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5 Easy & Tasty Low-Sodium Recipes For Mother’s Day

May 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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If you happen to find yourself scrambling for a little low-sodium recipe inspiration for Mother’s Day, we have a handful of easy, super tasty ideas for you:

Bellini’s (non-alcoholic) make a brilliant and tasty refreshment for any Mother’s Day brunch.

Pain perdu – French toast is a soul-soothing and simple breakfast to make. Dress it up with fresh fruit to create a colorful platter.

Orange-Vanilla, Cranberry and Pecan Granola (or Granola Bars). Homemade granola is not only great for breakfast, it’s a lasting gift: mom can snack on it all week. And, it’s easier to make than you might think.

Break out the waffle iron for apple-cinnamon waffles. A delicate crunchy exterior leads to a soft, comforting pillow of goodness inside. Our recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free and simply scrumptious.

Israeli Couscous with Roasted Vegetables - chewy, light and healthy, make your mom couscous “pearls” for brunch.

What are you making for Mother’s Day? Share below.

Happy Mother’s Day!

 

Come, join the fun! Enter to win one of 25 fun prizes in our “Birthday Giveaway”!

 

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Craving Cajun? Taste our Louisiana Gumbo with Fish and Okra

March 8, 2012 By 2 Comments
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Make a gumbo that’s healthy and flavorful – Yes, it can be done.

When I think of Louisiana, I think of jambalaya, crawfish, blackened anything, and gumbo – Louisiana’s most revered soup. Acadian families in Cajun country cook gumbo with recipes that typically include one of three thickeners: roux, okra or file’ (ground sassafras leaves). These ingredients and “holy trinity” (diced onion, green peppers and celery together), are distinctive characteristics of gumbo.

Most gumbo dishes include seafood, chicken and/or sausage, but they can also be vegetarian. We’ve created a recipe with Pacific cod and low-sodium vegetable stock, easily adaptable to a vegan-friendly meal. If you’re not a fish person, replace the fish with chicken for a delicious chicken gumbo. Either way, the end result is a nutritious, delicious, low-sodium and low-fat gumbo meal.

Traditionally, cooking gumbo starts by creating a roux, then adding vegetables, and so on. However, the roux (thickening agent of flour and fat/liquid – we used broth) can easily be burned this way. It’s also difficult to gauge the thickening effect of the okra, especially for those of us who don’t have an experienced gumbo aficionado in the kitchen to guide us.

So when embarking on this gumbo project, I consulted with Johanna, who’s quite experienced with roux and French cooking. She advised me to break the tradition and add the flour/roux later in the process. And so I did, with great results. Our gumbo had a flavorful broth with a tad of heat and hearty yet succulent pieces of cod and okra. We scooped it over rice and couldn’t stop going back for more.

Adding the flour near the end of cooking allows you to thicken the soup to your desired consistency. If you prefer a gluten-free gumbo or find that it’s a perfect consistency for you without it, simply skip Step 4 and don’t add the roux.

This recipe is fairly simple to make. I’d suggest combining the spices, chopping and assembling all of the ingredients in advance to efficiently follow the cooking steps. Preparing the vegetables and measuring out the spices takes about 4o minutes. Cooking time is about 1 hour, a half-hour of which requires only occasional stirring.

Serving suggestions: serve over rice and/or with French bread.

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Gumbo with Fish and Okra

Yield: Serves 6

Gumbo with Fish and Okra

Ingredients

  • 1/2 Tablespoon Paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure unsalted mild red chili powder
  • Pinch of cayenne * (optional depending on your heat tolerance)
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  • 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 cups diced onions
  • ½ cup diced celery
  • 1 cup diced green bell pepper
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • ¾ pound okra, sliced into ½-inch pieces
  • 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
  • 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 quarts low-sodium vegetable stock (or low-sodium chicken stock)
  • 1 16 oz can of stewed tomatoes, drained
  • 1/8 teaspoon lime juice
  • 2 Tablespoons flour
  • 1 ½ pounds of Pacific Cod or other firm whitefish, sliced into 1-2 inch cubes
  • ¼ cup chopped parsley
  • ½ cup green onions, sliced

