I adore.
So after you read all the salt-free recipes and you get motivated to make your own salt-free makeovers at home, be sure to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for your very own blender of inspiration (aka Vitamix). The giveaway begins today, Tuesday, February 12th at 9:00AM PST. So when the clock strikes 9:00, simply follow instructions on the Rafflecopter Widget below to get started. There is a mandatory entry action which, once complete, will unlock EVEN MORE optional entry actions, each gaining you MORE chances to win. The giveaway will close on Monday February 18th, 2013 at 12:00AM PST. Winner be notified by email and announced on this blog and the Rafflecopter widget on Friday February 22nd. All rules and regulations can be found at the end of this post.
Now that we have all that covered, help me welcome this year’s Recipe Rally Participants. Show them some love with Tweets, Pins, Facebook messages, or just an old fashioned clap. They truly deserve it.
And with that…ready, set, RALLY!
Hogwash: Simple Smoky Roast Chicken
Blender Girl: Spiced Alkaline Sugar Free Vegan Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
Recipe Girl: Sweet Potato Fries
The Healthy Apple: Apple Pumpkin Yogurt Parfait
Picky Palate: Roasted Red Pepper Parmesan Baked Eggs
This Week For Dinner: Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
With Style & Grace: Pistachio Broccoli Pesto Crusted Salmon (lovingly adapted from Sodium Girl’s Limitless Low-Sodium Cookbook)
Healthy Happy Life: Favorite Lemon Avocado Toast + Basil Pesto on Top
The Tomato Tart: Heart Healthier Buffalo Chicken
Foodie Crush: Sweet and Spicy Popcorn.
Sodium Girl: Pigs in a Salt-Free Blanket
Giveaway Rules:
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Winner must be a US resident in order to win. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to email to claim prize before another winner is chosen. The name of the winner will be announced on SodiumGirl.com and the Rafflecopter Widget once the giveaway has closed. In the event the Sponsor (Vitamix) fails to send the prize, the Host (SodiumGirl.com) and all Participating Hosts (Participating Bloggers) will not to be held responsible or liable in any way. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Twitter or Facebook. Complete terms and conditions can be found within Rafflecopter Giveaway Widge above and here.
Giveaway and photos provided by Vitamix. I, Sodium Girl, was provided a Vitamix product as part of the giveaway promotion, however all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Those are some scary stats! I hope more people learn to flavor foods with herbs and spices! They really are wonderful!
when does the giveaway begin??
It has started!
Wonderful giveaway! Despite my healthy lifestyle I inherited high blood pressure, this website is extremely helpful for those on low salt diet.
I want a makeover of vegetable soup!
My grandma loves fried shrimp but is on a low sodium diet so I would say that!
I would love to know how to make a good French fry minus the heavy salt!
I’d like a makeover for gumbo or jambalaya.
I would want to make over mongolian beef – so much sodium!
I’d love to make over steak. Once my husband and I started eating less sodium due to his hypertension, I can hardly eat steak anymore. It’s been way too salty every time I”ve had it.
All my soup recipes!
i love Shepherd’s Pie but it is high in sodium, this would be a great dish to desalt! 🙂
Great giveaway!
Wow, this is really great! I hope I win!
Woukf love to win!
I want to make over veg barley soup
I’d like a good selection of salad dressings that are low sodium or sodium-free. They always taste better with salt, it seems!
Fettucine alfredo– salty and fatty, but so good!
Salt and Vinegar chips!
pasta sauce
Thank you for the interesting statistics! I am very shocked! I would love to make over the traditionally salty Potato chips.
I LOVE YOU and so honored to be in this rally for you. So happy for your beautiful life and your health and to call you one of my best friends.
Love you always and forever (even without sodium)!
xoox
-Aims
Homemade tortilla chips!
My roommate has a history of high cholesterol in her family, so I tend to add as little salt to foods I cook as possible. And we always buy low sodium. That’s one of the key things we look at on ingredient and nutrition labels.
This is awesome! Such a good reminder to cut back on salt intake!
Popcorn topping!
I really wish there was a makeover for mac and cheese but i just don’t think it’s possible. I tried the cauliflower white sauce suggestion but it was not my thing. I haven’t got my copy of the cookbook yet so i am praying there is one in there.
I’d love to figure out how to make-over chinese take-out foods (esp. sesame chicken) without so much salt!
I want a makeover of chili!
I would like to make over my Gluten-Free Tator Tot Hotdish recipe!
Lasagna especially, but many Italian yummies have too much sodium for me these days. But I love Italian food!
I would want to make over tacos!
Gosh, what *wouldn’t* I like to use less salt on? I ADORE salt. Salt is life. Sigh. But yeah, I should try a little less. I used to put tons of salt on meat – but I’ve recently adopted a vegan diet, and now…I find myself salting everything less. No meat, less to salt. Ooh, maybe baked potato? Buttery, sour-creamy (non-dairy), with scallions and SALT. And french fries. Hash browns. I see a theme here 🙂 POTATOES!
Low sodium pickles and olives!
I’d love a makeover on mashed potatoes – despite adding salt, they also seem to need more… why do potatoes do that?
tacos… i love tacos, tostadas, taco salad… but taco seasoning has so much sodium in it. i would love a recipe for a taco seasoning that tastes like tacos without the salt. thanks so much!
I want a makeover of sesame chicken!
French Fries
I’d love a less saltier chili recipe!
I would love to make over any kind of soup!! I hate how canned soups are so full of sodium, so I would love to change that!
I would love to remake my soup recipes in low sodium – especially saurkraut soup!
How about egg salad?
Chicken Alfredo!
I want a makeover of asian stir frys.
Chicken Noodle Soup!
I’d like to makeover roasted veggies. I tend to oversalt for flavor…
I’d love a makeover mac & cheese!
I would makeover a classic Chinese dish that I make: black bean ground beef and tofu over rice! Thanks for the giveaway!
I ‘d like to makeover my Pad Thai recipe. I use Tamari, which has less sodium, but then the flavor is lost.
Mashed potatoes makeover
I would like to make over Chicken Chili Verde
I would make over mac and cheese
Luckily with a vega, gluten free diet lowering sodium intake is not to difficult!
Tomato soup!
Homemade chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes. They always need so much salt to make them scrumdillicious.
New to your site, very interesting!
Love those stats (even if they’re terrifying.) I want to make over a chow fun stir fry – Chinese stir fry dishes are way too salty!
A potatoe gratin recipe I made that uses canned soups and grated cheese. It’s yummy, but uses frozen potatoes too.
I learned that celery is the worst for sodium….it’s like a sponge that sops it up from the soil.
all my beloved soups!
I’d love to have a low sodium Mexican dish
Thanks for the facts! I don’t add salt to anything!!! I hardly ever use it
I’d like to revamp most soups!
Stir frys that have soy sauce in them
i JUST found your site and i’m in love with it already 🙂 your story is amazing! i’ve got an aunt with lupus, so i realize what kind of struggles come with it! you’re inspiring <3
I would love for you to makeover tamale. Thank you!
Wow. 1 tsp is the daily limit? That goes by fast! Nothing like cooking at home and controlling the salt content. I haven’t eaten olives in a long-long time because they’re so salty! Has anyone else figured out a way to use olives without killing our daily sodium content? Or is this just a lost cause?
