In addition to being a caffeine addict and a chocoholic, I can be a bit of a salty food junkie as well.
Which is why it was extremely sobering for me to learn that our daily sodium intake should not exceed 2,300 milligrams–which, by the way, is like one dinky little teaspoon’s worth of salt. Just eating about 30 pieces of salt and vinegar-flavored potato chips–my favorite salty indulgence–will already give you over a third of your recommended daily sodium intake.
As I also love having soy sauce with my sushi, I also finally learned today that just one tablespoon of shoyu will already give me a whopping 38% of my recommended daily sodium intake. By the way, I definitely use more than one tablespoon of shoyu to soak up my California rolls and salmon sashimi.
Here are 8 common salty foods–and 8 healthier alternatives that use way less salt, taste good and are much healthier for your long-term health. Pass the pepper shaker and garlic powder, please.
1. Potato chips. So good, yet so bad. According to the nutrition label of one of my favorite potato chips brand, one serving of potato chips is supposedly 13 chips and will give you only 16% of your daily sodium intake–and who in the world can actually stop eating after just 13 chips? If you are like most people, you will probably go through an entire bag in one sitting, giving you up to 50 or 60% of your daily sodium intake in just a few minutes.
Healthier alternative: Unsalted pretzels, unsalted nuts, unsalted popcorn. That, or bake your own kale chips.
2. Soy sauce. This fermented soy bean sauce is a common staple of Eastern cuisine and is so delicious when you love Asian food. But using just two tablespoons of soy sauce will already use up 80% of your daily sodium limit.
Healthier alternative: Many soy sauce brands have a low-sodium equivalent of the original flavor. Using one tablespoon of the low-sodium version will only use up 24% of your daily sodium intake, as opposed to a whopping 40%.
3. Canned soups. One of my favorite canned soups, Campbell’s Brocolli Cheese Soup, packs in 790mg in just 1/2 cup. If you are like most people, you probably eat at least 1 cup’s worth of soup or more, which already packs in over 60% of your daily sodium limit.
Healthier alternative: Make your own miso soup with miso paste, which requires not time at all. One bowl will only put you in the 30% range (721 mg) of your daily sodium limit. Or make your own zesty and healthy black-bean soup.
4. Salad dressing. No wonder salad dressing in a bottle tastes so freaking good; they’re packed with lots of sodium and fat. Store-bought Italian salad dressing can already give you 20% of your daily sodium limit in just two tablespoons. If you’re going to eat some fresh vegetables, don’t ruin it with super-fatty and salty dressing.
Healthier alternative: Dress up your salad with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, black pepper and lemon juice, with a teeny-tiny dash of sea salt. Or check out a great list of light salad dressing recipes here.
5. Bottled condiments and sauces. Don’t be fooled by the tiny servings; 4 McDonalds Ketchup packets will already give you 20% of your daily sodium limit. 2 packets of McDonalds barbeque sauce will also do the same. 2 tablespoons of Kraft Teriyaki Sesame Ginger Barbeque Sauce will put you in at the 25% range.
Healthier alternative: Look out for low-sodium version of ketchup (and extra bonus if they don’t have any high fructose corn syrup.) You can also use hot sauce, honey, and homemade salsa.
6. Frozen dinner food. There’s a reason why frozen dinner foods are not recommended by nutritionists and dieticians: just one serving of Marie Callendar’s Frozen Chicken Pot Pie (which I used to eat on a disgustingly weekly basis during college) already packs in 34% of your daily sodium limit. Oops.
Healthier alternative: Provided that you aren’t using sticks of butter and jars of lard for your homemade recipes, pretty much anything you whip up on your own will probably be ten times healthier than frozen dinner food you buy at the supermarket. Check out quick and healthy dinner recipe ideas here.
7. Salted nuts and pretzels. These munchies are dangerous: 10 salted pretzels can already add up to 34% of your daily sodium intake.
Healthier alternative: Buy the unsalted version of pretzels and nuts. You’ll still get your munchie on, and it’ll be a lot healthier, too.
8. Processed cheese. Be careful if you love making grilled cheese sandwiches for a quick lunch. Two Kraft cheese slices will already give you 20% of your daily sodium intake.
Healthier alternative: Some healthier options for dressing your sandwich: hummus, Vegenaise, olive oil, and you can never go wrong with more vegetables!
PHOTO (cc): Flickr / slugicide / monkeyc
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