FoolKiller's Eating Low Sodium (Experience based tips and recipes)

[Joey D]

I figured this would probably be the best place to ask this...

I live by myself and I don't see much of a point to making big meals since it would take me a week to eat it. I also don't like to keep a bunch of food around since I travel quite bit and I don't want anything to go bad. I tend to get mostly freezer to microwave stuff, but I find it's all super high in sodium, even the Healthy Choice stuff I typically get. 1600mg of sodium in one small little meal seems a tad excessive and I can't imagine it's very good for me, even though I'm in no danger of high blood pressure or anything like that.

So I was wondering if you had any suggestions for cheap, microwavable meals that aren't stupidly high in sodium? I'm not against cooking or anything, it's just that I don't want to make anything big because it's just going to get thrown away.

 

[Joel]

I figured this would probably be the best place to ask this...

I live by myself and I don't see much of a point to making big meals since it would take me a week to eat it. I also don't like to keep a bunch of food around since I travel quite bit and I don't want anything to go bad. I tend to get mostly freezer to microwave stuff, but I find it's all super high in sodium, even the Healthy Choice stuff I typically get. 1600mg of sodium in one small little meal seems a tad excessive and I can't imagine it's very good for me, even though I'm in no danger of high blood pressure or anything like that.

So I was wondering if you had any suggestions for cheap, microwavable meals that aren't stupidly high in sodium? I'm not against cooking or anything, it's just that I don't want to make anything big because it's just going to get thrown away.

Honestly if you have the time for it there's a lot of great tasting stuff you can buy and cook that won't go bad and you can cook quickly. You don't need to overly concern yourself with sodium if you're cooking "real" food for yourself, and there's a lot of options. Go to the grocery store and buy one of those massive packs of chicken breasts, and a big bag of frozen vegetables. Before you go to work in the morning (or ideally the night before), put a chicken breast or two in the fridge to thaw.

When you get home, preheat your oven to 400, heat up a pan with some oil, and sear the chicken skin side down, and throw some thyme, rosemary, and salt/pepper on the chicken, perhaps chucking a couple cloves of garlic in there too. Once the skin's golden brown, turn it over. Then you pop it in the oven in the pan, microwave those frozen vegetables, take the chicken out at an internal temperature of 165-170 (buy a food thermometer) and you have a meal in 20 minutes that tastes miles better and will be far lower in sodium than anything from the frozen section in the grocery store. You can do this with chicken, fish, beef, really any meat or fish you buy at the store you can freeze and it'll keep. Just thaw it the night before, and away you go. Make 2 chicken breasts and you can make a chicken sandwich the next day, or cut it up and throw it in a salad.

As for microwavable stuff I've found Lean Cuisine and Weight Watchers brand stuff to be the lowest in sodium, and here's a blog post ranking frozen meals by sodium content. http://www.hellawella.com/100-popular-frozen-meals-ranked-by-sodium-content

 

[Joey D]

That's not a bad suggestion. Maybe I'll pick up a pack from Costco tomorrow. I have a George Foreman Grille too which would at least make the chicken have some sort of a grilled taste. Thanks 👍

 

[alfiD]

I have to be on a low sodium diet, and usually my daily meals consist of this.

Morning: Oatmeal, two fruits, usually banana and apple or orange. Maybe a small cup of milk or 100% juice. Cup of coffee (I got a bad habit, caffeine addict).

Lunch: Oatmeal, two slices of bread with maybe some ham or turkey, a fruit. Or on other days a sandwich with ham or turkey, lettuce, tomato, two fruits, and 100% juice. Sometimes a piece of cheese, nuts, crackers, depending on what I have.

Snacks: peanuts (lightly salted), more fruit (bananas, apples, oranges, berries, etc). Crackers. Dark chocolate (another addiction). Chocolate milk or regular milk, tea, hot chocolate. Not all in one day of course, just whatever I have or i'm craving.

More coffee.

Dinner. This is where I have problems. Sometimes it is red meats or at times fried food, but I keep my portions small. Sometimes I eat out, sometimes it is what is supposedly healthy.

Thankfully my health is good, right now, all my blood test come out good. But the docs want me to prevent things they say i'm at high risk of getting.

 

[FoolKiller]

I figured this would probably be the best place to ask this...

I live by myself and I don't see much of a point to making big meals since it would take me a week to eat it. I also don't like to keep a bunch of food around since I travel quite bit and I don't want anything to go bad. I tend to get mostly freezer to microwave stuff, but I find it's all super high in sodium, even the Healthy Choice stuff I typically get. 1600mg of sodium in one small little meal seems a tad excessive and I can't imagine it's very good for me, even though I'm in no danger of high blood pressure or anything like that.

So I was wondering if you had any suggestions for cheap, microwavable meals that aren't stupidly high in sodium? I'm not against cooking or anything, it's just that I don't want to make anything big because it's just going to get thrown away.

That's not a bad suggestion. Maybe I'll pick up a pack from Costco tomorrow. I have a George Foreman Grille too which would at least make the chicken have some sort of a grilled taste. Thanks 👍

First, I was going to suggest a Foreman or nice toaster oven just to reduce the utility cost of heating your large oven up for a one-person meal. One thing to consider is, as suggested, the pack of chicken. Some brands will even pack one or two breasts separately in pouches. You mentioned Costco. They have a large Purdue pack like that, and for sodium and dollar to meat ratio Purdue is your best bet as they aren't pumped full of broth or brine. Stuff that is injected actually gives you less meat per penny because they charge by weight. You are buying a bunch of water and chemicals.

Also, Omaha Steaks individually vacuum packs each piece of meat. You can open and thaw one at a time. And actually call to place your order because they sell in packs but over the phone you can customize your order and switch out things you don't want. For us, they usually have hot dogs or a similar item but by calling we can switch them out for something like burgers or a dessert item.

And the other option, since you seem to be used to the frozen meal thing, is leftovers. Make a large batch of something different each night. Eat your dinner, then split up the rest into containers (I prefer the Meijer brand version of the Ziplock toss n go containers) and put them in your freezer. Do this every night during the week that you have time. At the end of the week you have four or five options (about the same as a brand of microwave meals) to last you the next few weeks.