I would love a less saltier french onion soup.
I definitely wish miso wasn’t so high in salt! I love it dearly but don’t buy it for the high sodium. Any chance of getting a miso low sodium soup recipe?:)
I’d makeover Vietnamese pho!!
Can’t wait to try your buffalo chicken spice recipe!
I would like to make over fried chicken…usually has too much salt.
pizza 🙂
I would like a baked potato make over!
oh so many soup recipes!
Chicken Tortilla Soup
I would love to make over a chinese stir fry dish – maybe I’ll do that this weekend : )
Potato Chips
Shrimp scampi
I would love to find a makeover for pizza!
Pasta sauce
I’d makeover French Onion Soup
Mongolian Beef
I would make over some asian dishes that call for waaaay too much salt
I would like to make a healthier, low-sodium version of chicken fried rice or any rendition of chinese fried rice (darn soy sauce is the high sodium culprit!)
Miso soup!
Oh, man! Do I have to choose only one thing I’d make over!! Ok.. Let’s go with stir fry! On a night I need a quick easy dinner I take any veggies I have that need to be used. Mix up some soy sauce & honey with some noodles or rice. Easy Easy! BUT, between the salt/seasonings I use to just make the saute veggies, then the amount of soy sauce mixture it takes to get a good flavor is really depressing! Sometimes I’ll use a low sodium veggie bouillon, but those are hard to find around these parts!!
I would have to agree with the previous poster, tacos! We eat them often in our house and the seasoning is very high in sodium.
Definitely potato chips or popcorn!!
Fried chicken!
Mac & Cheese… and primarily any soup recipe. or Chinese… Pretty much wide open on this subject..lol
Stir Fry
I would love to makeover Taco seasoning!
Anything with buffalo/hot sauce – it’s got so much sodium! 🙁
Great post! I feel like this is a topic that gets overlooked often. I have been lucky to be raised with the habit of never really adding salt to my meals, but sadly that is NOT the norm these days. So happy this giveaway led me to your site. 🙂
I’m new to your site, thanks to Jenny @ Picky Palate! I came over to enter for the amazing giveaway & I’m pretty sure I’m hooked! With 3 small kids my husband and I are trying all kinds of healthier options! Thank you so much for all the amazing info!
Chicken Adobo 🙂
I’ve tried to cut salt out completely, I’ve noticed that my food is slowly getting spicier with more use of the cayenne….
I recently started tracking my sodium intake and I was blown away by how much sodium there is in things I wouldn’t imagine! It’s made me way more aware of it. Like canned tomatoes and beans. The recipe I would like to makeover is chili, because when I make it I used a can of diced tomatoes, and a can each of black beans, kidney beans, and pinto beans. Avoiding the canned stuff would greatly help reduce the sodium.
ORdered himilayan salt, should be fun to try!
I’ve been making “the switch” since early January to help my husband reverse heart disease. Already, we have seen a marked difference in my husband’s health.
Asian food!
Macaroni and Cheese
I want to makeover oven fried and baked steak. Every recipe I encounter for this type of steak dish calls for copious amounts of salt.
Mac and cheese
I will admit, since I drink so much watch I never pay attention to sodium, but even though my blood pressure is low now, my family history says I should be watching it. Thanks for the wake up call!
in college, i may or may not have been known as “sally mcsodium”… okay, so i kind of have a salty palette. but i’m working on it! the dish that i would most like to make over is an individual “chicken” pot pie… not only because it was my most notoriously salt-heavy dish back in the day, but also because in the last few years my diet has become primarily plant-based, and i’d like to veganize this dish as well.
i’d LOVE to win the vitamix… my nut butter/flour and smoothie-making capacity would increase dramatically!!!
Wonderful giveaway!
I would love to make over breakfast sausage!
Potato chips or french fries!
I’d like a makeover of General Tso’s chicken. Thanks.
Tomato Soup that tastes good without the added cream
I would love to redo mac & cheese.
My dad had high blood pressure, so I grew up with my mom cooking low sodium recipes. But I do put salt on my scrambled eggs and some types of potatoes (like french fries). Thanks for the generous opportunity!
I would love to see some soup recipes, and homemade potato chips!
eggplant tacos!
I want to make over Mac and cheese!
any dish with soy sauce, like teriyaki chicken. even low sodium soy sauce is still super salty.
I saw someone else posted this too! I would redo mac and cheese
I always feel like I use so much salt in mashed potatoes.
I would love to make over cioppino!!
I want to make over pizza
Pasta dishes! Or popcorn. 🙂
Love this blog – heart health is so important!! I have high-normal BP due to a heart condition…low sodium recipes are the best! I’m always looking to expand dinner and soup recipes. Thanks for all the tips. 🙂
shrimp fried rice!
Mashed potatoes!
Popcorn. I would love to explore new ideas for topping popcorn. Lots of butter and salt is definitely not good for me or my kids.
killer give-away! Fingers crossed
Chinese food!
I want to makeover lobster bisque!
Veggie soup!
mushroom soup!
I would love to make over a simple chicken noodle soup. If I don’t add tons of salt, it feels bland.
Chicken & Veggie Fried Rice!
Tortilla chips
Beef with broccoli!
Soups!
I’d love for friend rice and stir fry to get a sodium makeover.
I would like to makeover lasagna and vegetable soup!
any asian dish with soy sauce. we eat a lot of pink mineral salt around here which is so good for you but I cringe when I have to use a product to make a dish that already has the nasty white salt added in- especially in ounds like soy sauce.
Wow! Those are some crazy stats. I had no idea about most of them. Thanks for sharing.
Kung Pao Chicken please!
Taco filling.
I’d like to make over this chicken prosciutto dish that I make, but notice it requires a fair amount of salt to be flavorful, plus the salted prosciutto!
I would love to see a lower sodium version of Chicken and dumplings!
Awesome Give Away!
Pizza
Chinese stir frys
Homemade Tortilla Chips gets my vote! LOVE my chips ‘n salsa.
I love that you’re posting all these recipes! Thank you!
I’d like to makeover Tofu stirfry, ahh the salt kills it for me!
I adore soups but I always go so heavy on the salt! I want to play around more with strong spices and super flavorful veggies to cut down on the sodium.
I would love to makeover chicken wings!
French onion soup
I would love a low salt makeover for shrimp and grits!
AMAZING giveaway – would love to see a low sodium homemade bread 🙂
I would love to make over Chinese food! Love to eat it but the soy sauce is pure sodium!
I want to make over salty vegetable soup!
French Fries!
Oh man, I don’t know if I could pick just one thing, there is so much salt everywhere! There is nothing more satisfying than a salted caramel treat, if there were a way to mimic that without the salt I would be in trouble!
soups! most soups have so much sodium!
I would love to make over some tasty french fries with alternatives to salt.
love this
I would love a makeover of Mexican chicken soup.
Thanks for all the info! Interesting facts!
Let’s figure out a way to take some of the sodium out of soups!
Stir fry dishes need a makeover!
How about a breakfast cereal alternative or make over, maybe some favorite sauces like ranch dressing or mayonnaise.
beef jerky.
Soups have loads of salt. I would makeover soup
Low-sodium vegan “cheese” would be awesome!
