Low Sodium Cooking Tips?

[kareng]

My mom has congestive heart failure. She is 83. She just got out of the hospital. She was in for fluid retention. She has decided she isn't going to eat the low sodium diet because it doesn't taste good. The dietitian & nurses told her you get used to it after 2 weeks but she is stubborn. My poor dad has no aptitude for cooking. He has had classes & can now re- heat in the microwave ( most of the time).

She " can't" eat spicy so that takes out a lot of my low sodium tricks. Does anyone have some suggestions or dishes they make that are tasty & low sodium? She doesn't have to be gluten-free.

[Jestgar]

I start with a spice mix, usually Costco brand. Add plenty of garlic......'course I like garlic...., and whatever other herbs 'n stuff I think will go with it. Add some sea salt at the end of cooking (not low sodium, but adds a complexity of flavor). Sometimes it tastes right, sometimes I need to add more salt. Try using light salt (potassium chloride) or I think there's another salt version that's edible, but isn't sodium chloride based.

[Jestgar]

While trying to remember what this other salt is called, I found this on Yahoo Answers:

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

[kareng]

While trying to remember what this other salt is called, I found this on Yahoo Answers:

Maybe Kosher salt doesn't count if you are Catholic?

[Jestgar]

I was thinking of Open Original Shared Link.

I also put rice wine vinegar and lemon juice on white fish, instead of salt. Sometimes on veggies too.

[GlutenFreeManna]

I don't have a clue how to cook low sodium but there are lots of cookbooks out there. I searched on A M A Z O N and found one titled "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Low Sodium Meals". It had good reviews. Perhaps something like that would help?

[kareng]

I don't have a clue how to cook low sodium but there are lots of cookbooks out there. I searched on A M A Z O N and found one titled "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Low Sodium Meals". It had good reviews. Perhaps something like that would help?

As long as it's for "complete" idiots I could probably follow it!

I was hoping someone would have some fabulous food that's easy to fix, not spicy, low fat and tastes like French fries or chocolate cake. Or some magic potion of spices? Or something for a new attitude?

[sb2178]

Mrs. Dash's is incredibly popular among the older set. How low sodium? Are you talking restricted to 600/800/1500 mg/day?

A little extra butter can go a long way, too, and may be okay for a couple of weeks. A pinch of sugar can also help. Neither of those are good long-term solutions, obviously, but they can help for a few days. Meats can be marinated in juices like pineapple or orange instead of salty liquids.

Smoked paprika is also an option, as is dried mushroom powder, and both savory and thyme sort of intensify other flavors. They're not "spicy" but have quite a bit of flavor. Fresh herbs are great... and this tim eof year, perhaps she could just eat more fruit than vegetables for a few weeks?

In the end, though, she has to decide that she is willing to cooperate. Unless she has severe dementia or is so bedridden that she only eats food that someone hands her, she is still an adult. I'd probably start sneaking in low sodium stuff if she were my mother, though. [insert immage of daughter tiptoing into the kitchen clutching a jar of no salt peanut butter and scooping the salted PB out of the container in order to replace it with the no-salt version].

[Jestgar]

As long as it's for "complete" idiots I could probably follow it!

I was hoping someone would have some fabulous food that's easy to fix, not spicy, low fat and tastes like French fries or chocolate cake. Or some magic potion of spices? Or something for a new attitude?

I think it's more of a lifestyle change...

[kareng]

Mrs. Dash's is incredibly popular among the older set. How low sodium? Are you talking restricted to 600/800/1500 mg/day?

A little extra butter can go a long way, too, and may be okay for a couple of weeks. A pinch of sugar can also help. Neither of those are good long-term solutions, obviously, but they can help for a few days. Meats can be marinated in juices like pineapple or orange instead of salty liquids.

Smoked paprika is also an option, as is dried mushroom powder, and both savory and thyme sort of intensify other flavors. They're not "spicy" but have quite a bit of flavor. Fresh herbs are great... and this tim eof year, perhaps she could just eat more fruit than vegetables for a few weeks?

In the end, though, she has to decide that she is willing to cooperate. Unless she has severe dementia or is so bedridden that she only eats food that someone hands her, she is still an adult. I'd probably start sneaking in low sodium stuff if she were my mother, though. [insert immage of daughter tiptoing into the kitchen clutching a jar of no salt peanut butter and scooping the salted PB out of the container in order to replace it with the no-salt version].

She's 2000 mg a day. She has a small blood sugar issue if too many carbs. I know they have to embrace the change, but they usually eat out at least once a day. This will have to stop that. I am going to get her some unsalted almond butter & see if she will use it. They told her not to eat foods that are 140 mg or more per serving. Look at bread or salad dressing. I can't cook everything for them. She hates most veggies but likes fruit. I told my dad I would help him with some suggestions.

[love2travel]

I make my own low/no salt spice/herb blends all the time so if you are interested in that I can post several ideas. Fresh herbs and lemon juice really go a long way in adding flavour without sodium.