Low sodium spaghetti sauce?

Question

Does anyone know of a recipe to make low sodium spaghetti sauce? I recently found out i have high blood pressure and need to lower my sodium intake. Spaghetti is ok as long as i boil the beef instead of fry it. However, the canned spaghetti sauce is HIGH in sodium. does anyone know of a tasty alternative?

Answer 1

Lowering your sodium is a lot of extra little things but it can be done. I also have to go by a restriced sodium diet. You can buy some low sodium spaghetti sauce online at www.healthyheartmarket.com or you can make your own.

I start of with no salt added stewed tomatoes or tomato sauce just depening on my mood and what I have one hand.

Saute some chopped garlic and onions in a little bit if butter (a little butter really is needed to give a little extra depth and creamyness to the sauce) Add the tomatoe product of choice. I also sometimes add some tomato paste (no low sodium version here). Add in itallian seasoning, dried chives, fresh or fried prsely, then even a little more basil, and oregno. A dash of salt or salt sub, and some pepper. You could also add bell peppers, mushrooms, ziccihini etc to make chunky style sauce. I usually simmer mine for 20-30 min.

And here is sometihng I have puttogether to shre with others:

My name is Krizinne and I am currently on the heart-transplant waiting list. When I was first diagnosed with cardio-myopathy, I was told I would have to follow a low sodium diet. I like my junk food and that includes salt, and at first I thought that basically all I could eat was fresh or frozen fruits and veggies, and pasta and rice (no salt in those items) so even though I craved salt I didn’t eat anything that contained salt unless it was naturally found there (i.e. carrots, milk celery etc…). This led to me breaking down and pigging out on junk food. That was when I realized that I could eat some of my old favorites I just had to eat it in a serving size that was with-in my diet guidelines. (200 mg a day -500 for breakfast, 500 for lunch, 500 for dinner, and 500 for a snack in there somewhere). I  bought a small and cheap kitchen scale to weigh out my servings of chips, put them in snack sized baggie and write out the amount of sodium in that serving. That allowed me to treat my self occasionally to a junk food snack and has helped to keep me from just eating too much sodium.

I also like to cook so I started looking around on the internet and in stores for low or no sodium foods. I started making some of my favorite foods/dishes but with lower sodium amounts. I like to cook and play so it was and continues to be a fun challenge. There are a lot of no or low salt cook books but basically when I thumbed through them they have just omitted the salt from the recipe and that seemed pretty obvious to me. Pretty much everything is good when tweaked with other spices/seasonings to add more flavor and less salt. Some dishes just don’t taste right with out the salt in them so when you do add extra salt you need to keep track of how much sodium is in the dish and then figure out how much there is in each serving.  Then there are some things that have so much sodium in the regular version, that a reduced sodium variety doesn’t taste all that different. (Hot dogs, some chips, salsa etc…) And then some items are low or reduced sodium and even though it may be half the sodium there is still a lot there. These things include soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and some reduced sodium soups, and broths/bullion. Just use these with caution.

The first thing to remember when you start eating low sodium is look on the label on Everything you plan to eat. Carrots, celery and a few other veggies do already have a little salt naturally but are not too bad. There is also sodium in bread, milk, cereal, yogurt, cottage cheese, other cheeses as well eggs, soda’s, hydrating drinks (Gatorade, PowerAde etc…) baking supplies (baking soda, baking powder, and self rising flour) etc… Almost everything that has different flavors or brands have different amounts of sodium per serving and sometimes the Name brand is better and sometimes the store brand has less sodium. Remember to stick to the serving size to make sure you only eat what you are allowed to in your diet. One of my fav pre-made items is macaroni and cheese in a box. Some store brands are much lower, so I eat my serving out of a measuring cup and finish with fruit and veggies. Also so diet type freezer meals are just about 500 mg of sodium per box, so you can still have that convenience stuff in the freezer.

Here are some neat websites that you can order low sodium or no salt food, and ingredients to make other yummy stuff.

www.healthyheartmarket.com

www.livinglowsodium.com

www.heartwisefood.com

This is a web-site where you can check the nutrition facts of your favorite chain restraints. This is very handy to see what you should and shouldn’t order.

http://www.fastfood.com/nutrition/defaul...