I know you said you don't like keeping food around because you travel and whatnot, but what's the difference between a freezer full of Healthy Choice and a freezer full of homemade leftovers, other than taste, healthier choices, and the ladies will find a guy who can cook and has numerous examples on hand way more attractive than a guy with a recycling bin full of cardboard boxes?

I have to be on a low sodium diet, and usually my daily meals consist of this.

Morning: Oatmeal, two fruits, usually banana and apple or orange. Maybe a small cup of milk or 100% juice. Cup of coffee (I got a bad habit, caffeine addict).

Lunch: Oatmeal, two slices of bread with maybe some ham or turkey, a fruit. Or on other days a sandwich with ham or turkey, lettuce, tomato, two fruits, and 100% juice. Sometimes a piece of cheese, nuts, crackers, depending on what I have.

Snacks: peanuts (lightly salted), more fruit (bananas, apples, oranges, berries, etc). Crackers. Dark chocolate (another addiction). Chocolate milk or regular milk, tea, hot chocolate. Not all in one day of course, just whatever I have or i'm craving.

More coffee.

Dinner. This is where I have problems. Sometimes it is red meats or at times fried food, but I keep my portions small. Sometimes I eat out, sometimes it is what is supposedly healthy.

Thankfully my health is good, right now, all my blood test come out good. But the docs want me to prevent things they say i'm at high risk of getting.

See, I had a similar diet at first. I went for a good deal of fruits and low sodium carbs. They were still tasty but within my diet. But after about six months my blood sugar spiked so much that they actually thought I was diabetic. Between my diet and a medicine that was messing with my metabolism a bit (switched off it) I had really gotten things screwed up. After the transplant I will be on steroids that can cause diabetes. Clearly my diet wouldn't work. That is when learning how to make my favorite foods fit my diet went from occasional hobby to a lifestyle.

In short, I must eat pizza.

 

[Joey D]

Thanks for the input Steve, I appreciate it. I picked up a big pack of chicken from Costco this morning and I'm currently researching Omaha Steaks (can't beat mail order meat).

 

[FoolKiller]

Thanks for the input Steve, I appreciate it. I picked up a big pack of chicken from Costco this morning and I'm currently researching Omaha Steaks (can't beat mail order meat).

Plus it comes packed with dry ice, which always makes for some fun.

 

[alfiD]

See, I had a similar diet at first. I went for a good deal of fruits and low sodium carbs. They were still tasty but within my diet. But after about six months my blood sugar spiked so much that they actually thought I was diabetic. Between my diet and a medicine that was messing with my metabolism a bit (switched off it) I had really gotten things screwed up. After the transplant I will be on steroids that can cause diabetes. Clearly my diet wouldn't work. That is when learning how to make my favorite foods fit my diet went from occasional hobby to a lifestyle.

In short, I must eat pizza.

Oh okay. Well the good thing is that I have been trying to vary my diet. Got tired of oatmeal for breakfast all the time. Diabetes runs in my family. So does cancer, and high blood pressure. All my uncles from my dads side of the family have high blood pressure. So it probably means I can get it. For a couple of measurements my bp was over 120 but it wasn't over 130. I started running daily so hopefully it goes down, since in my uncles it is a stubborn thing to control. I hope everything goes well with your transplant.

 

[FoolKiller]

I found a couple of new items to help the low sodium dieter save time in the kitchen.

Mrs Dash seasoning packets. They run around $2 a pack. It's cheaper to make your own, but this is definitely quicker. So far I have only found them at Healthyheartmarket.com Amazon has them but they are sold by HHM.

And...

Chinatown Soy Sauce. Only 145mg per Tablespoon. Far better than even the liquid Aminos I use (160/.5 tsp - 3 tsp = 1 Tbsp). I'm also having trouble finding this anywhere other than online specialty stores like HHM. But at 1/6th of the sodium of my previous best, it is worth the price.

 

[FoolKiller]

New recipe time.


Pork Chops & Apples

This is a recipe I found a basis for online, but began to add to as I tinkered with it until I created something that my wife and I really love.

Ingredients:

1 Medium Unpeeled Cooking Apple - Take cooking apple to mean whatever you want it to mean. Keep in mind that more tart apples, such as Granny Smith are more acidic and will stay crisper in cooking, so ultimately your choice in apple is in what kind of texture you want from your apples.

2 Tbsp Barbecue Rub - In the picture it says Bone Suckin' Sauce brand, but that is just my preferred low sodium brand. It is kind of tricky to find in a usual grocery but some more specialty type shops have it, and then Cracker Barrel carries it. They also sell directly from their Web site. I also have an Applewood Smoked BBQ Rub from Pampered Chef that we like to use. If you are familiar with the Grippo's brand of potato chips, they make a barbecue seasoning as well.

2 Tbsp Packed Brown Sugar - If you don't know, packed means you pack it down into the measuring spoon and flatten it across the top. I do not recommend a Splenda, or other artificial sweetener, blend, as we are going for texture as much as taste here.

1/4 tsp Fresh Ground Nutmeg - I know what you are thinking, "Nutmeg is a powder that comes in a jar or metal tin and you just sprinkle it on flavored coffee and pumpkin pie."

Nutmeg is a nut. It is ten times more flavorful when it is freshly ground. This is nutmeg:

You can buy them at almost any grocery store. They are usually on the very top row of the spices section, where no one looks. They will be expensive because they will come with four or five whole nuts in a jar. I have been using that same nut for over two years. I got three at the time. And to make ground nutmeg you need one of these:

A microplane grater:

It is wonderful for grating nutmeg, zesting lemons and limes, and grating cinnamon. And that brings us to:

1/4 tsp Fresh Ground Cinnamon - Fresh Ground. Seriously, sticks of cinnamon are very easy to find. Part of the purpose behind this fresh ground thing is that pre-ground spices will have anti-clumping agents in them. Sometimes these might add sodium, others are a carb like cornstarch. Whether you care about that or not, you are paying for someone to do what will take you ten seconds and, unless you use it all within a few months, it will have less strength.