Great Giveaway! Good luck to all!
what a fun giveaway! I don’t eat low-sodium for my heart, it’s for my kidney, but I love how reducing your sodium intake makes the flavor or food actually discernible!
Soups…they tend to need to be salty to taste good but also tend to have a lot of salt in it…and chinese food probably…so bad but so yummy
I would love to see a makeover for fettucine alfredo with either an alternative to salt/butter or a way to cut down on it without sacrificing flavor!
I would like to make over a salad dressing, full of flavor with less sodium.
Chicken noodle soup, is it really possible?
I would love to lower the salt in my Black Bean soup.
I would like to remake my 14-Day Sun Pickles with less salt!
I’d love a makeover of Pad Thai that still tastes delicious!
Hmmm….I’d love to salt-free lasagna, nachos, minestrone, all kinds of things! Thanks so much for all the great low sodium recipes and advice.
Asian food
I would love to makeover a pot roast without having to use the cream of mushroom soup and the onion soup packet. So salty! Eww.
Stir-fry. The soy sauce is out of control and even when you use the light sodium it’s still pretty high!
Big soft, fluffy pretzel with cheeeeeeeeese! Yummy salt-less makeover!
love the recipe and like every one else love to win.
Chinese food!!!
I’d like to come up with a low-salt Teriyaki sauce!
Chips & fries!
I would love to makeover Chips and Cheese Dip
I would love to redo a soup! Most are filled with sodium!
Makeover veg soup.
I love to salt my papaya-lime bowl… some alternative to the salt is probably a good idea
I would love Alfredo sauce made over.
Definitely Chinese food.
I would love to make over salted nuts such as ground nuts, pistachios etc.
I would love a makeover of tomato soup. 🙂
Yikes! Can’t believe those numbers! Can’t wait to try some of your alternatives!
I want a makeover of vegetable soup….
Just found your site – thanks for the giveaway opportunity 🙂
I dont use a lot of salt in cooking as is, but a little sea salt is good for you. So I really do not have a recipe I would want to revamp from salt.
I want to makeover taco soup (with or without meat). All the taco seasoning makes it too salty. But I’m not sure how to season it to get the same flavor without using taco seasoning packets.
Chinese stir fry!
very nice tips i love it . 🙂
Thanks for the opportunity. I love to cook mexican food and my husband loves to cook asian food. Definitely need to work on alternatives.
I would love to make over beef and brocolli
Tomato soup with grilled cheese would be nice to indulge in without the high sodium content. Or really any soup; pea soup is one of my favorites, but it’s loaded with sodium.
Pretzels! I wish there was a way to add salt but not TOO much.
Hmmm…a makeover of vegetable soup would be great!
I want to make over stir fry!
makeover chinese food. I agree with using lower sodium soy sauce just doesn’t taste as good as regular
There are tons of soups and stews out there that could use a soduim-reduction makeover! Chili may be at the top of that list.
Would love to see a makeover of pad see ew (not sure if I spelled that right)!
The first thing that comes to my mind is popcorn. It’s difficult to make a good batch without using a lot of salt.
I’d love to makeover my stir-fried cabbage recipe. It has loads of soy sauce!
I would love to make over fried rice! It just doesn’t taste the same without use salt or soy sauce, and even the low sodium soy sauce has an insane amount of sodium!
Would love to see an Alfredo pasta makeover. Would love to win a VitaMix too! 🙂
A really yummy homemade stir fry sauce =)
I find stir-fry/asian dishes way too salty and would love some low sodium recipes.
I would like to makeover potato dishes so that they don’t taste bland without salt
miso soup or tortilla chips 😀
Big-fat- soft-pretzels. The salt on the outside is the best part! What’s a good alternative?
Homemade pretzels sans salt!
I want a remake of potato chips. Love them.
Chinese food!!
I would like to makeover tomato sauce!
I would absolutely love a yummy makeover of my favorite comfort food….potato soup with dumplings! It is a childhood favorite that I have lived without since going low sodium.
I would love to have Chicken Noodle Soup transformed!
I’d love to see a makeover for popcorn! It just never tastes as good without salt!
I’d like to make my sour dough bread with no salt but tastes so flat!! Help!!
also egg salad….
tortilla soup!
Miso soup!
I’m thinking cashew chicken. Love it but don’t love the sodium!
Salt and vinegar chips were the first thing to pop into my head when I read that question of what I’d like to makeover. The salty goodness and acidic vinegar flavors are so good together! It would be nice to add in something like rosemary and garlic, or maybe a sweet golden balsamic and sundried tomato version of the classic potato chip sliced thin, baked up healthily and enjoyed with homemade hummus or all on their own. YUM!
I have never liked the taste of salt. The only thing that I love it in is salt and vinegar chips.
I would love to prepare soups with lower sodium. Thanks!!
I would like to find a way to makeover anything “Buffalo” seasoning related – hot sauce, buffalo seasoning packets have SO much sodium in them!
I would love to see a baked french fry or home made chip recipe without all the salt.
My husband and I don’t add salt to most everything we cook, mostly because some of the ingredients already have salt in them like condensed soups, sauces, etc. I would love to figure out how to make good Chinese food without all the salt though. And I have a gigantic weakness for french fries….is there such a thing as reduced sodium fries???
I desperately need tortilla chips re-made with lower salt! (That will STILL taste good!)
I have become addicted to air popped popcorn with coconut oil, nutritional yeast, cayenne pepper and….Himalayan pink salt. I would loooove to find a substitution for that salt. It is really the only salty food I eat since I prepare my own fresh foods.
any of our soups and chili
how can i pick just one?!? 🙂 definitely mashed potatoes, eggs of all varieties, and soups. and chicken. and chili.
Thanks for the giveaway! I would love to find a really good homemade chip recipe, that way I wouldn’t have to get the salty ones from the store.
I’d love a remake of all those yummy Asian dishes with soy sauce, tamari, etc. that are LOADED with sodium!!
makeover taco soup!
I would like to makeover cucumber salad that requires salting to drain off the cucumber’s moisture.
i want to makeover a soup for sure!!
I would love made over mac & cheese
Definitely soups and chili!
Oh man, I used to love love love my salt! Then I started to research and it is truly scary how much salt we consume without even realizing it! Now I try to substitute citrus for salt, but one dish that I would really like to make over is popcorn. It seems like even sweet popcorn recipes still need salt! Yikes!
I would like a makeover of potato chips please!
I think the saltiest thing I have had in a few years was Mongolian Beef, so Asian food in general with less sodium.
I would makeover french fries!
Because my lower/no sodium food search was started due to one of my 8yr old twin sons illness we would like to remake pizza & mac’n’cheese . what a great giveaway,thanks for a wonderful chance.
Stir fry…I always feel like the salt just adds up more and more as I cook and taste.
Thank you for all the great facts!
Cheesy chicken spaghetti
I would love to makeover a yummy gumbo.