And this one is an interesting site. It is a “eat this not that” site that shows your best option out of a couple of different choices. You can also sign up for an “eat this not that” newsletter by e-mail. The site is http://www.menshealth.com/eatthis/20-Sal...

The following are items I have purchased in a store or online and most of them I like a lot. Some products are different to get used to at first and some are just better if you mix it with something else to provide more flavor.

SEASONINGS:

Kirkland seasoned salt found at Costco 170 mg of sodium per ¼ tsp

Misty’s seasoned salt found most anywhere 100 mg of sodium per ¼ tsp

Salt Free seasoning found at Honks Dollar store 0 mg of sodium per serving

Jane’s Krazy Mixed-Up Seasonings Original Mixed Up Salt found most anywhere 220 mg of sodium for ¼ tsp

Also use granulated garlic, or garlic powder instead of garlic salt, and onion powder instead of onion salt.

MEATS:

Great Value (Wal-Mart Brand) Bacon found at Wal-Mart 190 mg of sodium per 2 slices

Kirkland bacon found at Costco 200 mg of sodium per 2 slices

_                      

Great Value low sodium bacon found at Wal-Mart 200 of sodium per 2 slices (I think)

Hebrew National Low fat franks found at most larger grocery stores 325mg of sodium per 1 frank

I have found Hebrew National dogs online that are even lower sodium but I can’t seem to find them in stores.

Tyson Natural Chicken b*****s found most anywhere 40 mg of sodium per 4 oz of chicken

*********A lot of chicken b*****s are at 80-180 mg of sodium per 4 oz Double check the package because some are 80 mg and above even though they have the same packaging as the 40 mg b*****s. Check each package, it has a green label but they are not all the same.

Coleman’s Natural all beef franks 250 mg of sodium per 1 frank I found these at Smiths/Kroger

I just found these and actually like them better than the Hebrew National.



BULLIONS:

Wyler’s Reduced Sodium Chicken Cubes found most anywhere 560 mg of sodium per cube

Wyler’s Reduced Sodium Beef Cubes found most anywhere 540 mg of sodium per cube

Wyler’s Sodium Free Chicken Instant Bullion found most anywhere 0 mg of sodium per tsp.

Home Again Sodium Free Chicken Base 0 mg of sodium per serving

Home Again Sodium Free Beef Flavored Stock 0 mg of sodium per serving

CEREAL:

Go Lean Crunch 95mg of sodium per 1 cup

(there is another Kashi cereal that I really like that has no sodium at all in it but I just can’t seem to remember which one it is.)

Post Shredded Wheat Honey Nut 70mg of sodium per 1 cup

SNACK STUFF:

Kernel Seasons White Cheddar popcorn seasoning found at Wal-Mart and www.healthyheartmarket.com Market 75 mg of sodium per ¼ tsp

Kernel Seasons Barbeque popcorn seasoning found mostly at www.healthyheartmarket.com 5 mg of sodium per ¼ tsp

Kernel Seasons Kettle Corn popcorn seasoning found at Wal-Mart and www.healthyheartmarket.com 0 mg of sodium per ¼ tsp

Kernel Seasons Chocolate Marshmallow popcorn seasoning found at www.healthyheartmarket.com __ mg of sodium per ¼ tsp

Frog Ranch Salsa found at www.healthyheartmartket.com or www.livinglowsodium.com 40 mg of sodium per 2 oz

Terra Red Bliss Sun Dried Tomato and Balsamic Vinegar found at health food store and a lot of grocery stores or online 85 mg sodium per 1 oz

*********These are just right per serving because even though they aren’t that salty they stop the salt craving in just one serving

Terra Red Bliss Olive Oil, Roasted Garlic, and Parmesan Chips found at health food stores, chain markets or online 115 mg of sodium per 1 oz

Terra also makes other great chips and some are unsalted or even lower amounts of sodium.

