Tips & Tricks: Happy Trails

I've been a bit behind on my blogging due to some recent travels (WEDDING SEASON!) and am off again early this week for more fun on trains, planes, and automobiles. However, the time I have spent on the road reminded me that it is high time to write on one of the more challenging sodium-free subjects:

eating well while on the go

When traveling, everyone must forgo their fresh, healthy food options for fast(er) food. And for those of us trying to maintain a strict diet (health required or otherwise), it seems almost impossible to stay within our limits and not starve.

For almost 2 years after I was diagnosed with Lupus, I did not travel beyond the 4 hour drive to Tahoe and back. I thought it would be difficult if not impossible to find safe, sodium-free food when far from the comfort of my own kitchen. But over time, I found some simple tricks (and readily available food items) that make traveling with a full belly easy and attainable. Below are some of these staple, sodium-free snacks that keep me a satiated while on my journeys and enable a jet-setting lifestyle. Bali, you're next.

AT THE AIRPORT

Fruit - any coffee/cafe/breakfast "establishment" will have whole fruit options (bananas, apples, oranges) or cups of fresh fruit (think grapes, cantaloupes, and pineapple). I often buy extra fruit to cram in my bag for in-flight snacking - bananas are especially good and filling.

Baked Potato - this sodium-safe starch can be found at some in-airport restaurants. Also, keep your eye out for a Wendy's as they have a baked potato side option on their menu. This was my mainstay meal for three days in Vegas. Thank you Wendy's and your chive-filled treat.

Hard Boiled Eggs - another easy find at any coffee/cafe/breakfast kiosk. On a side note - when road tripping - hard boiled eggs are also found in most gas stations. So if you are really hungry or hankering for a protein fix, this is a great option.

Steamed rice - if there is a Japanese or Chinese restaurant in the airport food court, chances are they have steamed rice on the menu. Just make sure it is not "sushi rice" which usually has salt in it and ask if they add salt to their water when steaming.

Frosted Mini-Wheats - believe it or not, they have only 5mg of sodium, are a really filling snack, and are sold at most breakfast spots in the airport. Pure gold.

EASY TO PACK

Granola - there are a lot of sodium-free options available but my current favorite is
Erin Baker's Oatmeal Raisin Granola - 0mg sodium. The granola has a nice chunky-texture and fits easily in a purse or suitcase. One bag will last you a long weekend at minimum - just keep other sneaky hands from grabbing fistfuls for themselves.

Corn Tortillas - check the nutrition label, but most corn tortillas (not wheat or flour) are sodium free. Because of their flat shape they pack well and add substance to a breakfast or lunch dish (like a veggie salad or an egg scramble). Who knows, you may even be lucky enough to stumble upon an avocado and then you'll be really glad you brought those doughy discs with you!

Just Peas/Corn/Fruit - I know I've posted about these freeze-dried treats before, but they have a wonderful flavor and are great snack to have on hand. As an added plus, you are getting your daily dose of veggies and fruit...now how's that for eating well on the go!

Dried Fruit/Nuts/Sunflower seeds - before I leave for a trip, I hit the bins at Whole Foods and fill up on dried strawberries, figs, apple rings, and sunflower seeds (since of course, I am also allergic to nuts). What is especially great about traveling with these snacks is that you can eat them to curb mid-day tummy rumblings and you can use them to brighten up salads or other dishes. Their dual purpose makes these snacks a packing priority!

Tuna Fish - okay, so it can be smelly and there is that whole "mercury" thing, but for a guaranteed tummy filler a can of tuna will get the job done. There are two kinds of low-sodium tuna that you can find at most grocery stores: BumbleBee and StarKist. Just remember to pack a can opener... and some breath mints.

Popcorn - this suggestion is dependent on proximity to a microwave oven. But, popcorn is such a delicious and filling snack and, when not popped, it is completely flat and negligible in terms of space. So, it never hurts to throw a bag of salt-free popcorn in your suitcase or purse just in case the opportunity to snap, crackle, and pop arises.

Safe Travels and Safe Eating!

Tips & Tricks: Grocery Store Detective

I've been hitting the street and doing some undercover shopping (all in the name of sodium safety) to discover the latest no-sodium, time-saving products.

For a long time, no-sodium sauces and breads were only available on the world wide web or by making them by hand, at home. Now, they are showing up on the grocery store shelves in droves and are making no-sodium cooking and snacking even easier.

So here is the beat on my latest discoveries that will be sure to become shopping list staples.