2 Pork Chops - Get what you like, bone-in or boneless.



On to the


Method:

Preheat your oven to 350* F

If you haven't sliced your apples go ahead and do so. About the size you get in those little dipping in caramel packs, or at McDonald's or Wendy's will do.

Place them in a single layer in an oiled 1-1.5 quart casserole dish.

Sprinkle them with the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Now, clean your pork chops and remove any excess fat.

Rub them down with the barbecue rub (if you are planning this meal in advance then doing this a few hours, or even a day, before and letting them sit, covered, in the fridge is a good idea).

A note on handling pork: Of the meat-based food poisonings, pork carries what I consider the worst, trichinosis. It is a potentially deadly parasite found in under-cooked pork. E-coli and salmonella, in comparison, is just an upset stomach. Fortunately, most pork in westernized countries is inspected and it is a very rare risk, but wash your hands after handling raw pork, just in case. Especially if you happen to be living somewhere like, say, China or other semi-impoverished areas (Shem).

Next oil a skillet large enough to hold both pork chops and heat over medium heat for 2-3 minutes.

Cook your pork chops in the skillet for 2-3 minutes per side, just browning the outside.

You can see that the center is still pink - its just a sear.

Once that is finished place the pork chops on top of the apples. - Sprinkle with a few extra spices if you like (I do).

Now, cover the dish with foil, unless it has a baking cover, and pop it in your oven for about 45 minutes. - The goal is for the pork juices to run clear and there only being a slightly pink color in the middle. If you use a thermometer the center, or near the bone, should exceed 160*F (Within the last few years the US Department of Agriculture said 145 is fine, but I'm paranoid, trichinosis and all).

Once it is ready, remove it from the oven and let it rest for about five minutes, covered. Resting is important for all meats. It allows the juices, that have flowed to the surface during heating, start to reabsorb back in, allowing for juicier meat.

And when you are finished, you should have pork chops and baked apples in a delicious cinnamony-sweet sauce, with the barbecue contrasting well with a nice spiciness.

 

[FoolKiller]

It's summertime. That means it is time to be cooking over open flame.


Grilled Whole Chicken

This will be the simplest recipe I've posted to date.



Ingredients:

1 Whole Chicken (4-6lbs)
That is a 4.5lb chicken there. The issue here is that many companies, such as Tyson, love to inject their chicken with brine or broth under the guise of increasing juiciness. I can't tell the difference, but their chickens are significantly higher in sodium and often heavier without any extra actual meat. Don't forget that chicken is sold by the pound. An injected bird will cost you more with no extra protein or any nutritional value. You are buying water.

I suggest checking the organic chickens (this is the store brand Simple Truth Organic from Kroger) or Purdue is the only brand I have found to not add things to their plain, raw chicken.

Cooking Oil
Either spray oil or vegetable, olive, whatever you like to cook with. In my picture I have vegetable oil mixed with butter flavoring in an oil spritzer. Propellants in spray oil cans can leave a brown, sticky substance behind. And you eat that when it is on your food.

Seasoning or Marinade
As you can see, I am using a cajun seasoning. Whatever flavor you would prefer, go for it. Mrs Dash makes a chicken grilling seasoning as well as many marinades. Take your pick or make your own.

A large brick or cooking dish, covered in foil
This is a tool. It weighs down the chicken on the grill to keep it flat and guarantee even cooking. I use a stoneware baking dish.


See? Simple. Three ingredients and a makeshift tool.




Method:

OK, prepping the chicken gets tricky. We need to butterfly this sucker so that it will lay flat. If you are squeamish, find a real man to do it for you. We're are using meat and flame. Grow a pair. My three-year-old daughter has watched me do it without problem.

You will need either a very good kitchen knife or a pair of, aptly named, chicken scissors.

I like to start at the neck and begin cutting toward the tail. You will be cutting the connective tissue between the spine and ribs. When you get to the thighs, try to be sure to get between the thigh bones and the back bone. I've cut through the bone tips before. It doesn't hurt anything, but it isn't easy either.

Now, when you get finished you will have a hunk of spine.

Are you planning on tossing that out? Save it, toss it in a freezer bag, and put it in your freezer. When you have a few pounds of chicken carcass you can toss it in a pot to make broth and "Baby, you got a stew going."




Now, you have one last, final, disturbing step in this process. Flip it over so that the breast is facing up, and then press down on it, like a CPR compression. There will be some cracking sounds. Ignore them. Your chicken now lays flat.

Now that the disturbing part is over, lets get under the skin. First, find a bowl or dish large enough to hold your chicken. Along the sides, where you cut, you should be able to lift the skin up and work your hand under it, separating it from the flesh up to the breast bone.

Once that is done you are ready to oil and season this bird. take your oil and coat the skin, massaging it in, and then work it under the skin, massaging the meat. Once oiled, rub your seasoning or marinade under the skin and on the surface.

Set the dish in your fridge for a few hours, or overnight, and let the flavor soak in.


Now, start your grill up and prepare it for indirect cooking. This means either pushing your burning coals to one side or turning the burners off on one side of your grill. This gives you a cooking surface that is not over open flame.

Now, get the bird. Place it, skin down, on the side of the grill with the flames.

Then apply your brick/pan and close the lid. Allow to cook like this for 5 minutes.

After the five minutes flip the bird to the non-flaming side with the skin up. Place your weighted object back on top and close the lid again.

Important note here, you see the wing tips and the legs are folded over the top. This helps keep them from getting overcooked by making them part of the main body.


As it cooks, try monitoring and adjusting your grill for 400-450 degrees.

After 30-45 minutes check for an internal temperature of 160-165 degrees. Once it is up to temperature, remove it from the grill. You will have a crisp, golden skin and juicy, succulent meat.

Take it inside and cover it, letting it rest for about 15 minutes, which is conveniently the right amount of time to grill corn on the cob.

Now, if you have leftovers, you can pull the extra meat from the bones and make yourself some Buffalo Chicken Soup.