Instructions

  1. In a Dutch oven or similar pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion, celery, green pepper, garlic and sauté 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
  2. Stir in the dry spices. Add Okra, basil, thyme and bay leaves. Stir frequently for 4-5 minutes until onions are translucent.
  3. Add vegetable stock, stewed tomatoes and lime juice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. Make the roux for thickening (optional). Using a separate saucepan over medium heat: (a) Scoop 2 ladles of your gumbo broth into the saucepan; (b) whisk in 1 Tablespoon of flour until blended in; (c) transfer the roux back into the gumbo and stir for 2-3 minutes; (d) if a thicker soup is desired, repeat the process. If thinner, add broth or water.
  5. Add cubed fish, green onion and parsley to gumbo and cook 5 minutes or until fish is white and flaky. Serve and enjoy.
http://lowsodiumblog.com/2012/03/cajun-gumbo-fish-okra/

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Guest Post: Hearty Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe by Christy Ellingsworth, The Daily Dish.

February 6, 2012 By 3 Comments
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We’re pleased to introduce Christy Ellingsworth as today’s guest blogger.  Christy writes The Daily Dish, a recipe blog that’s geared toward eating low sodium foods and Meniere’s disease. She’s recently released a self-published book, titled Kick the Can! Homemade Low-Sodium Soups that ROCK.
Today, she’s generously sharing a Hearty Vegetable Beef Soup recipe from her new book and she’s penned a few words on what inspires her to write. You can also find Christy on Twitter and Facebook. Happy reading and cooking with Christy!

Before we delve headfirst into soup, let me tell you a little more about myself.

In 2004 I was diagnosed with an inner-ear plague called Meniere’s Disease.  Meniere’s is a chronic illness that affects the auditory and vestibular systems of the body.  Its symptoms include hearing loss, tinnitus, aural pressure and vertigo.  There is no known cure, but many are able to alleviate symptoms of the disease by adopting a strict low-sodium diet.  I am one of them.

In 2005, a year after starting the salt-free diet, I decided to write a cookbook.  I’d always been an avid cook and wanted to use that passion to develop recipes for a low-sodium audience.  I began crafting recipes and by 2006 had assembled dozens of dishes.  In 2007 I made the decision to take these recipes and put them online for free.  The Daily Dish was born.  Some people thought I was crazy, all this hard work for nothing?  But I believed in The Daily Dish.  It was a very personal choice, something I’ve never regretted.  Within weeks I began receiving emails from people who’d found my site, thanking me profusely for what I was doing.  I’ve never looked back.

Last year The Daily Dish won a $2000 grant from Mom Central Consulting.  The grant allowed me to self-publish a cookbook, something I’d longed to do for years.

Kick the Can! came to me as a way of writing a comprehensive low-sodium cookbook while keeping the project very small.  The overarching theme is limited, soup only, but allows for remarkable freedom within that constraint. Out of a book of 20 pages, I managed to squeeze in 16 recipes. And of those 16 there is truly something for everyone. Vegans and vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. From a basic broth to the chunkiest chowder. Beef, chicken, fish and vegetables.  Tofu and tempeh. Two soups you can even eat for BREAKFAST! So even though the book is tiny, it covers a grand spectrum of tastes.

I created today’s Hearty Vegetable Beef Soup for my husband several years ago, when he was suffering through a severe respiratory cold.  It’s made from basic pantry ingredients, comes together quickly, and is phenomenally flavorful with no added salt.  And it really hits the spot on a cold winter day.  Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Huge thanks to Low Sodium Blog for their wonderful work on our behalf and for allowing me the opportunity to share a recipe from my new cookbook, Kick the Can! Homemade Low-Sodium Soups that ROCK.

Thank you Christy, for sharing your story and a flavorful low sodium recipe with us all! No matter how each of us starts our low-sodium journey, it’s nice to know that there’s a community of low-sodium “dieters” who help to cheer each other on.  Best of luck with the book, and continued success with The Daily Dish!!  All the best, Johanna

… and here’s Christy’s Low Sodium Hearty Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe:

Hearty Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe
by Christy Ellingsworth

Yield:  Serves 8.