Fried rice or lasagna
Popcorn–
I would love to remake vegan vindaloo with low-sodium content! I absolutely love vindaloo! It isn’t by any means easy to make, but once you’re done, it is so worth it! Doing this dish with less sodium would make this amazing dish even better. Great blog, and great contest. Love it! 🙂
I am blender-less right now and can’t afford to buy a replacement, so I foolishly have a lot of hope in this giveaway. Both my cheap blender and my food processor died last night when I was attempting to make a batch of pecan cheese. A big waste of food and very upsetting. I could never afford a Vitamix in my wildest dreams, but I want one so badly. I can’t even replace my broken appliances with more cheap ones, that’s how broke I am. :-/ I’m on a super tight food budget and having the freedom to make my food from scratch really would help me so much, monetarily and health-wise. Anyway, I have a lot of hope in this. Thanks for such a great blog and wonderful giveaway. 🙂
I’d love for French Onion soup to be made over!
All my favorite asian recipes are so high in sodium its awful.
I’d love a makeover for macaroni and cheese, and meatloaf – heavy comfort foods!
I would makeover any chinese food!
Yikes! Salt is scary. The sodium stats on easy Asian noodle meals always make me think twice about buying them. Hard to believe 1 tsp is all we’re supposed to have.
I would love to find a good BBQ dish that does not include salt. Fries… too.. of course. 🙂
Mashed potatoes! They are pretty much awful without salt!
I want to make over every asian dish, mongolian beef! So good but its so salty!
vege soup
Oh, I put sea salt on everything all the time! I use a lot of salt in my soups, so probably a good soup dish using different spices rather than salt to bring out the flavor.
I would love to see more low-sodium snack foods like pretzels and chips.
Chinese food
Chinese food please!
I would love to remake French Onion soup. I used to love it as a child and its way too salty for my adult taste.
Visiting from Picky Palate!
I would love to have a good lentil soup remade…Salt just makes it so yummy! I would love to see what alternatives could make it equally good!
I’d definitely make over fries and French Onion Soup. I recently stopped adding salt to my meals, which was a big step for me. I was refilling our salt shaker about once a month; I would even add more when no one was looking! 4 months have passed and I’m doing much better, and would love some low salt recipe make overs!
Korean soups are incredibly tasty and generally healthy, but they can be extremely salt heavy… I’d love to remake a low sodium kimchi cheegae!
I would love a recipe for homemade low sodium crackers!! 🙂
i sooo neeed a vitamix!!!!! 🙂 great giveaway, thanks!!
Mexican food!! Love it all, but so much sodium!!
I have been at war with salt for years…I actually don’t add any to anything I make.
But I really wish people who produce canned goods wouldn’t put so much salt in things like tomatoes and beans; they really don’t need them!
I want a makeover of soy sauce! So many great recipes call for it.
french fries!
I would like to makeover some of my favorite Asian dishes that have too much sodium.
I would love to makeover Japanese food!
I’d make over salt and pepper fried shrimp. A Chinese favorite!
I’d love a low sodium stir-fry. With soy+miso, it really adds up quickly.
I would love a low sodium salad dressing recipe! I just ran out of my store bought dressing and I’m thinking I want to try and make my own this time.
I would love to makeover soft baked pretzels. The crunchy salt on top seems so crucial to the recipe!
I admit I’m a salt fiend, but I would love to learn to live without it a little bit here and there. If there were a way to get a nice flavor on pretzels without too much salt, that would be great.
I would LOVE to makeover chips and salsa to a fresher, lower sodium snack. I could eat chips and salsa all day!
I would like to do a makeover oh my soup recipes.
A dish I’d love to make without all the excess sodium would be mac and cheese. But how to accomplish this?
All my soup recipes!
Soups and Asian food.
I’d love to make a low sodium lasagna!
Hibachi dinner ~!
I would like to try to find a good chicken tortilla soup. Every one I’ve tried has been too salty for me!
I would love to have a stir fry remake!
I would like to makeover chili and macaroni and cheese.
I would like to make over pot-stickers!
I would love to have chicken soup made over!
I would love some soup recipes!
Easily sushi.. well, really soy sauce. I love pretty much giving my sushi a soy sauce bath.. but I can’t help but think of all that sodium.. ick!
I’d love a lower salt version of salt and pepper shrimp.
Chicken and Dumplings please!
heuvos rancheros! also, salsa in general!
Hmm… I don’t use salt a lot and almost never add it from a shaker… but I do love chips! Can those ever be low sodium? 😉 (And I don’t actually eat chips often cause I know I shouldn’t.)
Definitely soups, as most are way too high in sodium & don’t need to be–especially if you use fresh ingredients, they sing on their own!
Awesome giveaway! I would love to makeover french fries and be able to control the salt content, as well as the deep-frying aspect of it by baking it.
I’ve noticed that my comfort foods could use a sodium makeover. For example, homemade chicken and dumplings.
I’d love to have an easy makeover for chili (or any soup that has a lot of beans from cans). I KNOW I can cook my own beans, but “ain’t nobody got time for that!” hahahaha!! Is there an easier way???
I agree with all of the soup comments – I’d like soup makeovers too. (vegetarian/vegan)
I would love to make over my miso/thai stir-fry. I love miso, but it is a little too salty.
I really would like to make-over a savory Chinese dish. So many of them call for soy sauce/fish sauce or chili paste, etc. TONS of sodium in ALL of them.
Split pea soup. I LOVE it but always feels it needs a ton of salt, I’d love to get a low-salt version to replace my doing that!
miso soup! the sodium content is insane!
I would love a French Onion Soup makeover! I prefer salty versions to sweet versions, so a makeover would be wonderful!!
Oh, wow! Great question! I would definitely have to say my top three Asian would be miso soup, egg drop soup and fried rice… mmmmm… And top three Mexican would be pozole, chilaquiles, and enchiladas… mmmmmm… I’m hungry!! Lol
Tacos!
Definitely popcorn. It’s one thing I can’t seem to avoid putting salt on (too much salt!)
I would love a French Onion Soup makeover!!
Macaroni & Cheese. How can you make it taste good without the high salt content from the cheese. Is it even possible?
French onion soup
I would love to makeover vegan veggie lasagna! 🙂
I second cutting salt in soups!
Blackened chicken!!! I use a lot of salt on my chicken when I blacken it in the cast iron pan. Also I use salt on Kale chips and any sort of chips or crisps I make.
I would want to makeover Mac and Cheese!
I’d love a recipe makeover that lowers the salt on a soft pretzel!
potato chips!!
i love reading your blog! my family has a history of high blood pressure, so it’s always fun learning new recipes from you!
Anything chinese
Being a New Orleans girl I have already made of Gumbo with NO SALT – it’s better really.
I want to makeover chips and salsa and corn chips using a dehydrator
I would love to be able to make tasty low sodium chinse food. I know I have way too much salt with my food and really need to cut back this year.
I’d like to make over french onion soup.
I would love to makeover my favorite chinese stir-fry.
I have been making lots of homemade pretzels (like you get at the Mall), except instead of using all that salt on them I have been using Herbs. They taste even better than all that salt on them. I will have to Blog these!
I would like a chicken alfredo makeover
I love soups – but some are just way too salty for my taste – I would love to reduce the sodium in a tomato basil soup.
I am working on this myself-snacks need a sodium makeover as a whole!
Pigs in a salt-free blanket
I quit adding salt to my cooking years ago and add fresh herbs and minced or roasted garlic – makes any meal delicious!!