Frito’s “Pinch of Salt” corn chips 75 mg of sodium for 1 oz

Walgreens Café W Super Energy Mix (trail mix) 12mg of sodium for 1 ¼ oz

Tostito’s Pinch of Salt White Corn Rounds 75 mg of sodium for 1 oz

McCormick Vegetable Dip Seasoning Mix 130mg of sodium per ½ tsp dry mix (makes 2 tbsp of dip plus sodium from sour cream)

Walgreens Select Cranberry Almond Granola 30mg of sodium per ¼ cups

Low Sodium Ritz Crackers 35 mg per 5 crackers

Unsalted saltine crackers 50 mg of sodium per 5 crackers

CANNED GOODS:

No Salt Added Corn found most anywhere 10 mg of sodium per ½ cup serving

No Salt Added Green Beans found most anywhere 10 mg of sodium per ½ cup serving

No Salt Added Tomatoes found in most store and name brands ___ mg of sodium per __

No Salt Added Tomato Sauce found in most store and name brands __mg of sodium per ___

Eden Valley No Salt Added Beans - Various Kinds

Giorgio No Salt Added Mushrooms 25 mg of sodium per ½ cup plus liquid

Lindsey Low Sodium Olives 40 mg of sodium per 5 olives

If you like the ease of canned artichoke hearts for pasta’s and other things make sure they are not the marinated kind. Use just plain old canned artichoke hearts, because the have a lot less sodium. Or try using frozen artichoke hearts.

Campbell’s Ready To Serve Low Sodium Soup 140mg of sodium per 1 serving (1 can=1 serving)

There are other low sodium chicken soups that you add water too, but some are 45% reduced sodium, and some are only 25% reduced, so double check the labels.

SAUCES:

Sue Bee Honey Barbeque Sauce found at most grocery stores 102 mg of sodium per 1 tbsp

Angostura Teriyaki Sauce 350 mg of sodium per 1 tablespoon

********Kikkoman’s has a low sodium version but the above brand is considerably lower than Kikkoman’s



Angostura Lite Soy Sauce 390 mg of sodium per 1 tablespoon

********Kikkoman’s has a low sodium version but the above brand is considerably lower than Kikkoman’s



Heinz no-salt added Ketchup 0mg of sodium per 2 tbsp



PASTA SAUCE:

Enrico’s NSA Pasta Sauce 25 mg of sodium per ½ cup

Francesco Rinaldi NSA Pasta Sauce 25 mg of sodium per ½ cup



BAKING:

Ener-G Sodium Free Baking Soda found mostly at www.healthyheartmarket.com and www.livinglowsodium.com 0 mg sodium per serving

Ener-G Sodium Free Baking Powder wound mostly at www.healthyheartmarket.com and www.livinglowsodium.com 0 mg of sodium per serving



Featherweight Sodium Free Baking Powder wound mostly at www.healthyheartmarket.com and www.livinglowsodium.com 0 mg of sodium per serving





DRINKS:

PowerAde 55 mg sodium per 8 oz------Gatorade is much, much more 100 mg of sodium per 8oz and up

Glaceau Vitamin Water various flavors 0 mg sodium per 8 fl oz



MISC:

Rice-a-roni Beef Flavor 680mg of sodium for 2.5 oz dry

***Mix this about 40/60 with plain brown or white rice. It makes a Lot more but cuts the sodium down and still tastes pretty good.

When making soups and all that stuff I use ½ no salt bullion and ½ low sodium bullion for a closer to normal flavor. I also use a lot of granulated garlic and garlic powder, parsley, onion powder, chili, dried chives and cumin.

Here are a few recipes I’d like to pass on….

Homemade ranch dressing:

¾ tsp dried chives

¾ tsp dried parsley

½ tsp dill weed

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp onion powder

¼ tsp salt substitute or lite salt

½ tsp black pepper

1 cup mayo

1 cup butter milk

Mix well and store in an air tight container in the fridge.