FOUND
Multiple brands of no salt tomato sauces (0-15mg per serving)

LOCATION
Consistently seen lurking around Real Foods and Whole Foods markets

CHARGES
Canoodles with noodles (in less than ten minutes - quick dish, lots of flavor)

USUAL SUSPECTS
Muir Glen No Salt Added Tomato Sauce
(Also available: No Salt Added Crushed Tomatos, and No Salt Added Tomato Paste)

Anna's Marinara Sauce
(they don't have a website yet, but it is a black and white hand-drawn label with an Italian woman cooking over a big delicious pot of sauce - second shelf to the top on the far right in the picture above)

*Bonus Tip: Check out your local Italian Pasta Shop and ask about their hand made pasta - they generally do not use salt in their pasta recipe (usually a combo of semolina, egg, water, and flour) and can flavor their noodles with garlic, lemon, and herbs - bonus on taste! Also, keep an eye out for Rega San Marzano products - these sauces tend to have 0mg sodium, just remember to check the label before purchasing.
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FOUND
A new bready option (0mg of sodium)

LOCATION
Consistently seen lurking at Whole Foods markets

CHARGES
Impersonates sandwich bread, pizza crust, crackers, and pita chips

USUAL SUSPECTS
Eastern Bakery Whole Wheat Lavash Bread
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FOUND
Low-sodium milk product (20mg per 1 cup)

LOCATION
Consistently seen lurking at Whole Foods markets

CHARGES
Does a body good - and can top your low sodium cereal, make your cream of wheat creamy, and substitute for whole milk in your favorite recipes

USUAL SUSPECTS
Oat Dream

Recipe Box: Pea Soup

My mom, boy's mom, and I decided to meet for lunch one beautifully sunny afternoon and I wanted to treat them both to something light, bright, and delicious.

I was aiming to fix a meal that was quick to make, full of flavor, and of course, sodium-free. So, I settled on curried egg salad sandwiches and some cold pea soup - my cup of soup, of course, is the one topped with hot red chili flakes - it may have been chilled, but I am always hankering for some heat.

The recipes are simple and the tastes are just complex enough to wake up your palette but there is plenty of room for personal preferences and to make the flavors more robust. They also stay good in the fridge for a few days, so save some room for left-overs.

Curried Egg Salad Sandwiches - A Spicy Celebration on Two Pieces of Bread

Ingredient List:
Half a dozen eggs
1 Container of Creme Fraiche or WholeSoy & Co Plain Yogurt
1 bunch green onions
1/4 lb of currants
Curry Powder, turmeric, white pepper, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, cumin
Ezekiel 4:9 Low-Sodium Bread
Flat leaf parsley (only if you want to really show off)

1. Boil eggs (6 eggs made for approximately 8 sandwiches)
Don't know how to boil eggs? Check this out!

2. Once your eggs have cooled, separate egg yolks from egg whites into two bowls.

3. Add 3 tablespoons of creme fraiche or half a container of WholeSoy & Co Plain Yogurt(25mg of sodium for one container) to your egg yolks and mash together until it becomes a yellow paste. It shouldn't be too gummy or thick - so you can always add more creme fraiche, yogurt, or some olive oil to loosen it a bit more.

4. Add 1 tablespoon of curry powder, 1 tablespoon of turmeric, 2 teaspoons of white pepper and 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika to the egg yolk paste. These are all estimated portions. Taste as you mix ingredients together and add more if you want stronger flavors - also feel free to add in some cumin and cayenne pepper for more spice.

4. Dice egg whites into little cubes.

5. Chop 3 stalks of green onions - the smaller the chop, the better!

6. Mix egg whites, onions, and currants (a few handfuls) with the egg yolk paste. You can also add chopped parsley to put more color and a fresh herb flavor in the mix.

7. Toast your bread
Don't have a toaster? Use the broiler in your oven! Just don't forget to flip the bread, to take out the bread, or turn off the oven - I speak from (in)experience.

8. Spread your egg salad onto the bread and cut into your favorite childhood shape - I prefer the triagonal (diagonal triangles) - but I'm sure a rectangle with the crusts cut off would taste just as a delicious.