 

[Solid Lifters]

If you like smoked meat, try smoked chicken sometime. I make it now and then. It's always fantastic. Leftovers are used for either smoked chicken salad or smoked chicken quesadillas.

You have a crock pot or slow cooker, try Peppered Pork Chops. Obviously, you'll have to skip the brining process.

Slow Cooker Peppered Pork Chops

2 cups of vegetable broth
2 Tbs. black peppercorns, lightly crushed
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup Kosher salt
1 pound of ice
3 Tbs. peanut oil or lard, your choice
one large julienned onion
1 Tbs. coarsely ground pepper
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 cup chicken broth or stock
3 ounces of dried apple slices
4 each 1/2 inch cut bone in pork chops, or chops of your choice


Bring broth to a boil. Mix ingredients and make sure everything is melted before adding 1 pound of ice. Let mixture cool down and add to pork chops in a large enough freezer bag. Remove air, store in a leak proof container and place in fridge for at least 8 hours, but overnight is best.

When ready to prepare, rinse off pork chops and pat dry both sides with a paper towel. Wait for pork chops to dry completely and add to frying pan with 2 Tbs. of peanut oil or lard over medium-high heat making sure the chops don't touch. If the pan is not large enough for all four chops, complete in stages. Let pork chops sit without moving around for five to six minutes. Then, turn them over and rearrange to repeat on other side. It's crucial not to agitate the chops or a crust will not form. When time is up, remove chops and add more oil to pan.

Add one julienned onion and sauté until golden brown. When onions become golden brown and delicious, add one Tbs. coarsely ground pepper, one tsp. dried thyme and stir to combine. Once well mixed, deglaze with one cup of chicken broth or stock. Stir to combine and scrape bottom of pan to get all the 'goodness' that lies.

In a large slow cooker, add three ounces of dried apple slices and then the chops. Add onion mixture, cover and cook on high for one hour and thirty minutes. When time is done, set slow cooker to low and cook another four hours and thirty minutes. Best served with whipped potatoes and asparagus. This application also works very well with beef spare ribs and lamb shanks.

 

[Omnis]

If you like smoked meat, try smoked chicken sometime.

[...]

1/2 cup Kosher salt

Nooooo!

 

[Solid Lifters]

Nooooo!

That salt is for the bringing process that I posted he will obviously have to skip.

 

[FoolKiller]

The brining process will be more like a marinating one for me, but I can probably manage a mix of vinegar and my salt substitute in place of the salt. It works on pickles, and that brine mostly works on making a Chik-Fil-A at home. The purpose there is to dissolve the connective tissues in the chicken, though, so the acidity is key. With pork chops, that much salt is likely aiding in flavor absorbtion.


As for smoked stuff, I just now got a grill large enough to use a smoker box in it without my food being over the direct heat. My wife and daughter are out of town this weekend and I am going to experiment on my own uncured, low-sodium, smoked kielbasa. I have over 20lbs of ground venison in my freezer and my wife only likes it in stuff like tacos or chili, where the type of meat is mostly inconsequential flavor wise, so sausage for me.

I have made two pounds of breakfast sausage that I need to taste for future adjustments, and I found out there is sodium free seasonings for kielbasa and Italian sausage out there. Basically, anything that doesn't have to be cured, because you cook it, can be low-sodium. I'm starting with kielbasa because it is the smallest ingredient list and most like a hot dog (the ingredient list for a hot dog is larger than you'd think), which is a rare treat for me right now. I also love smoked kielbasa and I hope to make this first batch in six-inch lengths, so I can use it as a hot dog. I figure that if this batch isn't good and the recipe needs adjusting I can still just smother these in mustard/chili/whatever, or even make my mom's hot dog chowder. It only now occurs to me just how white trash that sounds.

Anyway, I'll document and post the kielbasa process here so anyone with more experience can post tips to help out with my future batches.

Right now I am looking at a small batch with two pounds venison and two pounds pork with some added fat, running it through our meat grinder, adding the seasoning, letting it sit overnight, then running it through our meat grinder and into cellulose casings, then doing the smoking, a hot water bath, and blooming. Once they are done, I'll set a couple aside for tasting and then vacuum seal and freeze the rest.


Anyway, my adventures in smoking begin this weekend. I'm considering doing some smoke during most of my grilling just to add flavor, since I'm always looking for ways to keep the blandness out of my low sodium foods.

 

[FoolKiller]

So, you had your whole grilled chicken meal and now you realize a chicken is a lot of meat. Well, there is only one thing to do with that leftover chicken.

Buffalo Chicken Soup

This is one of my wife's favorite soups, and the key to keeping this low sodium is in your ingredients. This has the potential to be extremely high or low in sodium, all dependent on your ingredients.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of butter - unsalted, of course. A quarter cup if butter is 4Tbsp, or half a stick. Stick butter, at least in the US, has measurement lines on the paper wrapper.

3 stalks celery, diced

1 small onion, diced - these are self explanatory, and as you can see, already diced in the above picture.

1/4 cup all purpose flour - gotta have a thickener for a creamy soup.

3/4 half & half cream - here you could probably use milk and reduce some water, but milk has more sodium than cream. And check your creams when buying it for sodium levels. They aren't all the same.

3 cups water

1 cube chicken bouillon - sodium free, of course. In this case, a packet of Herb Ox Sodium Free bouillon.

2 cups of cooked chicken, cubed/chopped (approx 1 pound) - in the case of leftover whole chicken, just shred it off the bones with a fork.

1/4 cup buffalo wing sauce, or more to taste - this is a big one for multiple reasons.

First of all, bottled buffalo sauce can vary from 40mg of sodium to over 1000mg in the same serving size. If low sodium is your goal then pay attention. A good low sodium brand that I can find often is Wing Time. I know I have found it in Whole Foods and a few other stores with a good variety or specialty selection. Here I am using my all-time favorite, Wing Master Garlic Parmesan (55mg). That is a specialty brand that can only be bought from the Pepper Palace. You can buy from them online, or they have stores in:

• Gatlinburg, TN - Mountain Mall
• Gatlinburg, TN - The Village
• Myrtle Beach, SC
• St.Augustine, FL
• Branson, MO (Coming soon!)
• New Orleans, LA
• Panama City Beach, FL
• Chicago, IL (Coming soon!)

