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I really don't care for the low sodium stuff, taste like flavored water. I actually backed off buying canned soup just for that reason since I suffer with hypertension.
Do you also take medicine for hypertension? And do you measure your blood pressure every day? I have 2 blood pressure measurement gadgets. One goes on the upper arm, and the other on the wrist. I want to use the wrist one, because then I don't have to take off my shirt every time. I got it recently and am trying to figure out how to make it more reliably accurate. They say to hold it at heart level, but the results are more consistent with the arm one when it's lower than that.
I got some cans of low sodium Progresso soup on sale for 99 cents each, but have not yet tried them. And even though they only have half as much sodium as regular Progresso, it's still too much.
Your best bet is to make your own, maybe in a slow cooker. Search for easy soup recipes. You can add your own salt and there really are very easy ones.
for those who worry so much about the sodium in things like soup, do you ever eat hot dogs, how about polish sausage, Brats and what about lunch meat? All are loaded with sodium. The only way to totally control your sodium intake is to cook everything from scratch. I doubt most of us are doing this. I know, as healthy as we try to eat, as much as I love to cook and as seldom as we eat out, I still would be lying if I claimed I watch our sodium all the time or I cook from scratch all the time.
Unfortunately, I'm very aware of the sodium content in foods because my bp is very sensitive to it. I know that smoked meats like those mentioned above are high in sodium, so I don't eat them often. I generally don't buy lunch meat and I check the sodium content of everything that I do buy. It's amazing how many products have a high sodium content when you don't taste the salt at all. Like BREADS! The low-carb tortillas that I like have 300mg of sodium in ONE! That blew me away. So I will only eat half of one for a snack. I do eat out frequently but try to choose wisely. Many restaurants post the nutritional content of their entrees these days so that makes it easier. I occasionally eat things that are high in sodium if I crave them, but not if they taste salty. For me, canned soups just taste salty so I'm not tempted. I used to love to have Miso soup out but don't go near it anymore because the salt is the first thing I taste.
I didn't know that, but if true what a great thing!!!
Skyegirl: I am a pretty darn good cook, majored in foods and nutrition (many years ago) and still never heard of this. Glad to know it though.
Now, as to why there is so much sodium in so many foods: the fat has been removed from so many things, the flavor has suffered, so sodium and sugar have been added to offset the loss. This is why, when one can, making as much as possible, from scratch is the best way to eat healthy and enjoy tasty foods.
I'm sure you are, must be something I learned along the way. What can I say, I am 50% Irish, and we know a lot about tator's
I try to make everything from scratch as well, especially my soups, and agree it's so much better in every way!!!
Who doesn't like salt, fat or sugar? Most foods without salt are just inedible but sometimes you can make up for it by seasonings and what not. May be I should start making my own soup.
I can't have sodium, so it's limiting, and no, there are no low sodium soups. Making your own soup is a great way to do it. If you have celery you get a bit more natural sodium from the stalks.
If you are going nearly no sodium and stick with it for a couple of weeks, your taste buds will start to adapt and the bland food will become flavorful again.
Also, if you eat out in restaurants, check out the sodium content on the meals. It's scary how much sodium is in most food.
Home cooking is a great way of making this better. Good Luck!
my guilty pleasure is Progresso minestrone. No meat and fast. And my kids can fix it with grilled cheese sandwich or salad. When I was sick and unable to cook I was happy for anything they could prepare.
But other than that I rarely use canned soup in cooking or serve it to my family.
I love making a big pot of homemade soup with chicken carcass from rotisserie chicken for $5.
I use celery a great deal. I made chili last night and automatically sauteed 2 stalks with the onion and then decided to browse chili recipes and I didn't see one with celery. I put only a pinch of salt and pepper but did not look at how much sodium was in the canned tomatoes I used. I probably could have gotten away with no added salt. Using 1.24 lb ground beef, I got 7-8 servings so each serving had very little salt.
I used to keep cream soups on hand for recipes then I discovered how easy it is to make my own which is basically a white sauce. How long does it take to make a roux with butter, flour, then add stock or milk? No need for salt but a tiny pinch would mean, per serving, it is very little.
Very helpful to know that 1/2 teaspoon salt is 1000 mg sodium. Never knew or even thought about it but if a recipe calls for that much salt and you make 6-8 servings, that makes a reasonable sodium per serving assuming the other ingredients don't have any salt.
I'm sure you are, must be something I learned along the way. What can I say, I am 50% Irish, and we know a lot about tator's
I try to make everything from scratch as well, especially my soups, and agree it's so much better in every way!!!
Actually, now that I think about this, I may have heard it somewhere; maybe read it. As for making foods low in sodium it is so easy and yes, like you say so much better. Here is an example; no, it wasn't soup, but yesterday I made a sauce for our chicken breast. It certainly wasn't low in calories, I admit, but it made with absolutely no sodium and very little butter. The calories, as well as some fat came from the 1/2 and 1/2. I simply made an old fashion white sauce, with 1 cup 1/2, 1/2 cup sherry wine, 1 tbsp. lemon juice and some curry powder and garlic powder. Of course I used flour to thicken it. We had plenty for the chicken, and some left over. This is just an example of something that takes only a few minutes to prepare and adds so much flavor.
Reading the sodium content of canned soup is scary. Even the so called healthy choices are full of it. Can they really not make soups without so much salt? What are the options other than making it yourself? Between hi fat and hi sodium, canned or even "gourmet" soups seem to be pretty unhealthy.
it's not scary at all, just don't eat that much salt throughout the rest of the day. duh.
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