9. Enjoy!

Cold Pea Soup - Green Never Looked So Good

Ingredient List:
1 shallot
5 cloves of garlic
1 small white onion
Olive Oil
1 bag of frozen peas (check the label for sodium content)
1 bag of frozen corn (check the label for sodium content)
Herb-Ox No Sodium Chicken Broth
White pepper
Creme Fraiche

1. In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons of oil.

2. Dice shallot, garlic and half of white onion - no need to dice too finely as everything will be blended later on.

3. When oil is hot, add shallot, garlic, and onion to pot and stir until shallot and onion look translucent.

4. Add bag of peas and half a bag of corn to pot. Stir and heat for about 5 minutes.

5. Mix 2 packets of Herb-Ox Low Sodium Chicken Broth with 2 cups of water, throw in pot, and bring to a boil.

6. After it has boiled for a few minutes, remove pot from heat to cool for 5 minutes. If you blend while still hot, your risk some serious splashage, so it is important to cool the soup down a bit before the next step. Patience here will result in less time scrubbing the counters and your face.

7. Transfer soup to blender OR for an incredibly easy and mess-free means of creaming ingredients, use an immersion blender. Possibly my favorite kitchen utensil - I have two.

8. Blend until smooth.
An optional step is to then sieve the soup which will make it incredibly silky in texture, but this is only if you are going for Michelin star perfection.

9. Reheat soup on low until it has reduced about a third - this thickens the soup. Add the white pepper and any other spices at this point.

10. Chill soup in fridge.

11. Ladel into small bowls and top soup with a dollop of creme fraiche.
Other optional crunch worthy toppers include: a few Unsalted Kettle Chips or a handful of Organic Just Peas or Just Corn.

12. Your soup is now ready to serve and ready to disappear.

Recipe Box: Fridge Frittata

First off - go see Food, Inc. I've read the books, I volunteer at the Ferry Building, I shop at Farmer's Markets whenever I can. But this movie, even for the most food-enlightened, is a huge wake up call. We truly are what we eat and our food industry is the cornerstone of our community's and our world's health, social, and environmental issues.

So I have to say, after I left the movie, I was glad to know that my fridge was full of locally produced, seasonal ingredients - all of which needed to be eaten right away if I was going to keep them from ending up in my compost bin. And yes, that was probably the most typical Northern Californian sentence I have ever written - sorry I'm not sorry.

My refrigerator had the following items to work with:

chard (grown from my own potted garden)
heirloom tomatoes (from my monthly Farm Fresh To You delivery- thank you Capay Farms)
potatoes
eggplant
half of a red onion (woopsies...a few weeks old)
one slice of Heidi's Hens no-salt turkey breast
and two eggs

What do you get when you combine all of those ingredients?
A delicious, oven-baked dinner frittata! Here's how:

1. Set oven to 360 degrees.

2. Heat oil in a pan. When hot add diced red onion and cook until translucent. I was low on olive oil and added a few dashes of champagne vinegar to help deglaze the pan and add some extra moisture to cook the onions. When softened and clearer in color, transfer onions to a bowl.

3. Slice one small eggplant into half-inch disks and wrap in paper towels. Find something heavy - I used a cutting board and a potted plant on top - to squish the water out of the eggplants. Most people sprinkle eggplants with salt to get out the extra moisture but this is my sodium-safe trick. It will allow you to brown the little nuggets more easily.

3. Add more oil to pan and reheat. When hot, add diced potatoes and eggplant and sauté until brown (because they are small, this should take about 5-10 min). I added a little curry powder and red wine towards the end to add some extra flavor. When cooked, take out potatoes and eggplant and put in bowl with onions.

4. Add oil to pan again and reheat. Take off stems of chard (keeping them on is also completely OK - they will soften in the oven - just dice more finely to help cooking process) and chop the chard into bite sized bits. Throw into hot pan for 3 min or so. I added some no-sodium mustard and a few dashes of balsamic vinegar towards the end.

5. In an oven safe dish, coat bottom with oil or salt-free (sweet) butter and add the onion, eggplant, potato mixture.

6. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs. I added some white pepper, cumin, and a little water and red wine.

7. Pour egg mixture over onion, eggplant, potato-ness.

8. Cover the top of onion, eggplant, potato, and now egg-ness with your softened chard - building a top layer.

9. Slice one heirloom tomato into 1/4 inch or smaller rounds.

10. Put tomato rounds on top of the chard and sprinkle some black pepper on top.

11. Bake in oven for 30 min (or until all egg is cooked).

12. Put under broiler on high for 2-3 minutes to crisp the chard and tomatoes.

13. Invite friends over to marvel your ingenious fridge-spiration...or eat it all yourself. This recipe will feed 2-4 and although the picture is a bit hideous, it is really delicious and works with any veggie combination!