The second factor, taste. If you go to a restaurant specializing in wings you get a choice of somrthing like ten flavors there. Not all wing sauces are thecsame. Pick your favorite, keeping in mind that hotter sauce will stand out more in the soup, requiring less sauce. If you like plain buffalo flavor go a step hotter then you like, if you can. For example, if you like medium wings use hot sauce. Since garlic Parmesan is a medium heat rating I use closer to half a cup of it.

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese - This is another tricky one where flavor and sodium are a hard balance. Reduced sodium cheeses tend to be bland. I have a trick I use. I use a cup of Helluva Good Reduced Sodium Cheddar and a half cup of very sharp cheddar. The very sharp gives a strong taste to counter the reduced sodium blandness, while the reduced sodium is low enough to give a low sodium average.

Another thing is to be sure to shred your own cheese from a block of cheese. Shredded cheese in a bag has added anti-clumping agents that prevent it from melting well.


Method:

Melt the butter in your pot over medium heat and then add your celery and onion, sautéing them until they are clear and tender, about five minutes.

Next, add your flour and mix well until it absorbs the butter and has a thick, creamy appearance. This prevents clumping in the soup and allows the flour to help thicken it.

Now slowly stir in your half & half and water, creating a smooth sauce, or roux. Continue to stir until it thickens enough to cling to the sides of the pot and your spoon.

Once it is smooth add in your bouillon and dissolve it into the sauce.

Finally, stir in your chicken and buffalo sauce, then slowly stir in your cheese.

Reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to stir until the cheese is well blended in, about 10 minutes.

Serve.

 

[FoolKiller]

It's Autumn. Thanksgiving is around the corner. Maybe you are making some pumpkin pie from real pumpkin or have a few real pumpkins sitting around from Halloween. Time to make a healthy snack, pumpkin seeds.

Ranch Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients

2 cups Pumpkin Seeds - For my purposes I am using 1 cup here.

You can get pumpkin seeds in two ways. First, you can go the very easy, and highly recommended way. Go to Nuts.com and buy them for $3.99 a pound. Or you can clean out a pumpkin.

If you are cleaning them, fresh, from a pumpkin, you first need to scrap them out and try to separate as much of the pumpkin guts as possible. I do this buy putting the seeds in a colander and separating as much as possible by hand and then rinsing them.

Some of the smaller bits will still be sticking and seem near-impossible to remove. Put the pumpkin seeds in a pot with just enough water to cover them and boil them for about 5 minutes. I also like to add a tablespoon of my Nu-Salt potassium chloride salt here, and let the water boil down to about half, as the potassium residue will kind of cook into and stick to the seeds, increasing their health benefit. If you want to use regular salt, this will add a more savory flavor to the finished product.

Once finished boiling drain them again in the freshly cleaned out colander and you will see that the tony bits of stuff left sticking to them has broken free.

Now, we need to dry them out. Spread them out across a baking sheet layered with paper towels. You can let them sit for 12-24 hours, until they are a solid white color, or I like to preheat my oven to the lowest temperature setting (170 degrees F), stick them in, and turn it off. Another option is a dehydrator on its lowest setting.

Once dry, you will have dry, white, pumpkin seeds. Any remaining pumpkin flesh should just brush off at this point.

Now, you have your pumpkin seeds. Like I said, it's far easier, and worth it, to pay $3.99 a pound to have someone else do this for you.

For the rest if the ingredients:

2 Tbsp Ranch Seasoning - This is equivalent to a pack of Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning, but I make my own (shown below) so that it is low sodium.

If you don't like ranch you can use anything you like, cajun, chili pepper, curry, chili lime, or even just some plain old salt.
1/2 tsp Nu-Salt - This will give it some potassium and a salty flavor. You can adjust to taste.

2 Tbsp Olive Oil or Melted Butter - I use Olive Oil. Be sure to use Olive oil and not Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Extra virgin has a very low smoke point. If you hit that point it will make your food smell burned.

Method

This is very easy.

First, preheat your oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Some people suggest 325 or as high as 375. Yes, this will roast them much quicker, but the lower heat, and slower process, will remove any residual moisture remaining in the seeds, preventing any kind of chewy texture later on.

Mix the seeds, oil and seasoning in a mixing bowl. Stir them well to completely coat the seeds.

Once the seeds are well coated then spread them out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil.

Place them in the oven for an hour, or until they turn golden. Flip them every 15 minutes.

Once roasted, let them cool, then store in a sealed bag in the fridge or enjoy right away.

Now for the:

Ranch Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Dry Buttermilk - This clumps easily, must be stored in the refrigerator once opened

1 Tbsp Dried Parsley, crushed

1 tsp Dried Dill Weed

1 tsp Onion Powder

1 tsp Dried Onion Flakes/Chopped Onions

1 tsp Nu-Salt

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1/4 tsp Ground Pepper



Method:

Mix all the ingredients together.

Now, you know that Cuisinart food processor we all have and almost never use? Use it. Put everything in there and turn it on.

It will all be mixed together.

Put it in a small shaker bottle or jar and put it in the fridge.

2 Tbsp of this can be mixed with a cup of mayonnaise and a cup of milk to make ranch dressing. Or mix 2 Tbsp with a 16oz carton of sour cream to make ranch dip. You can also combine 2 Tbsp with 1 Tbsp of white cheddar powder and just a pinch of chili powder to sprinkle on unsalted tortilla chips to make Cool Ranch Doritos.

 

[FoolKiller]

I thought I had already posted this one, but I think I may have just posted pics to annoy @Terronium-12 in The Infield.

Apple Cider

I love apple cider in the fall. It is a great precursor to egg nog at Christmas, or even goes great alongside it and/or some chai spice tea/latte. I have bought it at the grocery, but it is pasteurized, and when I heat it up in the microwave I can almost taste the plastic jug, or whatever it was pasteurized in. It's not good. So, I made my own.