Ingredients

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 large onion, diced
3 medium carrots, sliced
3 medium stalks celery, sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1- 15-oz. can no-salt-added diced tomatoes (with juice)
1- 8-oz. can no-salt-added tomato sauce
4 c. low-sodium beef broth
2 tsp. dried salt-free Italian seasoning
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1.  Brown ground beef in a stockpot over medium heat.  Once beef is cooked, carefully drain out any excess fat.
2.  Add the remaining ingredients to the pot, raise heat to high and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3.  Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts* (per serving)**:

Calories  218.4
Total Fat  11.9 g
Cholesterol  42.5 mg
Sodium  181.7 mg
Potassium  396.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate  13.7 g
Dietary Fiber  3.4 g
Sugars  4.7 g
Protein  14.0 g

*Nutrition facts calculations provided by Christy Ellingsworth.

**Please note that specific ingredients that you source can vary significantly (versus calculated 3rd party nutrition “average values”); your ingredient choices may affect the accuracy of the nutritional values listed above.   Please refer to our Disclaimers & Disclosures for further details.

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Apple-Cinnamon Waffles (Gluten & Dairy Free Recipe)

December 21, 2011 By
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Waking up to the smell of homemade waffles crisping on a hot iron, biting into the delicate crunchy exterior to discover a soft, comforting pillow of goodness, and experiencing a warming sensation that emanates from the inside out…bliss.  Whether we start these kinds of traditions or are the recipients of heirloom recipes/techniques passed down over generations, I still relish the simple pleasure that “waffle gratification” brings.

So if you’re thinking about breakfast/brunch over the holidays, consider our low-sodium apple-cinnamon waffle recipe, its gluten & dairy free. (Sorry, it uses egg).

Pairs well with fresh fruit compote, icing sugar, or maple syrup.

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Apple-Cinnamon Waffles (Gluten & Dairy Free Recipe) (low sodium)

Yield: 8 waffles

Apple-Cinnamon Waffles (Gluten & Dairy Free Recipe) (low sodium)

Ingredients

  • Dry Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups oat flour*
  • 2/3 cups potato starch*
  • 1/3 cup + 1 Tablespoon (or 6 Tablespoons) tapioca starch*
  • 1 Tablespoon sodium-free baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
  •  
  • Wet ingredients
  • 2 eggs, separated (+ few drops of lemon or vinegar for beating the egg whites) (egg whites seem to whip better @ room temperature, or ~ 30 minutes)
  • 1 cup applesauce*
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons vanilla
  • 1 1/3 cup rice milk
  • Oil - spray (we use grape seed oil) for waffle iron
  • *we buy a gluten free brand

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat the waffle iron (per their instructions).
  2. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.
  3. Separately, beat the egg whites in a small clean, dry, deep bowl.  Add a few drops of lemon or vinegar approximately half way through the process (helps to stabilize). When stiff peaks form (more or less), set aside.
  4. In another (medium sized) bowl, whisk the egg yolk, applesauce, vanilla and rice milk together -- until a consistent texture is achieved.
  5. Add the egg yolk/applesauce/vanilla/rice milk mixture to the dry ingredients; combine/stir until the batter is a smooth consistency (too many lumps will create an undesirable texture).  Then, gently fold in the whipped egg whites (we use a rubber spatula for this).
  6. Spray both sides of the waffle iron with the vegetable oil (follow the manufacturer's instructions).  Gently ladle the batter onto the hot waffle iron.  Close the lid, and cook until the waffles are a golden brown color, the edges are crisp, and the waffles are easily removable from the waffle iron (they should just "lift" up without too much struggle).  Serve warm.
http://lowsodiumblog.com/2011/12/apple-cinnamon-waffles-gluten-dairy-free-recipe/

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Lavender Rice Cream Recipe

July 18, 2011 By
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Rice cream’s texture is similar to a granita or sorbet’s –  and a great alternative for those who can not eat milk/cream. We definitely thought this was tasty!!

 

Harvesting lavender flower buds in our front yard isn’t as straight forward as one might expect….

Several years ago in an effort to be “more green” and reduce our home’s water consumption, we decided to convert parts of our front yard into a “more friendly, mostly native landscape” habitat. For the most part, planting drought tolerant plants has been been a good experience –  and our lavender has become the food supply for many local bees and humming birds.  The downside is that our unintentionally created hummingbird and bee sanctuary has created an ongoing series of “us versus nature” altercations, especially when we need to venture into nature’s  “food territory” and try to harvest “their” food.