I’d love to makeover a good veggie chili with a lot less salt
I would love to make soups with less salt
I now plan on revamping Pork Scaloppine
Steamed Veggies
I wouId make over my daugher’s favorite potato soup. With all that chicken broth it has a lot of sodium.
Thanks for the giveaway. I’d like to makeover sweet and sour chicken or other chinese meals.
Chicken marsala.
Love chicken noodle soup and lasagne, but not all of the sodium!
I would like to make over chips. Is there such thing as a healthy less salty chip?
I would love to try making a low-sodium version of a lot of soups, French onion in particular! Soup typically seems to be so high in sodium, which is baaad because I make soup once or twice a week.
Just a plain old tomato sandwich in the summer without having to use so much salt would be great!!!
I would love to figure out how to make sushi taste good but with less salt!
Makeover mac and cheese? Probably not possible.
TC totally possible. There’s one in the cookbook but I’m also working on a “cheesier” version…
I’d like to make over dishes that use soy sauce – I’m on a low-tyramine diet and can’t eat aged or fermented foods.
I would love to makeover my broth based soup recipes!
I’d like to try making over oven fries.
I would love to make over the majority of Asian dishes. Soy sauce — even the low sodium variety — packs a lot of salt. Soy’s not that great either, for me.
Definitely an Asian stir fry or yummy Asian sauce. That soy sauce sodium is scary…
Make over stir fry!
I’d like to see a makeover of a bbq sauce (homemade) that wouldn’t be a plain dry rub. I like my wings and such nice and messy with a good bbq sauce but I know the bottled brands are loaded with sodium!
Wow, so glad I found you (thanks @withstyleandgrace). So many heart issues in my family, but I’ve had a hard time giving up salt cause I’m already on a gf/df/sf diet and this girl needs some flavor. I would love to make over my asian dishes. Cutting gluten and soy has made flavoring stir fry a little difficult and I have relied on salt for that but I’d love to cut it out! 🙂
My son is big on Asian stir fries, would love to try to knock the sodium content down on those but maintain the flavor!
I’d like to remake miso soup.
I’d like to make over simple old macaroni and cheese. Between salting the pasta water, the saltiness of the cheese, and the salt in the white sauce, there’s a lot of sodium in there!
I would like a makeover of mac and cheese!
Gravy makeover- whit, brown, chicken you name it!
Cheree – there’s a great mushroom gravy in the cookbook (POUTINE!) but here’s another idea: http://www.sodiumgirl.com/grateful-for-lentil-gravy/
sounds silly, but a lot of veggie burger recipes contain both salt and soy sauce, so I would like to see them with reduced sodium
Homemade Tortilla Chips!
Pulled pork!
Kristina – orange whiskey pulled pork in the new cookbook!
I love your blog! Great ideas!! 🙂
deep fried anything
i would like to see a better no salt recipe for fried rice
all the meat RUB recipes I have need a makeover
I would love to do a stew makeover to lower the sodium. Seems like everything I put in it is salted first. I’d prefer to get all my salk from Salted Caramels!!
Thank you for the chance to win this amazing giveaway!!
Potatoes!! It’s so hard to make GREAT mashed potatoes without lots of salt.
Believe it or not, many breads have tons of salt. I’d like to find a whole wheat bread recipe with less salt.
I would say makeover for Asian food. Using low sodium soy sauce doesn’t really work!
I would love it if you could makeover homemade teriyaki sauce…I make it using low sodium soy sauce, but even the low sodium variety still has a TON of sodium in it! Is there maybe something else I could use as a substitute for teriyaki that doesn’t use soy sauce? Please help!
Courtney! Check out these Tamarind “Teriyaki” Skewers from the cookbook http://www.lhj.com/blogs/ladieslounge/tag/sodium-girl/
Would love to find a way to enjoy popcorn without salt! It’s my favorite topping — even prefer it over butter.
I would want to make over chicken noodle soup or any chinese dish with less salt!
PIZZA remake, please!
I love to makeover pizza as a very low or no-sodium recipe! Little by little I’m experimenting with the different ingredients of pizza to perfect a good tasting but good for you pizza!
Soups!!
chips for salsa
I want to make over tacos!
Definitely Chinese food!
Stir-frys definitely!
I would makeover fried rice most definitely!!!
My favorite veggie soup
I’d like to make french fries less salty while keeping good taste!
I love being able to use thing that I’ve grown like herbs and veggies. My girls love being a harvester. Thanks for the informative blog!
Tacos!
I’d love to makeover my favorite soups! With ease. 🙂
How about a spinach artichoke dip? Super yummy, and I assume quite full of sodium.
Janelle – check this out… http://www.sodiumgirl.com/low-sodium-spinach-leek-dip/
Chicken noodle soup… Sooo good but only with lots of salt!
I have been wanting to get my hands on a Vitamix for years now, so I am really excited about this giveaway. As an added bonus I’ve found a blog that can be of a great benefit to me and I look forward to reading up. Thanks!
Chinese food
This is hard for to say because unfortunately I love salt. So I guess if any recipe could be remade without it and still taste good, I would be all for it!
I agree with the stir fry suggestions.
I want a makeover for roasted chicken.
Breads…without losing the flavor.
I too would love to see a taco make-over!
I think a makeover set of salt-free seasoning blends would be awesome!
I always try different takes when it comes to meats and crockpot recipes. instead of adding salt and pepper i use adobo peppers, crushed red peppers or cumin!
Fried rice please! 🙂
I love chinese food, but hate the high sodium. I always feel so horrible after eating it. I’d just like to know how to alter recipes to make lower sodium chinese.
I would love to know how to make Chinese restaurant dishes at home that are just as tasty but without the MSG and other unhealthy ingredients. One of my favorites is Chicken Lo Mein.
Makeover spaghetti sauce!!
I immediately thought of soup! Last week I had a very salty pea soup, yuck!
Mac & cheese and mashed potatoes.
I would make over a good use on anything pasta sauce.
Low sodium recipes are so needed in today’s society. Thank you!
Different kinds of meat!
I would love to see a makeover of French Dip Sandwiches. 🙂
Alison- that is so funny! I just made a vegan, salt-free French dip a week ago for a friend…recipe coming!
Mac & Cheese!
I would make over potato chips
I agree with chinese food, and anything with soy sauce! I love it, but feel like I need to chug water afterwards…
Make over stir-fry !!!
Chicken Noodle soup, always seems to be quite salty. It doesn’t need to be with plenty of fresh herbs and vegetables you are good to go.
I would love a taco-seasoning that lower in sodium but still tastes just as good!
Pizza!! Great giveaway! I would LOVE a Vitamix 🙂
I’d love to make over some potato chips.
Great recipes and info! I’d love some low sodium pickles!
chinese food, friend rice.
I have a lot of soup and stew recipes that I would like to make lower in sodium.
I’d love some reduced sodium soups and meats. I usually use vinegar for an extra flavoring but love other suggestions too.
Soups
Family hates things like mushrooms, onions, peppers – got any makeovers that wouldn’t include these? 🙂
I wish pretzels can have a low sodium makeover!
I love these recipe sites and am so grateful you people that inspire are willing to sacrifice your time! Thank you!!
I would want to make over orange chicken or french fries!