And the next day...I used the leftover eggplant to make EGGPLANT CHILI! Sounds weird but seriously good. I cubed the eggplant - mimicking chunks of meat - and used all my other standard chili ingredients: tomatoes, black beans, peppers, cumin, cayenne pepper, a pinch of oregano, and paprika. After little it simmer for an hour, I topped it off with some arugula and avacado and even used some really old Matzoh crackers for dipping. It tasted chili-tastic and was full of good, healthy things. This seemed a little bit daring but I am glad I tried it and was successful in heroically saving the food in my fridge from going unused and transfered it safely to my belly. All in a day's work.

Tips & Tricks: Beef Cakes

Just a quick warning - the beginning of this story is sodium-heavy - but, I promise that the ending holds a savory surprise.

For the Boy's birthday, I decided to dive into a baking adventure and make MEAT CUPCAKES - inspired by my friend Gina's meat cookies and Mei's salmon cupcakes. So, at five a.m., I rolled out of bed to begin creating two delicious bite-sized tins of celebratory meat muffins: a bacon, beer, & chive cupcake with blue cheese "frosting" and a fig and prosciutto cupcake with goat cheese "frosting." I did not intend on making these sodium-girl friendly, but I soon realized that I had stumbled upon a new flavor-saving discovery.

As I was kneading and measuring and sprinkling and whisking, I was enjoying the delicious aroma's of the bacon sizzling in my cast-iron griddle (okay, it was a teflon pan, but I think the image is nice). I found myself thinking, wouldn't it be nice to have just one slice of bacon? But by definition, bacon is a long strip of meat from the back, side, or belly of a pig that has has been cured, smoked, and brined to perfection - which also translates to mean "high in sodium." I've considered making my own bacon - i.e. buying strips of pure pork from the butcher - but somehow, I just didn't think it would taste the same. But my, how did I misjudge the situation.

Out of curiosity, or maybe torture, I flipped the package of bacon over to the list of ingredients. And low and behold the angels did sing - 75mg of sodium per serving / 2 slices of bacon. Whaaat? Did I read that correctly? Yes, 75mg of sodium per serving! To put this in a more palatable context - two slices of pork heaven equals one egg. A completely safe and kidney-friendly amount if you are craving a bacon fix. Clearly, this is not an every-day diet item (for people with or without kidney problems). But if that pasta needs an extra hint of something naughty and crunchy or that piece of halibut could use a nice pork belt, then you have found the ingredient.

So, what kind of magical bacon product had I come upon? Turns out, Whole Foods's 365 brand makes uncured bacon with a very low amount of sodium. There are even internet rumors that they make a uncured turkey bacon with 0mg sodium - but I will need to do more detective work to verify.

To make the bacon flavor rival that of its cured / brined / smoked siblings, I sprinkled smoked paprika and a little cumin on the suckers before throwing them into the frying pan. None of my blind tasters had any idea that their bacon cupcakes lacked its most recognizable ingredient. On that point - smoked paprika is a wonderful substitution for adding a richer, "cured" flavor to any of your meat dishes. You can also buy liquid smoke or hickory flavoring to add a grilled taste without the grill - but there does seem to be some concern with the safety of using liquid smoke, so use sparingly and maybe stick to the smoked paprika for now!

And now another close up of the beauties and the official beef cake recipes, with sodium-free substitutions:

Cupcake base
Mix the following dry ingredients:

- 2 cups of flour

- 2 teaspoons of baking powder

- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup brown sugar

Add Wet Ingredients:

1 cup softened/melted butter
4 eggs beaten

I halved the above cupcake base into two separate bowls and then added the following ingredients:

Bacon, Beer, Chive Cupcake

1/2 cup of pale ale
Cut chives

1 whole package of bacon
- fried in pan with cumin, smoked paprika, and ancho chile poweder
- when cooled, crumbled and thrown into the oven for some extra crisp

Prosciutto and Fig
one package of prosciutto
one jar of fig jam

Baking
line mini muffin tin (should make around 30) and fill 3/4 of each tin with batter
bake at 375 for 25 min
let cool at room temp for 30 min

Frosting
For the bacon beef cake:
- mix mild blue cheese with some creme fraiche and spoon into a ziplock bag
- cut tip of edge and pipe onto cupcake
- sprinkle bacon and chive bits

For the prosciutto beef cake:
- mix goat cheese (herbed or plain) with some creme fraiche and spoon into a ziplock bag
- cut tip of edge and pipe onto cupcake
- cut bits of dried fig and make rosettes with prosciutto slices

For a sodium free version:
- Use the uncured bacon
- substitute Mascarpone for the cheese and add more herbs to increase flavor
- still working on a no-sodium prosciutto...but that may just have to be a fig cupcake...