As it goes,  humming birds are actually pretty territorial:  if we attempt to go anywhere near “their food”, they’ll swoop down and hover fairly close to our faces — their wings flutter a million miles a minute and it creates a very uneasy feeling.  At least the bees’ just sort of  hover around with a menacing intent: the whole experience gives us a run for the money.

The scenario has left me no alternative but to “commission” (bribe) our dog to act as a decoy, “food pooching” missions so to speak.  Our dog’s really more of a food critic than a security guard… but anyway, she keeps most of the environmental characters at bay…and the new strategy allows me to harvest “food” in relative peace.

Food is always an adventure….

The Skinny on Lavender

  • Apparently the only edible portion of the lavender plant are the delicate flower petals (here’s our resource link); the flower petal has a more delicate flavor than the “bud”.
  • Herbal tea can be made by steeping the lavender bud in hot water for several minutes; once the steeping has been completed, the remaining herb should be “strained out”.
  • The University of Maryland Medical Center’s website notes that “lavender oil is toxic if taken orally”
  • If you “pick your own culinary lavender”, make sure it’s pesticide free.

******************************************************************************************************

Lavender “Rice Cream”

Ingredients

3 cups Rice Milk, Vanilla Flavor (our store bought version notes 55 mg of sodium per 1 cup)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 Tablespoons honey (liquid)

For lighter flavor:  4 Tablespoons lavender petals (clip the petals off of approx. 1 cup of buds)
For a more concentrated flavor:  use 1/2 cup of buds. Be careful to watch the “steeping”/cooking time, you may want to pull out the buds much earlier in the process (~ 5 – 10 minutes).

Directions

  1. In a double boiler/bain-marie, mix all of the ingredients together, bring to simmer, reduce heat (low) and hold for 15-20 minutes. [The lavender will begin to discolor (turn brown)].

2. Strain the liquid into an ice bath. It’s acceptable to allow the solids to continue to “steep” until the liquid has cooled. Discard the solids.

3. Process the remaining liquid according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. Each of our “rice creams” took approximately 45-50 minutes in a self-refrigerating unit, and an additional hour or so in the freezer.

4. Alternatively, once cooled — you can try breaking up the portions into 1/2 cup sized portions and consider the “old school method”.  There is a well known science class trick that uses the reaction between water, ice, and heat to make ice cream (in two Ziploc bags). Though we didn’t test this method, however there are quite a few data points (such as you tube videos) that document this method as being completely feasible. In a nutshell: put the ice cream liquid in the inner bag and seal it up. In the second (larger bag), and 4 cups of ice and 6 Tablespoons of salt. Insert the sealed (smaller) bag containing the ice cream mix into the large bag. Manipulate the ice around the smaller bag for ~10 – 15 minutes.  The other tip we found was that the 1/2 cup portion is the one that works (don’t try to double the load). Good luck with this one!

5.  Storage note:  because this recipe has only a handful of ingredients, it’s best if you eat it fresh.  Freezing it overnight can turn the whole thing into a solid “brick”, in which case you’ll be scraping it from the pan as you would a granita (using a spoon or fork to “shave off” the layers)…still tasty, but a lot more work…

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Peruvian Lemon Chicken Soup, Quinoa & Potatoes – Caldo de Gallina (Pollo) con Quinoa y Papas Recipe

June 6, 2011 By
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Caldo de Gallina (Pollo) is a typical soup cooked in the Peruvian Sacred Valley.

Now that we’re home from our trip to Peru, our “whole house” is now sick (including our dog who was visiting the pet resort) — so I’ve decided that this easy and delicious soup will be our first “Peruvian meal at home”.  I’ve changed a few of the ingredients (mainly to make the “traditional soup” a little more flavorful, and less acidic).