I love that you make so many things healthier!! I would like a pinto bean slow cooker makeover. Most call for a lot of salt and I know it’s not that great for you. Thank you!! 🙂
pesto
I have learn to eat my food just a la natural, we have both gotten use to it and now don’t add salt at the table anymore and I cut the salt in half when a recipe calls for it, or leave it out completely.
chicken noodle soup—less salty but not bland!
french fries and potato chips~2 of my faves but so salty!
taco soup
I just received your book and I can’t wait to get started making some of the recipes. My husband has been on a low sodium diet since having a heart attack two years ago. It hasn’t been easy for him nor for me as the cook. His running joke was “potato chips are a vegetable”. He still misses the salt but is getting better about reading the labels and making better choices.
I’d like to makeover some soup recipes … Chicken Noodle, Beef Barley or Broccoli Cheese
chicken pot pie
I’d like to makeover potato chips somehow.
I want a makeover on mashed potatoes and clam chowder
I’d like to makeover jambalaya.
I would love some Spicy oriental chicken chinese recipe made over NUMMY
I love salt on my eggs … so, id love to know how to eat “salty” eggs without the salt!
I would love to see a salt makeover with Chinese dishes. They have so much sodium in them – but I love them.
french fries or potato chips
I LOVE chips and salsa- but chips can be so salty. I usually buy the unsalted ones from Trader Joe’s. I think the salsa tastes better…but would be nice if there were more options for unsalted chips…
I’d like a makeover for french onion soup.
Soups..its always a hard one but I’ve at least started with low sodium broth!
Chinese stir-fry
Stiry-fry. I love soy sauce but don’t want all the extra sodium that comes with it.
I would love to make over mac and cheese.
I think I would like to makeover Stir Fry or General Tso’s Chicken.
I would like a makover of Mexican food!
I’m not of fan of extra salty foods so I make dishes that are low sodium but I would like to makeover my sister’s mashed potatoes. They are so good but loaded with butter and salt.
I would love to remake my soup recipes with less sodium.
I don’t even know where my salt shaker is…. somewhere in the back of my cupboard? I really don’t like when people salt my food without even tasting it first! My kids tease me because I sprinkle hot pepper flakes on just about everything!
I would like to make-over all the old favorites: Macaroni and Cheese,
Chicken and Dumplings, Spaghetti Sauce, etc.
I know you asked for a salty “dish”, but I am more interested in condiments and other staple foods!
Just to save my entry… Onion Soup =)
I would like to makeover beef and broccoli!
My family loves the slow cooked pot roast with onion soup mix and cream of mushroom soup. I buy the low sodium soup, but the onion soup mix is loaded with salt. I’d love to know what you would substitute in it’s place. Thanks!
French Onion Soup!
I would love an easy home makeover for Chinese food – it is loaded with sodium!
Pasta Sauce!
Veggie burritos with lots of melty cheese and spicy red sauce.
King ranch chicken casserole
I want a sodium rewrite of the really basic things- what do you do when a standard dish is usually flavored with some fresh ground sea salt and pepper, and nothing else?
Vegetable Soup. Seems silly it would be salty but to get the beefy flavor I add “better than boullion and it makes it a bit salty.
Either Asian stir-fries or Spanish dishes (the added cheese, salsa, and beans can be sodium overload!)
I would want to makeover Chinese food. The flavors are so good, but they’re always so high in sodium.
My mother has high bp and has to watch sodium intake which makes me at risk. Also
I have a little boy due in May and I want to make sure he is eating only the best foods from the beginning and to try and avoid giving him any processed foods. I know for a fact fact I over salt everything I think everything I cook needs a makeover my downfall is salted butter.
I’m absolutely loving your site! My mom and I are always looking for ways to decrease our sodium intake because we always feel so icky and swollen after we eat high sodium foods!
Chicken noodle soup!
pretzel pretzel pretzel
What an awesome giveaway! I would love to give veggie stir fry a makeover.
I would love a less-salty beef stroganoff! 🙂
I would probably say oven fries or many of the soups & chilis I make. I am a horrible salter!!
My Tamale Casserole which uses at least 4 canned items – would like to use fresh ingredients instead
My favorite salty foods are all pretty healthy, but if I had to pick one extreme indulgence, it would be mozzarella sticks!
Soups! It’s so hard to find soups that aren’t loaded with sodium.
I don’t know. I hate adding salt to anything.
Gluten free soy sauce! Soy sauce in general is supper high in sodium, but if you’re gluten free there is no “reduced sodium” option. Ugh…double whammy!
Stir-fry, definitely, could use a makeover:)
I would love to makeover restaurant style Chinese food!
Makeover stovetop popcorn…. I add so much salt but it tastes so good!
I would love to make over enchiladas and other mexican dishes! I am your newest follower. I just returned home from the hospital where I was being treated for atrial fibrillation. I must change my habits!
I would like to makeover most Chinese dishes! I’m recently salt shaker-less and it seems most of the sauces used in Chinese dishes are super salty!
Soups..
I’d like a makeover of spaghetti meat sauce.
I’d love a low sodium, gluten free tamari alternative (I’d really love it if it were soy free, but that’s pushing my luck a bit I suspect).
vegan pizza! -what else???
Would like an remake alternative to crispy, salty Fish Sticks! (Keeping the crunch, lessening the sodium!)
Also, a-LOT of ice creams contain high sodium contents, so a remake that is still creamy with taste would be nice! Thanks
How about a tasty meatloaf recipe!
I ate salt-free for 2 years with no help1 It’s wonderful to find your book and recipes! Thanks so much for the ideas and flavors!
I would like to makeover Asian and Thai food. I just recently started a vegan plan. Hypertension and high blood sugar and I need to get this in control. I would love to get the vitamix, especially their vegatarian / vegan model you are giving away. I can’t afford one, but have been eyeing that model
I would love to learn how to rescue bland soups without salt!
Take-out style food. Sesame tofu definitely.
I like your blog. I hate salt!
Mexican food
We don’t go out to eat much. I try to make all homemade with as few canned or boxed items. We eat lots of beans , potatoes , rice and veggies and I have the ability to control salt. My biggest problem is sweets, lol
We’re pretty good at watching our sodium intake…but I’d love to be able to cut out just a touch more from our homemade soups!
I’m so glad I found this website. My mom suffers from hypertension and doesn’t quite know how to approach salt-free cooking, so I’ve taken it upon myself to help her. I would want to makeover my mom’s home cooking to start; once she knows how to eat her own foods without salt, she can apply it to any sort of cuisine. 🙂
Black bean soup
Red beans and rice with sausage – need the right seasoning combo so it doesn’t taste flat
apple pumpkin yogurt parfait. like, seriously? it’s a dessert. no salt, more cloves, cinnamon, cardamom–all that good stuff.
My dad is a heart failure patient so my whole entire family pays attention to sodium, as everyone should!
I think soups for the most part, a good spicy chili that’s low on salt would be good!
Mmmm. Lasagna would probably be my top pick.
clam chowder
Chicken noodle soup
i’d make over french fries!
I am a condiment and finger food freak…. so I will say olives. I LOVE fresh olives, canned olives, black olives, kalamata olives….. you get the point, but… SO MUCH SALT! Thanks for this info:)
any broth soups, gravies, or stir fry using soya sauce or oyster sauce
I’d love to makeover chips and salsa!