This is an easy recipe, but it takes a while. It uses a slow cooker, or crock-pot, overnight, and the majority of the work takes place the second night, so be sure your second night is free.


Ingredients:

10 Apples - You need a good mix of sweet and tart (acidic, crunchy) apples. I used five Gala apples and five Granny Smith.

3/4 Cup Splenda or Sugar - I use Splenda, keeping the calorie and sugar content not much higher than the apples themselves, making this a healthy beverage.

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar - Light brown sugar is fine. I may experiment in the future with just adding extra Splenda and some molasses. You may leave this out if you want, but I like the flavor it adds.

1 Tbsp Ground All Spice - This is a Jamaican berry that is basically the basis for all kinds of pies. Just buy it pre-ground and save time and effort. Rarely is their a purpose for it to be whole in American dishes.

1 Tbsp Ground Cinnamon - I know I previously stated that fresh-ground cinnamon is the way to go. In this case, a whole tablespoon's worth of hand grinding is going to take forever. Bust out the shaker bottle you use for your drinks. I always have some for my hot chocolate and chai lattes.

1 Gallon Water - Tap, bottled, filtered. Your pick. I just run it through my Brita pitcher first. It might not all fit in your slow cooker, and that is fine.


Method:

First step is to wash and take the stems off your apples. I always wash my apples. You never know what got on teh skin between pesticides and just general crap in storage and transport, plus how many people handled them at teh grocery before you.

Then cut them up and put them in the slow cooker. You can do quarters or eighths. Put seeds, cores, and skins in. Everything but the stems.

Now, put in your Splenda and brown sugar. Just drop it in right on top of the apples.

Now the all-spice and cinnamon are a fine powder. They want to clump and float on top, clinging to the sides of the crock. To help avoid this, I whisk them in with a cup or so of water first, breaking it all up and keeping it evenly distributed.

Just pour that in over the apples and then fill your crock up with water, leaving just enough room to put the lid on it. The apples will be floating, so take the water displacement of them being pushed down by the lid into consideration

Then, put the lid on, turn it on low and walk away.

You can occasionally check on them, adding any water lost to evaporation, if you wish.

You will know the apples are finished when they have turned dark brown, along with the water, and have begun to sink. They've absorbed enough water to no longer float. That is perfect because it means they have also pulled out juices and nutrients. But down't worry. We'll get back what went into the apples too.

Now, use a ladle or cup of some kind to remove as much water as possible and pour it through a mesh strainer.

Now at this point, you have two options.

1) Place your large chunks of apples into a mesh strainer and crush them with the back of a serving spoon.

2) Or the much quicker option, run them through a fruit grinder, which I have an attachment for my Kitchen aid mixer.

The mixer does require a second step, but is still far faster.

Using the mixer you get two things:

1) The solid apple pulp:

Apple-Cinnamon cat turds.

You can save this to use in recipes where you use Stevia liquid extract as a sweetener to replace the solid mass of the missing sugar. I just toss it, but I would love to try making it into a crispy snack of some form.

2) You also get a very watery version of apple sauce:

Run this through the mesh strainer with a little spoon crushing action and toss out the solid bits (if you were paying attention, you just learned how to make apple sauce).

At this point you will see how much cider you have. Due to evaporation you will likely be slightly short of a gallon, sometimes as much as a quart short. You can add this much water in and stir it together without much loss of flavor. If you prefer it stronger then don't add water, and you can even boil it down more if you want. But this is the point to get your dilution level set.

Now, comes the most boring part.

Pour it through either cheesecloth or coffee filters. You want to filter out as much of the cinnamon and all spice powder as possible, plus any small apple bits that got through the mesh strainer. Cheesecloth is preferable, because you can squeeze it to push it through faster and layer it to create a finer filter. Coffee filters are very fine, thus you have to switch them out every so often. If you try squeezing them they just rip, ruining the whole purpose.

I do not currently have cheesecloth, which is sad. It's like $6 for a 9 square foot piece on Amazon.

When you get finished, you should have plenty of apple cider, that everyone will want to drink.

I put half in a pitcher and half in a cleaned apple juice jug to share at work. Just keep it in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.

Serve it cold or hot. I like mine in a coffee cup, placed in the microwave for 2 minutes.



One thing I did on my last batch was add a teaspoon of my Nu-Salt potassium chloride. It has 530mg of potassium per 1/6 of a teaspoon, so that means I added 3,180mg to the 1 gallon batch, or almost 200mg per 8oz serving. The apples alone produce roughly 200mg per serving themselves, so I practically doubled the potassium. I told no one and no one noticed. It had no noticeable affect on the taste.

 

[Danoff]

This thread is awesome

 

[FoolKiller]

This thread is awesome

Was it the pumpkin seeds or the cider?

EDIT: Just saw which one you liked. Pork chops.

 

[Danoff]

@FoolKiller

It's the whole thing really. It changes the way I think about low sodium diets. I love all of the ideas and instructions. It's a great reference.

 

[Terronium-12]

@FoolKiller

Seriously though this is all great. See, I can be nice.

 

[FoolKiller]

@FoolKiller

It's the whole thing really. It changes the way I think about low sodium diets. I love all of the ideas and instructions. It's a great reference.

It didn't come easy. Lots of culinary study on why we use sodium.

My newest thing is studying paleo diet recipes. Paleo doesn't use salt or refined sugar. I take the recipes and then add non-paleo stuff like bread and Splenda.

I'm tempted to photograph my Thanksgiving foods and add them on here after I cook them, but it would be time consuming to write up the post. Bird, stuffing, potatoes, green bean casserole, corn pudding, and pasta salad (already in this thread).

We don't know what kind of bird we are having yet. It's just going to be three of us, so a turkey is too big. I have a chicken in the freezer, or we might get Cornish hens or quail.

 

[FoolKiller]

Well, the weather is warm here in Kentucky. That means it's time for barbecue. But that isn't what I'm doing today.

Today is a side for a cookout/BBQ/whatever your area calls it.

Barbecue Black Beans. It's a quick variation on baked beans.