*Note: if you want to stay away from protein, you might want to substitute the quinoa out for a non-protein choice (i.e., for a noodle or vegetable. Read our post about the Quinoa fields to learn more about the nutritional aspects )

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Peruvian Lemon Chicken Soup, Quinoa & Potatoes – Caldo de Gallina (Pollo) con Quinoa y Papas Recipe (low sodium)

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Yield: ~ 7-9 cups

Peruvian Lemon Chicken Soup, Quinoa & Potatoes – Caldo de Gallina (Pollo) con Quinoa y Papas Recipe (low sodium)

Ingredients

  • 7 cups low sodium chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup carrots, chopped
  • 1/2 cup quinoa*, well rinsed
  • 1 teaspoon Aji Amarillo puree (or make a small amount of paste from ground paprika or  chili, depending upon your tolerance for heat, add a tiny amount water, enough to moisten)
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest, grated (zest from approximately 1/2 lemon)
  • Optional Ingredients:
  • - 1 cup potato, cut into small pieces, and boiled
  • - 1 cup cassava, peeled, cut into small pieces, and boiled (see below for instructions on how to cook cassava)
  • Garnish: Cilantro.

Instructions

  1. Prepare Quinoa: When preparing to cook [most] Quinoa, one should pre-rinse the quinoa in cold water to remove the saponins which are bitter tasting (note that there are some varietals which have been cultivated to be saponin free). I put the quinoa into a fine mesh strainer, and rinse the mixture under running water for several minutes.
  2. In a stock pot, add the chicken stock, carrots, quinoa, lemon zest, and Aji paste and stir/combine.
  3. Bring to a boil, and turn down the heat -- let simmer for 15 - 25 minutes, or until the the germ separates from the seed (the cooked germ looks like a tiny half curl and generally is cooked to "al dente").
  4. Add the rinsed and boiled cassava and potatoes to the soup.
  5. Garnish and serve.
http://lowsodiumblog.com/2011/06/peruvian-lemon-chicken-soup-with-quinoa-and-potatoes-caldo-de-gallina-pollo-con-quinoa-y-papas-recipe/

How to Cook Cassava:

Cooked cassava is delicious, but cassava should NEVER be eaten raw: it should be peeled, washed thoroughly — and cooked for a long time, as there are toxins in the root which need to be cooked out in order for the food to be consumed “safely” -  please reference this link for further information ).

If you want to add the peeled potato and cassava, prepare them in advance of the soup. Boil the items in a separate pot for 35-45 minutes, and make sure you always discard the boiling water after cooking (don’t reuse this water for other cooking, and make sure that the cassava is fully cooked.)

Once the starches are fully cooked (translucent in color, and soft to the touch – but not mushy), rinse well in cold water

 

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Luscious Turkey Meatloaf Recipe

May 31, 2011 By
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We wanted to transform the traditional turkey meatloaf recipe into a *moist*, fluffier, sodium and sugar reduced version — one that steered clear of the traditional tomato ketchup topping.

When my mom suggested we make turkey meatloaf, the first thing that popped into my mind was “Recipe Reboot!” My taste buds are still in taste bud memory trauma from eating mass produced “cafeteria” style meatloaf — traditionally overcooked and drenched in sugary tomato ketchup.

So… we went to work — thinking about ways to make this a better recipe/meal, and decided that (1) instead of letting the turkey dry out, we replaced the binding agent with oatmeal (something that we think helps to retain moisture better), (2) added more moisture (chicken stock), and (3) we left off the sugary tomato ketchup topping, and instead, paired the turkey meatloaf with a mushroom sauce

I normally do not like “meals in process” photos, but I wanted to show everyone what this looks like on the “inside” – meaning, the consistency is still quite moist, and the vegetables are not “overcooked”

*Please note, this recipe is not intended for a beginner cook — simply due to the number of steps involved. Note that they are relatively easy steps; there are just quite a few of them. If you can brave a tomato soup from scratch, we think you could probably handle this meal just fine.

 

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Luscious Turkey Meatloaf Recipe (low sodium)

Yield: 2, 9x9 pans

Luscious Turkey Meatloaf Recipe (low sodium)