I’d love to learn how to transform macaroni and cheese into a sodium-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free dish with awesome texture and flavor!
when i crave something it is always salt
i would love some way to make a tasty snack that was salt like without all the sodium of chips
Hot sauce!!
A makeover for some healthy soup(s) would be nice, as many contain so much salt!
I’d like to makeover dahl.
Olive Tapenade
Awesome giveaway, I have my fingers, toes, and eyes crossed. I’m going to say I’d like to see french fries remade. 🙂
Soups, I love them, but I can always tell after I eat them, how much salt was in them
Gosh, that would be the awesomest if I won!
I try to eat low-sodium all the time. I use spices and especially love seasoning with garlic!
I would LOVE to win the Vitamix to be able to experiment with new recipes and ways of flavoring recipes. A new year, a new me….wanting to get healthier and this would definitely help!
I’d love a makeover of those salty nachos!
sushi w/ soy sauce
I’d like to makeover stir-fries! Way too much sodium in soy sauce
Mexican chicken 🙂 great giveaway! Would love to win
Does popcorn count?
I’d love to make over teriyaki sauce!
Saltine crackers that are also gluten free! Nothing like a good saltine in tomato soup or chili…miss them terribly since going GF and hard to find a good substitute!
I want to makeover fried rice
I would love to see a makeover of spaghetti sauce!! Would love LOVE a Vitamix to do so many things in the kitchen…thank you 🙂
I would love to have a huge bowl of chicken and rolled dumplings like my momma used to make, but without the salt. I don’t think the same ‘taste’ can be achieved w/o the salt?
i would LOVE to make over any chinese food. mainly wonton soup. SO much sodium but SO GOOD.
I would learn how to make gluten free soups with less sodium.
I would love to makeover jarred tomato sauce 🙂
Rachel, there are actually a ton now in stores with no-salt added! But I also have a recipe for homemade tomato sauce in the new cookbook. Check it out!
I would love to make over any kind of Chinese food they all seem to be so salty I have made some dishes at home and even added more spices and hot sauces to make the dish more flavorful without adding a lot of salt. It just doesn’t taste the same
Fried Chicken! It’s usually too much or not enough salt!
garlic pickles
(I adore salt. Couldn’t care less about sweets, but give me something salty and crunchy, and it’s trouble!)
Would love to have a Vitamix to help cut out the salt and make fresh dishes since I was recently diagnosed with cancer–everything I eat is changing!
I’d do a makeover on fettuccine alfredo.
If I could make a potato chip as good as Old Dutch Originals with less salt (and fat, frankly), I’d be in heaven.
I’d like to makeover chicken pot pie. Thank you!
Chinese food! How do you get the flavor of the soy sauce without adding all that sodium?
Scary stuff! I don’t even like extra salt on anything but I know my sodium intake is higher than it should be.
I love Indian Food! I would love to make my favorite dishes at home with less sodium.
Fried rice!
My Chinese stir fry that uses a lot of salty soy sauce.
would love to see more option in reduce sodium chips! sometime you just like a snack and dont want all that salt!…espceally corn chips!!
Best giveaway EVER!!
I’d makeover chicken noodle soup. The comfort food we all reach for when we’re sick needs a sodium overhaul!
I would love to see chinese orange chicken done without so much salt… I eat it and then I’m carrying bloat/water weight for the next 2 days. 🙁
Jenna! It’s in the new cookbook. Check it out!
Stir Fry. Please and thank you.
Well it’s not so much a dish. Condiments are where it’s at for me, so I’d say hoisin sauce, and now I’m thinking about a good old-fashioned traditional stir fry, so let’s say that too. 🙂 Great post and giveaway! Love the team work from such an esteemed group of bloggers!
I would make over fried rice.
Don’t know. The salty food I’m occasionally addicted to is potato chips – but I’ve tried salt-free ones and they taste awful – bland and oily. I eat homemade oven fries instead – I posted the recipe over on RecipeGirl’s blog (http://www.recipegirl.com/2013/02/12/sweet-potato-fries-vitamix-giveaway/#comment-112611). Soup, maybe – amazing how much salt there is in some lentil soup recipes. And I’d _love_ to have a Vitamix, for soup and other things – my parents have one and it’s amazing.
makeover of salty french fries
I’d have to say homemade soup.
I would love to make over homemade tomato sauce. I find that I have to put in a lot of salt and sugar to make it taste good. Also, I would love to make over chinese food!
Quote: Almost any recipe, sauce, or favorite dish can be made from scratch, approximated at home, with creative substitutions and no salt
This so very true, but few people want try unfortunately until something medical happens.
Thank you for the facts that you included in the post.
Most soup recipes, and a lot of chinese dishes. Would love to be able to make more low sodium sauces!
My broccoli cheddar soup. I was stunned to find out how much sodium is in it.
I don’t like the taste of salt, so I don’t use much of it. But potatoes in general, and mashed pots in particular seem to require huge spoonfuls of the stuff to make it palatable.
I agree about switching up my favorite Chinese dishes!
I would love to make over either miso, soy sauce or taco seasoning. I recognize that I am somewhat addicted to salt.
I’d makeover chili
I grew up in Trxas and we love our chips and salsa! I would love to make them over to cut down on sodium, and the bloating that comes along with it 🙁
I’d love to do a salt free version of Chicken Pot Pie
I would love to have a remake of fried rice!
I would makeover clam chowder or miso soup.
I would make over our roasted sweet potatoes! I throw a bit too much kosher salt in and then add more when they are out of the oven.
Would love to win a VitaMix!!! And Love your recipes!!
The previous comments have pretty much covered all of the dishes that could use makeovers. Foods or dishes that I find are hard to eat without salt: potatoes, rice, and soup, but adding spices helps a lot.
Potato soup…It’s just so bland without salt. 😉
I rarely use salt at home. I wish there was a better alternative for movie theater pop orn.
I would love to see salad dressing made over.
I would love to make a good Chinese broth using less salt. For some reason everytime I try, it just doesn’t taste right. Any tips?
onion rings!
Here’s another vote for french fires!
From the time I was a little girl, mashed potatoes have been one of my favorite foods. As of late, I have been trying to greatly reduce the amount of dairy products I consume, so I tried tweaking the recipe my dad taught me (lots of butter and sour cream). Then, however, I ended up adding a lot more salt and pepper to give it flavor. I would love a recipe to de-salt and de-dairy mashed potatoes!
Grilled hot dogs!
Pickles, I adore them…but not the salt!
I would make over fried rice!
I would love to have a makeover for truly salt free soy sauce or Thai seasoning sauces.
What a great cookbook. Yummy food made better for you. I like that!
Thanks for all the great information and the contest. Would like a miso soup make-over
Jambalaya would be a dish that I would like to make over!
makeover aminos so the sodium content is lower.
i’d like to make over scalloped potatoes
french fries
Hi. Great blog and very informative post. I would love to make over olive tapenade. I use it to marinade chicken but it is so incredibly salty. Any suggestions on how I could make my own instead of buying it? Thank you.
I would love to make over macaroni & cheese and have it taste good. I’ve gotten pretty good at low fat & very low salt cooking with lots of herbs, spices, citrus, etc., but mac & cheese is tough! Sodium Girl, you’ve been an inspiration! When my husband had to go on a no-salt diet before heart surgery, you helped make it possible and kept me from going nuts!