Before I start, you might be wanting to know why black beans, especially if you have made baked beans, barbecue beans, or pork & beans. Those typical use red kidney, great northern, or another variation on red or white beans. But black beans have the highest amount of fiber and protein, and the lowest amount of fermentable carbs. So, in short, black beans, beans are better for your heart, but the more you eat doesn't mean the more you fart.

This recipe is nearly 100% mine. I researched various recipes for baked or barbecue beans and took what I learned and concocted this to work best with black beans and be low sodium. Side note: Through a low sodium workaround these are also vegetarian.

Anyway, on with the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil

• 1/4 tsp Hickory style Bacon Salt (This is how it becomes vegetarian. You get the bacon flavor without the meat...or salt

• 1/4 cup Chopped Onion (sweet or hot based on how much bite you prefer)

• 1 can (15 oz) low sodium Whole Black Beans, drained and rinsed (You can also use no salt added or dry beans to lower the sodium even more)

• 1/4 cup Heinz No Salt Ketchup (this is the base of the sauce. They do substitute potassium chloride, if that is an issue)

• 1 Tbsp Molasses

• 1/4 cup packed Brown Sugar (You can use an artificial sweetener mix if you want to reduce sugar, follow package instructions for substitution amounts)

• 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar (You could use white vinegar if you need to, but apple cider vinegar gives barbecue sauce that zing)

• 1/4 cup water

• 1 Tbsp Spicy Brown Mustard (do not use Dijon, as it has twice the sodium)

• 1/4 tsp black pepper

• A pinch of ground red cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)

There are other changes you can make here. I'll explain them at the end.


Method:

Heat oil in a sauce pan over medium-high heat.

Add the onions and bacon salt; cooking until onion is tender, stirring occasionally.

Add all remaining ingredients and stir.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes, or until the beans become tender and the flavors blend, or until the sauce thickens to desired consistency (it should be thick). The sauce will also darken.

And you are ready to go. Feel free to serve it with some barbecued foods, like chicken, burgers, hot dogs, or pork chops.

This has roughly 200mg of sodium, a fraction of canned beans of this style.



Possible substitutions:

Using red or white beans: do not add the water and only simmer for 10 minutes.

Using no-salt-added canned beans or dry beans: pre-soak dry beans, add 1/2 tsp of bacon salt. This will be around 140mg of sodium this way.







Future note: This creates a base for barbecue say pec, which has inspired me. I am going to begin working on condiment recipes from scratch. Currently I have a wild mustard plant growing next to my bird feeders, so
I will be utilizing that to make whole grain wild mustard. I expect it to be spicy.

Ultimately, I want to have my own homemade ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard. The ketchup will become barbecue sauce as well. I already make my own salsa. I need to add that here.


By the way, I will take requests, if possible.

 

[Eyes Fried Open]

I thought I had already posted this one, but I think I may have just posted pics to annoy @Terronium-12 in The Infield.

Apple Cider

I love apple cider in the fall. It is a great precursor to egg nog at Christmas, or even goes great alongside it and/or some chai spice tea/latte. I have bought it at the grocery, but it is pasteurized, and when I heat it up in the microwave I can almost taste the plastic jug, or whatever it was pasteurized in. It's not good. So, I made my own.

This is an easy recipe, but it takes a while. It uses a slow cooker, or crock-pot, overnight, and the majority of the work takes place the second night, so be sure your second night is free.


Ingredients:

10 Apples - You need a good mix of sweet and tart (acidic, crunchy) apples. I used five Gala apples and five Granny Smith.

3/4 Cup Splenda or Sugar - I use Splenda, keeping the calorie and sugar content not much higher than the apples themselves, making this a healthy beverage.

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar - Light brown sugar is fine. I may experiment in the future with just adding extra Splenda and some molasses. You may leave this out if you want, but I like the flavor it adds.

1 Tbsp Ground All Spice - This is a Jamaican berry that is basically the basis for all kinds of pies. Just buy it pre-ground and save time and effort. Rarely is their a purpose for it to be whole in American dishes.

1 Tbsp Ground Cinnamon - I know I previously stated that fresh-ground cinnamon is the way to go. In this case, a whole tablespoon's worth of hand grinding is going to take forever. Bust out the shaker bottle you use for your drinks. I always have some for my hot chocolate and chai lattes.

1 Gallon Water - Tap, bottled, filtered. Your pick. I just run it through my Brita pitcher first. It might not all fit in your slow cooker, and that is fine.


Method:

First step is to wash and take the stems off your apples. I always wash my apples. You never know what got on teh skin between pesticides and just general crap in storage and transport, plus how many people handled them at teh grocery before you.

Then cut them up and put them in the slow cooker. You can do quarters or eighths. Put seeds, cores, and skins in. Everything but the stems.

Now, put in your Splenda and brown sugar. Just drop it in right on top of the apples.

Now the all-spice and cinnamon are a fine powder. They want to clump and float on top, clinging to the sides of the crock. To help avoid this, I whisk them in with a cup or so of water first, breaking it all up and keeping it evenly distributed.

Just pour that in over the apples and then fill your crock up with water, leaving just enough room to put the lid on it. The apples will be floating, so take the water displacement of them being pushed down by the lid into consideration

Then, put the lid on, turn it on low and walk away.

You can occasionally check on them, adding any water lost to evaporation, if you wish.

You will know the apples are finished when they have turned dark brown, along with the water, and have begun to sink. They've absorbed enough water to no longer float. That is perfect because it means they have also pulled out juices and nutrients. But down't worry. We'll get back what went into the apples too.

Now, use a ladle or cup of some kind to remove as much water as possible and pour it through a mesh strainer.

Now at this point, you have two options.

1) Place your large chunks of apples into a mesh strainer and crush them with the back of a serving spoon.

2) Or the much quicker option, run them through a fruit grinder, which I have an attachment for my Kitchen aid mixer.

The mixer does require a second step, but is still far faster.

Using the mixer you get two things:

1) The solid apple pulp:

Apple-Cinnamon cat turds.