Ingredients

  • Ingredients - Turkey meatloaf base
  • 3 Tablespoons Grape Seed Oil
  • 1/2 cup celery, chopped
  • 1/2 cup onion, chopped
  • 1/2 cup carrot, chopped
  • 2 lbs ground turkey breast
  • 2/3 cup steel cut oatmeal (dry, not re-hydrated)
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, grated
  • 1/2 Tablespoon crushed garlic
  • 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon ground chili
  • Ingredients - Mushroom Sauce
  • 4 Tablespoons flour
  • 4 Tablespoons grape seed oil
  • 2 ½ cups low-sodium chicken stock ++ **
  • 4 shallots, chopped
  • 1 Tablespoon garlic, pureed
  • 12 oz mushrooms, sliced (approx a little more than one bag)
  • (or for a pure marsala* sauce:  use 2 cups chicken stock and 1/2 c marsala wine*)
  • Garnish: parsley
  • Notes
  • *We strongly suggest that for people who have been advised by their medical provider to stay away from alcohol -- follow their advice [and DO NOT cook our mushroom sauce by adding wine.  Rather, use the alternative method based purely on chicken stock.  We think it tastes just as good, and we’ve made this sauce both ways]
  • ** chicken stock - you may need to add additional chicken stock, liquid evaporation can depend on how high your heat is and how large your pan is.

Instructions

  1. Directions for Meatloaf base (approximately 10-15 minutes)
  2. Preheat the oven to 350F.
  3. In a frying pan, heat cooking oil. Once the oil is hot, add carrots, celery, and onions and sauté until the onions are (roughly) translucent. Remove from heat and set aside.
  4. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients (including the carrot, celery, and onion mixture, above) and mix evenly.  Press into a baking pan (we used 2, 8" square pans.)
  5. Bake at 350F for approximately one hour, or until the center is no longer pink.  You will notice that the “liquid” has mostly cooked off from the top of the loaf.
  6. Once the meatloaf went in the oven, we started on the sauce....
  7. Directions for Mushroom Sauce
  8. In a separate little mixing bowl, we made a butter-free “roux” by mixing the white flour and grape seed oil together (there shouldn’t be any lumps). Set aside.
  9. Using the same [empty and un-cleaned] pan that we cooked the carrot/celery/ onion mix in, we sautéed (on medium heat): 6 Tablespoons chicken stock, chopped shallots, pureed garlic, and the sliced mushrooms ("don't crowd the mushrooms.").  If necessary, keep adding chicken stock, a little at a time, until the mushrooms are tender.
  10. Add the flour/oil mixture (Step 1, "roux"). Cook for about a minute, stirring quickly.
  11. [Optional -  add the marsala wine*, and keep stirring]
  12. Slowly add the remaining chicken stock, until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat, and serve over the turkey meatloaf.  Garnish with parsley.
http://lowsodiumblog.com/2011/05/luscious-turkey-meatloaf-recipe/

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Skordalia Recipe

May 26, 2011 By
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Delicious Vegetarian Greek Cuisine: Skordalia is a tasty compliment to vegetables (roasted beets, grilled eggplant or zucchini), fish (i.e., Baked Salmon) or as a stand alone dip (hummus alternative).

As with most food, Skordalia can have different consistencies depending upon the region where your cook calls home, or where you are eating it: some people puree it less – to make it more like the consistency of a light mashed potato, and others make it into a thick puree via olive oil (emulsion).  Skordalia can also be made using a bread base, but we decided to use a bread-alternative recipe — mostly to keep total control over our sodium content, as some breads can contain a lot of (hidden) sodium.

Be advised that if you follow our instructions/recipe, it will quickly turn into a thick puree via the food processor — so if you think you’ll like your skordalia a little lighter, consider using the “hand technique” and adding less olive oil.

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Skordalia Recipe (low sodium)

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Yield: ~2-3 cups

Skordalia Recipe (low sodium)

Ingredients

  • 1 lb 2 oz (russet) potatoes (or 3 small/medium ones)*
  • juice of 1 or 1 1/2 lemons **
  • 5 cloves roasted garlic*** (peeled)
  • 3/4 cup olive oil
  • Garnishes: Endive, parsley
  • Notes:
  • * and ** Some potato varieties turn brown during the cooking process. If you want to avoid having the potatoes turn brown during the boiling process, add juice of 1/2 lemon (or approximately 1/16 cup) into the boiling water, mid-way during the boiling process (approximately 20 minutes). If you don't care about the potato color, then you'll only need juice of 1 lemon (or approximately 1/8 cup).
  • *** roasted garlic - we peeled and roasted 5 cloves of garlic in a small ramekin with 1/4 cup olive oil (enough to cover the garlic cloves) for 20-25 minutes