Chicken Noodle Soup
I would love to make a low-sodium version of homemade soft pretzels!
Chicken noodle soup!
I use a lot of soy sauce or vinegars in recipes. Are there substitutions that are similar in flavor so I am using less salt?
Soups, french fries, pizza, or anything Italian (esp. my fave Eggplant parmigiana)!
I would love to make over soups and chili. I love using herbs and spices, but it is hard to get the flavors that develop when you add salt, without increasing the sodium to a ridiculous amount!
Definitely soup! Also some stir fry recipes too!
I would love to have a less salty, but still tasty, seasoning mix for ramen noodles. I’ve been out of college for over twenty years, but I still love those things.
lovely blog! I’m going to share this with my fellow dietitians at work 🙂
clam chowder–soups in general. luv soups!
I want a makeover for Onion Soup with cheese covered French bread.
I am a serious salt aholic…my grandmother’s fault completely…lol. Any ideas that would make food still taste flavorful without salt are good ones for me : )
How about low-salt French onion soup?
I am new to your website. Amie from the Healthy Apple sent me 🙂
I’d like a make-over of guacamole. It always seems hard to get the right taste if you don’t add quite a bit of salt.
I am always looking for healthier versions of popular dishes. I have a couple personal chef clients that will love the Buffalo Chicken recipe.
Anything Chinese!
Would love to make over Mongolian chicken.
I’d like to have some yummy Asian dishes made over, as well as homemade french fries. It’s hard to not put a lot of sea salt on my fries!
Popcorn — maybe not!
love your site 🙂
I love corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day, but it would be great to have a lower sodium made over version of it!
Maybe I’m asking for the impossible but is there any way to make over Salt and vinegar fries?
Soups. We use way too much salt in soups at my house.
Those baked potatoes like they make at Outback Steakhouse. How could you get that delicious crustiness and flavor without the salt?
I would love a makeover of our beloved Pizza!
I love adding red pepper flakes or even a bit of cayenne to anything and it has no need for salt!
I love adding vinegar!!
PLEASE make over savory soft pretzels. I love them so much and the coarse ground salt is what seems to make it.
Mongolian beef
I agree with Chely’s idea of making over soy sauce – even the low sodium varieties have too much for my doctor to be happy with me!
I love salty foods! I’m always looking for an alternative but it has to taste good!
I would love to give my teriyaki salmon a makeover, with a reduced sodium version!
Potato chips – thanks!
I’d love to learn how to make over corned beef and cabbage. This is one of my family’s favorite meals for St. Patrick’s Day, which is just around the corner, and I’d love to learn how to do it in a tasty meatless way!
Tacos! Once I realized that I didn’t have to rely on packaged taco seasoning, our Mexican night dinners got better. (duh…) Thanks!
I would love to makeover canned tomato soup–I love that flavor, but not the salt. Thanks for sharing all the statistics, really eye-opening!
I would love to makeover sausage…and make it healthy and vegan too….if it’s possible!
Any Chinese recipes are a big need in our house. My husband shouldn’t have salt, but he is addicted to Chinese food!
I would love to makeover my pasta. I have to have salt to eat it but I would like to try something different.
Thank you for these facts! Super enlightening, I will be sharing them with my friends 🙂
Vegetarian Pad Thai
I don’t THINK I make too many salty dishes… but I’ll bet I do… I have a lot of reading to do! Thanks for your site!
Most of the chinese dishes.
Need a remake of my mom’s country fried steak recipe.
I love anything Asian, but with the soy sauce, it is so salty. I would love to make-over anything Asian:)
I’d love to find more flavors for popcorn.
Enchiladas.
Pasta sauce!
Enchiladas!
Would love to win!!
I’d love to re-do soups! ANY KIND, but especially tomato & broccoli and cheese – two of my favorites.
There’s a ton of hidden salt in those, but it makes the flavor really stand out!
Anything with potatoes, I always use so much salt with them!
Chinese dish!
Roasted potatoes! It seems like potato dishes are the hardest to make over because they seem to scream for salt…
Ana
miso soup
Would love to have low sodium versions of most Chinese food…
I would love to see a makeover of Chicken Cordon Bleu. Yhanks for the give away and also for helping all of us that need low sodium diets.
Love to see salt and vinegar chips!
I actually had no idea about how much sodium was in some of those foods you mentioned… wow. I would love to see a soup makeover, those are always absurdly salty!! And thanks for throwing this giveaway, the Vitamix has always been something I’ve wanted for cooking/baking <3
I would love to see a low sodium taco seasoning.
Kalua pork!
Pad Thai all the way!
I would like to make over Vegetable Soup. Sometimes to salty.
Chicken n’ dumplins (homemade)
Is it too much to ask for a makeover of the classic salt-and-vinegar flavor? Man I’m addicted to it! Love salt-n-vinegar chickpeas, or salty fries/chips with vinegar, and occasionally potato chips
I would love to make over Pad Thai!
I love adding soy sauce to my dishes, and I buy a reduced sodium kind, but it’s still very high in sodium. So I would most want to have either a substitute or a way to cut it in half with another seasoning to use in my dishes. I recently started mixing my fried rice recipe to use less soy sauce by adding in sriracha sauce. The spiciness helps distract me from the smaller amount of soy sauce.
we have been trying to cut salt for years – hubby has BP problems. When I do use use, usually Kosher
Chili!
I would love to makeover soy sauce, potato chips, and bacon!
Would love to makeover my favorite Mexican enchilada dish!
Potato chips!!!! 😉
I love finding new ways to make Chinese food without all the added salt.
Not much of a salt eater, but there are a few things I can’t or could not live without. There are my mashed potatoes and grits. I have found that putting cayanne pepper in my grits will do in place of the salt. But the mashed potatoes I still need lots of salt and butter. I would to find a way to eat them that I liked without so much of either butter or salt ( which the butter adds more salt).
I would like a make over for minestrone soup.
My daughter has a kidney condition and salt is obviously a big no no for her, so I would love to see her favorite condiment made over – ketchup, the one that we have found that has zero sodium also has zero flavor. I would love to give her something tasty that is also good for her. By the way, she is 3 so being able to dunk her foods is very important to her at this age.
Veggies.
pickles
Wow, this is a great give-away. I hope I win!
Wow Interesting!!!
I read somebody in the comments section asking about ways to eat healthier popcorn. I would love to find more about that as well because every time that I make it, it ends up being a bomb of salt and butter. What are some healthier topping alternatives for giving flavor to my popcorn? There has got to be a better way to eat this popular snack!
ANY SPICES! Try cumin and curry. Or dried dill and salt-free garlic. If you like spice, try a pinch of cayenne. Or for something sweet, use some cinnamon and sugar!
One way to cut back on sodium intake would be to use a potassium salt instead of a sodium salt. Another way would be to exercise to the point of a heavy sweat. Since you lose sodium when you sweat, you can counteract a higher sodium intake with exercise.
Just a word of warning: those on certain medications or with heart or kidney disease must watch their potassium intake as well. SO for these folks, salt-substitutes (which use potassium salt) is also something to watch out for.