This afternoon I ran to Aldi and one of the things I wanted to look at was the chicken. I compared Kirkwood to Kirkwood Never Any!
Chicken with Sodium
The chicken with the sodium added is $2.29 per pound. A 4 ounce serving contains 105 mg. of sodium.
Chicken Without Sodium
This chicken without sodium added has 50 mg of sodium. The chicken with the sodium has less fat, less cholesterol and less protein.
Chicken without Sodium
The chicken without sodium is $4.29 per pound. So, instead of paying $4.17 for just a tad more chicken, I paid $7.06 for a little less chicken. Is it worth it? Cannot say . . a little more sodium – 4 oz. serving of meat – 105 mg vs. 50 mg. There’s 55 mg. in one Dr. Pepper. I like that the Never Any! has never had antibiotics but I’m not sure how important that is either since any antibiotics used in chicken should have cleared their system before they’re butchered and they’re tested.
There’s good information here about chickens – what’s allowed, what’s not allowed and how to interpret the hype.
Liz says
The next question is whether there is a difference in the taste of the chicken and issues with cooking & staying moist. There have been many articles on brining turkey to increase moisture and flavor. Perhaps this is same theory to prevent people from overcooking the chicken breasts, especially since there is no skin to add some fat and moisture. And, don’t forget about soaking chicken in buttermilk – I checked the web and buttermilk has 257 mg vs 98 in regular milk.
I would probably continue to buy the sodium added chicken since it is usually on sale for $1.99 a pound. I haven’t checked the price of the natural chicken. The adjustment will be in the cooking.
Judy, you are going to make all of us checking our sodium levels!
Judy Laquidara says
I don’t think the salt content in the chicken breasts is going to be my determining factor. Even with the added salt, it’s about 50 mg per serving more than without and at the end of the day, chicken for one meal . . it doesn’t make that much difference.
We make our own buttermilk so it shouldn’t have any more sodium than plain milk. When drinking it, we do add a little salt but for cooking with it, I don’t add any salt . . which may or may not have any benefit when soaking chicken.
Kathleen says
I only buy chicken and eggs with the Certified Humane label. I won’t get on a soap box, but if you learn about the treatment of factory farmed animals, you would be appalled. In my area, its easy to find chicken with that label, but not pork or beef.
cassews says
Isn’t amazing how when you start reading labels how much salt is actually consumed and people don’t realize it.