Low Sodium Sweet and Sour Sauce:

2 tbsp corn starch

½ cup sugar

¼ cup mandarin orange juice or pineapple juice

2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

¼ cup water

2 tbsp No-salt ketchup (Heinz)

1 tbsp dry mustard

½ cup vinegar

Combine all ingredients together in a small sauce pan; simmer until thickened to desired consistency.  

Flavored Low Sodium Chips:

I like chips but a lot of the low sodium or no salt chips taste like they are missing something…..like salt and therefore a lot of the flavor. The Frito’s come closest to the “normal” taste. But flavors like lime and pepper, or b-b-q, chili lime etc… end up with more salt that even Salt and Vinegar chips. To flavor them at home use a flavor like one of the Kernel Seasons from above or mix up some Lime powder (Simply Lime found at Wal-Mart, Smiths etc…), granulated garlic, chili powder, pepper, salt free seasonings etc… What ever flavors you like. So start with a low sodium or sodium free chip then do the following.

Set the oven to 350 degrees, empty the amount of chips you want on to a cookie sheet. Bake for about 5-10 min. This will heat up the oil in the chips; the seasonings will stick to the heated oil. Sprinkle with which ever seasoning mix or pre-bottled seasoning you want. Eat warm or let them cool.

Sweet Potato Biscuits:

2 cups flour

3 tsp No salt added baking powder

1 tsp salt substitute

1 ½ tbsp cinnamon

¼ tsp cloves

4 tbsp cold no salt butter

2-3 tbsp no salt butter

3 tbsp shortening

2 cups warm mashed sweet potatoes-not hot

½ cup milk.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and cloves. Stir and mix well. Cut in the cold butter and shortening until crumbly.

Add potatoes, and milk. Knead 8-10 times roll to ½ inch thick. Cut out with biscuit cutters or a cup. Place in baking sheet and brush with melted butter. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Baked Sweet Pork Chops:

You can use any amount of pork chops for this recipe; use a kind of thinner sliced chop.

Place chops in a baking dish and top each chop with 1 ½ tbsp brown sugar, 1 ½ tbsp no-salt added ketchup, 1 thick slice lemon, and one thick medium slice onion. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-45 min. Serve over rice.

Chops with Apples and Peppers:

2 medium thickness bone out chops

2 large red apple

1 large red bell pepper

1 large yellow bell pepper

Heat up a large skillet and add 2 tbsp no salt butter. Brown the chops on both sides, add the apples and let them start to brown a little bit. Reduce heat to medium low, add the bell peppers and cook until they are crisp tender.

I also serve this over rice.

Broccoli and Cabbage Side:

1 onion cut in ½ then sliced about ¼ inch thick

½ head shredded cabbage

1 head broccoli florets (maybe about 1 cup)

1 tbsp no salt butter

Heat butter in a skillet and add onions. Cook onions until they have just started to caramelize. Reduce heat to medium low add broccoli, and cook for about 3 min, add the cabbage and cook until the broccoli is just tender and the cabbage is cooked down and tender.

Orzo Pasta and Squash:

½  box orzo pasta

1 medium sized yellow crooked neck squash chopped small

1 medium sized zucchini chopped small

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

½ tsp no salt added seasoning or Kriklad seasoned salt

1 tbsp no-salt butter

Boil the orzo with plenty of extra water. Add the zucchini and crooked neck squash in the last 2 minutes. Boil until pasta is al dente and the veggies are cooked but still crunchy. Drain and pour into a serving bowl add remaining ingredients and mix well.

******This one is easily doubled and is great to take to a pot luck, or carry in dinner.

Cranberry Sauce/Salsa:

Use this instead of canned cranberry sauce for the holidays or even mix into some home-made pancakes and waffles.

4 cups frozen cranberries-thawed

1 orange peel and all (remove seeds if it has them)

1 whole apple cored

2/3 cup sugar.

Cut the orange into 1/8 pieces, and cut the apple into small pieces. Pulse in the blender until it has started to break down. Add the sugar and cranberries and pulse until everything is mixed up but not to small.

Tangy Watermelon Salad:

4 cups cubed seedless water melon

2 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

Mix oil, lime juice, vinegar, and parsley in a small bowl. Pour over watermelon and feta. Gently stir until evenly coated. Serve right away.