Instructions

  1. Boil the potatoes until soft, or approximately 40 minutes (The smaller the cubes, the quicker the boiling time). Strain and cool slightly.
  2. In a food processor, combine the cooked potatoes, lemon juice, roasted garlic, and olive oil. Pulse lightly. (You will note that this will quickly turn into a thick puree).
  3. Serve.
http://lowsodiumblog.com/2011/05/skordalia/

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Easy “Basil Pesto” Recipe

May 23, 2011 By
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The traditional way to make a pesto is to pound the living daylights out of the ingredients using a mortar and pestle. I learned to make Thai curry pastes using the “old school” way, and I have to tell you — the old school way made my arm super tired and I ended up covered from head-to-toe in a lot of “random vegetable bits” (i.e., pulverized chili peppers splashing into my eyes… not so great).  I suspect there is a lot more pounding when creaming chilies, but nevertheless — one has to love “modern technology”: the food processor.

Three or four minutes of putting one finger on the “pulse/on” button and poof — the “pesto” is done!  Two slight downsides are: (1) that the “modern way” adds a little more air into the “pesto”, and (2) there is a very small taste difference — primarily due to oxidation  (for the super tasters).

Notably, there are regional variations of basil pesto and its’ ingredients — for example, some regions use pine nuts and others don’t (Southern France), and some regions exclude cheese. Our low sodium pesto recipes tend to be somewhat “dynamic” (i.e., what’s available in our fridge): sometimes we mix different types of basil or mint to subtly expand the flavor profile.

When making a basil pesto,  it’s important to consider the specific  use: this will determine the correct cooking oil used as a pesto base.  For example,

(1) Olive Oil – when I make a pesto that’s going to be tossed with a pasta, as a compliment in a tomato soup , inside a grilled Panini  (sandwich), if I combine it with a basic tomato sauce, or add the smallest amount of whipped cream in a pan to make a creamy pesto sauce — I use olive oil as a pesto base.

(2) Grape Seed Oil - If I have plans to put the pesto on a salmon filet or chicken breast and fry (or barbeque) the combination using higher heat, I’d use grape seed oil as a base*. I like to think about the oil’s smoke point when cooking at higher temperatures (and in so doing, I steer clear from the possibility of breathing the olive oil’s blue [and somewhat toxic] smoke if I accidentally happen to overheat it).

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“Basil Pesto” Recipe (low sodium)

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Yield: ~ 1.5 - 2 cups

Serving Size: 1 -2 tablespoons per dish (i.e., pasta, sandwich,

“Basil Pesto” Recipe (low sodium)

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup pine nuts**
  • 2 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves (firmly packed)***
  • 1/8 cup mint leaves
  • 2/3 c cooking oil*
  • 1 teaspoon garlic, pureed
  • 1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
  • Optional (and "dairy"):  1/2 cup low sodium Parmesan cheese (or blend), freshly grated
  • Notes:
  • * Please reference our Grape Seed Oil article for oil smoke points
  • ** Pine nuts are high in phosphorous.  Should you determine to exclude pine nuts, consider increasing the amount of Parmesan cheese (if your diet allows).
  • *** While the basil stems have a fair bit of flavor, we think these are best avoided.  We've tried making the pesto with the stems, and it hasn't yielded the best results (more pounding, and there can be a lot of  "strings" if you don't chop up the stems into smaller pieces first).

Instructions

  1. Pan roast the pine nuts: this brings out the natural flavors in the pine nuts and we think this makes the pesto taste "more earthy". Pine nuts contain a fair amount of their own natural oil and have a tendency to cook/burn quickly, so make sure you watch them carefully and move them around the pan quickly.
  2. Heat the pan on medium heat and add the pine nuts. Stir -- until the pine nuts turn a very LIGHT beige. Remove from heat (meaning, don't leave the pine nuts in the pan -- immediately transfer them to a cool plate). Cool (slightly).
  3. Optional step: If you want to help the basil retain its' color a little longer: very quickly blanch (in hot water) and shock the basil (in ice cold water).
  4. Next:
  5. - "By hand" method: combine the basil, mint, and pine nuts in a mortar and pound, or
  6. - "in a food processor": combine the basil, mint, and pine nuts -  pulse lightly together for about a minute.
  7. Add the cooking oil, pureed garlic, balsamic vinegar (and, optional: cheese) into the mix.
  8. Continue pounding/processing together until the oil "holds" the mix together and appears somewhat smooth (see picture).
  9. Use as inspired
http://lowsodiumblog.com/2011/05/basil-pesto-recipe/

