It truly is shocking how quickly sodium adds up when you’re using processed foods. I should have been aware of this way before now but it kinda aggravates me . . at myself and at others, that this type of food has wormed it’s way into our lifestyle we’ve allowed it to happen and too many of us are not aware of what it’s doing to us.
This morning after using half a can of artichoke hearts, I was thinking about what I could do with the rest of the can and decided to make broccoli/cheese/chicken casserole. A couple of nights ago I steamed way more broccoli than we needed because I had leftover chicken in the fridge and we love broccoli/cheese/chicken casserole so . . I was getting ready to make it.
Usually I will use a can of cream of mushroom soup and a can of either chicken or celery soup.
Sodium
Those cream soups have over 2100 mg of sodium. They say there are 2.5 servings per can but if I were eating that for a meal, I’d probably eat the whole can!
To use a can of cream of mushroom soup, a can of cream of chicken soup, half a can of artichoke hearts and 2 oz. cheese, this recipe would have had 5,105 mg. of sodium. It makes 6 servings but that’s still 850 mg. per serving. Add a salad and we could easily have 1,000 sodium per serving.
Sodium
I left off the cream of chicken soup and that brought it down to 2930 mg., or 488 mg per serving. I added maybe 1/4 cup milk so that did add about 22 mg. sodium total, or 5.5 mg per serving so, as it is now, the meal will have less than 500 mg. sodium per serving and since it has meat, cheese, rice, broccoli and artichoke hearts, it’s really about all we need for a meal, but we’ll add a salad for variety.
It scares me to think how much sodium we had been eating, even when cooking at home but using processed foods as ingredients.
Three Meals
I divided it up into three meals worth. Those loaf pans in the front look way bigger than they are. They’re actually mini loaf pans and are one serving size. There’s the same amount of food, by weight, in the longer dish as is in the round dish and what’s in the two mini loaf pans combined.
Ready for the Freezer
Two meals worth are vacuum sealed and in the freezer. One is covered in foil and will be our main meal tomorrow.
I think after paying attention to sodium in processed foods, I’ll have a real hard time buying anything processed and will be paying very close attention to what we buy.
Cathy says
Judy, there are many, many recipes online for making your own cream-of-whatever soup that eliminates much of the sodium. It might be worth trying…
Ellen says
I think we’re lucky. We don’t LIKE the sodium taste so rarely eat processed foods. We get very frustrated at restaurants sometimes-some we never go back to because it is so heavily salted. I will however fully admit that I bought a low sodium soup once to eat as a bowl of soup. I had to add a pinch of salt. Yet when I make 4 quarts of soup I put in maybe 1.5 tsp of salt so that’s 3500 so 440 per meal.
Kosher salt has 23% less sodium BTW. 🙂 We like it.
Rebecca in SoCal says
I guess we know why they make low-sodium versions of soups! I’m skeptical (haven’t looked) about how well they fit into a low-sodium diet, though.
Ellen’s comment about restaurants reminds me of one of the reasons we like a nearby home-style restaurant: the site-made soups are NOT too salty. That’s a rare thing in restaurants.
montanaclarks says
Long ago I stopped making any recipe which called for “cream of anything” due to the sodium content and all the ingredients I couldn’t pronounce. We don’t eat lunch meat sandwiches–my Cowboy husband will not eat cold meat–period! If he eats a sandwich (rarely) it’s peanut butter and jelly. We do eat bacon on the weekends or for bacon/lettuce/tomato sandwiches. I’ve never kept track of our sodium consumption–maybe I should??
cassews says
My husband is a heart patient and a diabetic, so I have been watching salt intake for quite a while. I stopped using Cream of anything soups and started making my own cream of soups. So much salt and preservatives in all of it that is processed. I cut anything salt in 1/4 when I am using it in my home recipes. We very seldom eat out and when we do we make sure to look at the calorie and salt content.
Sherrill Pecere says
What amazes me is how many meals you make at one time, saving you lots of time later. You were talking earlier about how little you cook anymore but maybe part of that is because you do make several meals at once. You’re doing a great job spending time figuring out the sodium amounts in everything.
Marsha says
My husband is a dialysis patient so I have been watching sodium for a long time. Rarely buy processed food. Can request no added salt in restaurants ie french fries. We know then the French fries are hot and fresh
jatshaw says
Whenever I eat too much salt, my fingers let me know. I take my rings off at night, and if the rings are difficult to put on the next morning, I’ve had too much salt. You are so right, salt’s high in most processed food, and restaurants seem to overdo with it also. Thanks for a good reminder!
Nelle Coursey says
I think most companies make these in “low sodium” recipes. Maybe you can look the next time you go to the store. I guess I never think of this because I only use 1/2 can any time I make anything because I don’t freeze, I just make enough for one meal. What brand of food sealer do you use? I have been thinking of buying one of those for years. I think it would be much better than plastic bags!