Guacamole:

You can do this one of 2 ways.

You can use a pre-made pico de gallo.  Or make your own chunky salsa, seed and finely chop 1-2 roma tomatoes, 1-2 cloves garlic, ½ onion, ½ -1 jalapeño (seeded), add 1-2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro. Mix well.

3-4 ripe avocados

1 lime

¼ tsp seasoned salt (from Costco)

Granulated garlic to taste.

Slightly mash the avocados, and add the home made salsa, or the pico. Mix slightly and add the juice from about ½ of the lime, granulated garlic, and seasoned salt. Mix and taste. Add more lime and garlic to taste.

Spaghetti Sauce:

Everyone does theirs different but here is the general way I do mine. Not exact as I just toss most everything in as I go and taste a lot and eye-ball it.

1 can NSA stewed diced tomatoes

1 can NSA tomato sauce

1 can tomatoe paste-sometimes

1 small onion chopped

1 good sized clove of garlic chopped

Unsalted butter

Low or no sodium chicken broth

Italian seasoning

Basil

Oregano

Parsley

Dreid Chives

Pinch sugar

Pepper

Granulated Garlic

Onion powder

¼ tsp or less celery salt

Saute the onion and garlic until translucent and tender. Add the tomatoes and remaining ingredients. I like to simmer mine for at least 20-30 min.  Use over pasta with or with out meat. In lasagna, chicken parmesan etc… You can also add a little more water and some chopped veggies and make a tomato veggie soup.

Marinated Peppers and Onions:

4 medium red bell peppers

4 medium yellow bell peppers

4 tbsp olive oil

2 large red onions

4 cups red wine vinegar

4 cups water

¼ cup sugar

1 tbsp dried oregano

1 tsp lite-salt

Heat oven to 550 degrees (or set on broil) core the bell peppers and cut into narrow strips. Place peppers on two rimmed baking sheets. Drizzle 2 tbsp oil on each cookie sheet and toss to coat.

Roast for 10 min, remove from oven and toss, return to oven to toast for another 5 min or until the peppers start to slightly char.

Meanwhile put onions in large metal bowl. Put remaining ingredients in a large pot and boil. Pour over onions and let cool until onions start to wilt and liquid is room temp. Add the peppers, and if desired pour into clean canning jars.

Make your own Spaghetti Sauce:

I do this all to taste. Finely chop about ½ onion, and 1-2 cloves garlic.

Sauté the onions and garlic in 1 tbsp butter until the onions starts to get tender. Add 1 can of no-salt added tomato sauce. Italian seasoning, dried or fresh parsley, dried oregano, dried or fresh basil, granulated garlic, onion powder, ½ cube low sodium chicken broth/granules, or about 1 tsp no-salt bullion, pepper. Simmer on low and taste until you get what you want.  Simmer for about 20 minutes. Add some bone in chicken thighs and pour into a crock pot, or put a lid on it and simmer until the chicken in fall of the bone tender.

Beef and Bean Crock-pot Soup:

2 pounds hamburger

1 lg onion

1 green bell pepper (optional)

¼ pound low sodium bacon chopped up kinda small

1 can (16 oz) butter beans

1 can (16 oz) kidney beans

1 can (16 oz) Pork and beans (or pinto beans)

1 can (16 oz) no salt added tomato sauce.

****Use the no salt added-Not reduced sodium (there is still a lot of salt in the reduced sodium versions) or you can even soak and cook your own from dried beans.

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup white sugar

2 tbsp molasses

2 tsp vinegar

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp dry mustard

Brown the hamburger and bacon together. Drain, and add the onion and bell pepper. Pour into large crock pot and add all remaining ingredients. Stir to combine and cook on low 3-4 hours.

Also sometimes items like boxed rice are good and so easy in a pinch. Use the low sodium variety and then mix it with equal parts plain brown, white or wild rice. Still only eat 1 recommended portion from the package. This will still have a good flavor but at the same time drastically reduce your sodium intake of that product.