You can save this to use in recipes where you use Stevia liquid extract as a sweetener to replace the solid mass of the missing sugar. I just toss it, but I would love to try making it into a crispy snack of some form.

2) You also get a very watery version of apple sauce:

Run this through the mesh strainer with a little spoon crushing action and toss out the solid bits (if you were paying attention, you just learned how to make apple sauce).

At this point you will see how much cider you have. Due to evaporation you will likely be slightly short of a gallon, sometimes as much as a quart short. You can add this much water in and stir it together without much loss of flavor. If you prefer it stronger then don't add water, and you can even boil it down more if you want. But this is the point to get your dilution level set.

Now, comes the most boring part.

Pour it through either cheesecloth or coffee filters. You want to filter out as much of the cinnamon and all spice powder as possible, plus any small apple bits that got through the mesh strainer. Cheesecloth is preferable, because you can squeeze it to push it through faster and layer it to create a finer filter. Coffee filters are very fine, thus you have to switch them out every so often. If you try squeezing them they just rip, ruining the whole purpose.

I do not currently have cheesecloth, which is sad. It's like $6 for a 9 square foot piece on Amazon.

When you get finished, you should have plenty of apple cider, that everyone will want to drink.

I put half in a pitcher and half in a cleaned apple juice jug to share at work. Just keep it in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.

Serve it cold or hot. I like mine in a coffee cup, placed in the microwave for 2 minutes.



One thing I did on my last batch was add a teaspoon of my Nu-Salt potassium chloride. It has 530mg of potassium per 1/6 of a teaspoon, so that means I added 3,180mg to the 1 gallon batch, or almost 200mg per 8oz serving. The apples alone produce roughly 200mg per serving themselves, so I practically doubled the potassium. I told no one and no one noticed. It had no noticeable affect on the taste.

Im going to try this in the weekend. Looks good. I wonder what it will go down like with Vodka.

 

[Danoff]

I already make my own salsa. I need to add that here.
By the way, I will take requests, if possible.

My request is that you add your salsa recipe. We can compare notes since I make my own as well.

 

[FoolKiller]

My request is that you add your salsa recipe. We can compare notes since I make my own as well.

Oh, that's easy, because I cheat.

3 cans no-salt added diced tomatoes.
1 T Olive Oil
1 onion roughly chopped
1 T Mrs Dash Extra Spicy or Southwest Chipotle seasoning (depending on what you want your final taste to be)
2 T Fresh Cilantro
1oz Mrs. Wages Hot Salsa mix (see, I cheat)
1/4 cup white vinegar

Sauté onion in oil.
Add everything else and stir. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.
Purée with a stick blender.
Simmer to desired consistency.

Tada! 1 1/2 quarts of picante style salsa with ~80mg sodium per 2T serving size.

A 4oz package of Mrs. Wages seasons 6lbs or 6 cans of tomatoes at 160mg per serving. I cut the amount in half and replace the seasoning with Mrs Dash. If you want mild salsa you can leave out the Mrs Dash. If you prefer chunky salsa, mince your onion and don't use the stick blender.

Measuring the 1oz of seasoning mix requires a good kitchen scale. Mine will go as low as tenths of ounces or tenths of grams.


All that said, I am trying a lot more experimentation with peppers lately. I backed off of them early on when I tried making jalapeño poppers and didn't wear gloves. That will forever be known as the Popper Pepper Incident. I slept with ice packs tied to my hands that night.

I'm back in and better prepared now. If you stick me in a hospital room for days and have a fresh box of powder free rubber gloves I will take some to either make a rooster cap for my daughter or use in my kitchen.

As my current plans are condiment experiments these will start as bases for hot sauce and buffalo sauce, but after that I am going to dive more into salsa and a homemade version of Ro-tel tomatoes with chilies.

Then I need to post my homemade flour tortillas and homemade corn tortilla chips recipes. Somewhere in all that I am also wanting to make pita bread and hummus.

Now you can see why I don't keep updating this thread regularly. I have too many recipes in experimental stages all at once.

 

[Danoff]

@FoolKiller

That sounds more like pico de gallo than what I'd call salsa. So here's what I do.

1 roma tomato
1 can whole peeled tomatos
tbsp chopped garlic
1 amount of salt
1 handfull cilantro leaves (I just grab and rip from a bushel)
2 jalapenos w/stems removed (not cut, just pull the stem off)

Boil tomato until the skin can be peeled off. Boil jalapenos until soft. They have to be boiled a long time, and the longer you boil them the spicier they get. Blend everything into a paste. It's awesome. You can probably find a substitute for the salt.


Edit: Oops, I see the purée step. Yea, so you have some interesting ingredients that I might have to try in mine.

 

[FoolKiller]

Boil tomato until the skin can be peeled off.

Do you not blanch yours? Cut off stem, slice a shallow X in the skin on the bottom. Boil for 1 minute. Drop in an ice water bath. Grab the skin from the top of the tomato and lightly squeeze. Tomato pops out of the skin.

I also save my skins, dry them, and grind them into tomato powder. Waste not, want not.

You can probably find a substitute for the salt.

Vinegar's acidity performs the same chemical action of transferring flavors as the salt, but it doesn't taste salty either. Some people use lime juice. I can also use KCl with some citric acid to get an equivalent taste. It's all about balance to not overpower with your replacement. If you like it to taste fresh it requires some experimentation.

Edit: Oops, I see the purée step.

I go for the same consistency as the Mexican restaurants around here have. No one complains because it is so common. But kids, and some picky adults, will fight chunky salsa because they can see the veggies. I do the same tricks for tacos and spaghetti sauce. Lots of puréed veggies.

 

[Danoff]

Vinegar's acidity performs the same chemical action of transferring flavors as the salt, but it doesn't taste salty either. Some people use lime juice. I can also use KCl with some citric acid to get an equivalent taste. It's all about balance to not overpower with your replacement. If you like it to taste fresh it requires some experimentation.

I can't stand lime or lemon in salsa if I can taste it. It helps it stay good longer if you store leftovers, but to me it needs to be so little that it can't be tasted. I bet your Mrs. Dash would sub in fairly well for the salt.