Shake the Salt Habit

Having trouble shaking the salt habit?  No wonder!  Salt is turning up in unexpected places like salad dressings, dairy products and condiments. Here are three helpful tips to shake the salt habit: Choose fresh or frozen vegetables over canned. Carefully read labels on all foods that come in a box. If you opt for canned, look for "reduced sodium” or “no salt added” and rinse the vegetables to remove some of the salt.  Beware of added sauces! Think outside the box. Processed, packaged foods are often loaded with sodium.  A major culprit in boxed foods is the seasoning packet. Ditch the packets or only use half and boost the flavor with herbs, spices, flavored vinegar and oils.  For more control of sodium content, prepare dishes from scratch (one of SAGE's nutrition standards)! Watch condiments. Condiments like ketchup, mustard and barbecue sauce pack a sodium punch, but disguise the salty taste through added sugars. Serving sizes are so small that many people use 2-3 times that amount, raising sodium totals. Be mindful of the amount used and read labels. The USDA upper limit for daily sodium intake is 2300mg for adults and 1500-2300mg for children.