Pesto Storage Tips:

  1. Refrigeration: To slow the process of pesto turning a “dark-brown” (oxidizing) color during extended refrigeration, pour a small layer of olive oil over the pesto.
  2. Freezing: pesto can be partitioned into small sizes to be used at a later date (i.e., silicone muffin baking cups or ice cube trays).
Filed Under: Blog, Featured Recipes, Low Sodium Recipes Tagged With: , , , , ,

Silky, Roasted Tomato Soup (Dairy-free). Flavor Highlights (optional, but I think yummy): Orange & Ginger, or Tomato Basil

May 18, 2011 By
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Tomato basil is such a “typical” combination — so instead, I’m going to push the envelope and make “tomato soup with orange and ginger flavor highlights”.

Making a low salt tomato soup that has a “silky mouthfeel” sounds good, except that eating “healthier” (or at least dairy-free) means cutting back on cream… and getting around the “no-dairy” dilemma is actually pretty darned easy.  The Italian chefs up in Vancouver taught me how to thicken soups by adding a potato puree (they also taught me how to oven roast beets by washing them, and wrapping them in foil/oil — these remain two of the best food tips I’ve ever learned).  I’m not aiming to “go vegan” by choice — but there is compelling data that this soup would have been equally as tasty had I used a vegetable stock.

There are a couple of steps to making this soup — it’s mostly straight forward, but it does take a little time.  Total end-to-end time took me about an hour — because I oven roasted the tomatoes (which took roughly 35 minutes).  If you decide to use lower sodium fire-roasted/canned tomatoes, then the preparation time is significantly reduced.

You’ll also need:

(1) a food processor/blender or immersion blender, and
(2) a strainer or sieve (the smaller the mesh size = fewer tomato seeds, unwanted pulp, etc.)

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Silky, Roasted Tomato Soup (Dairy-free, low sodium, vegetarian).

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Yield: ~7-8 cups

Silky, Roasted Tomato Soup (Dairy-free, low sodium, vegetarian).

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs fresh Roma tomatoes, cut into small pieces, stems removed
  • 1/4 cup Cooking Oil* (I used Grape Seed Oil )
  • 4 Garlic Cloves, peeled (I used roasted garlic, see instructions below)
  • 2 cups Potato, cubed into 1/4" pieces
  • 3 cups low sodium liquid stock of your choice (I used home-made low sodium chicken stock )
  • 4 Tablespoons Low Sodium Tomato Paste
  • Create Fun Flavor Highlights
  • Some ideas for inspiration:
  • (a)  If you want to make this a tomato basil soup, add - 1/8 c basil, chopped - in step 5.
  • (b) if you want to make it the way we made it, use 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon orange rind, grated + 1 teaspoon ginger, pureed - in step 5.
  • Optional "dairy" Garnishes (bring it up another flavor notch)
  • Low Fat Yogurt, or
  • Very lightly drizzled with Lemon Garlic "Aioli" Inspired Dip

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
  2. Place the sliced tomatoes, cubed potatoes and half of the cooking oil in a non-reactive pan. Ensure the vegetables are covered with oil, and place pan in the oven (uncovered). In a separate little ramekin, place the peeled garlic cloves and cover with the remaining 1/4 cup oil, place the ramekin in the oven. Roast all vegetables for approximately 30 minutes, and remove when done.
  3. Add the chicken stock, tomato paste, and garlic to the tomato/potato mix and blend (using an immersion blender, food processor, or blender).
  4. Strain the liquid through a sieve to remove the seeds, tomato peel, and unwanted vegetable pulp (note: this step is optional)
  5. Add the orange rind and pureed ginger (this step is optional. If you wanted to have a tomato basil soup, you would not add the orange/ginger, and simply add the chopped basil). Blend in by hand (or hand immersion mixer).
  6. Return [strained] liquid to pot. Bring to a very light simmer (stove top). Remove from heat and serve.
http://lowsodiumblog.com/2011/05/silky-roasted-tomato-soup-dairy-free-vegetarian-recipe/

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Recipes, Low Sodium Recipes Tagged With: , , , ,
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