Tips & Tricks: Dairy discoveries

On my first date with my most adorable roommate/boyfriend/partner-in-crime, I decided to tell him all about my health situation and dietary restrictions - no butter, no salt, no sauces, and the list went on.

He looked at me, smiled, and said the most comforting thing that he could imagine:

Well, at least you can still eat cheese.

And when I had to break the news that no, in fact, I definitely could not eat cheese, I think a little piece of his foodie soul melted.

But, the conclusion of this story is not completely true. I CAN eat cheese and so can you. There are some wonderful options of low sodium cheeses that you can order from the world-wide interweb. My favorite is the Heluva Good Low Sodium Chedder with a whopping 5mg of sodium per serving - virtually nothing! By "my favorite" I mean I order eight blocks of this at a time and finish them in approximately four weeks (I tested this over-exaggerated comment during the holidays and trust me, its true). And it is actually Heluva good and works well for any cheese based sauce, dish, or pop-in-your-mouth snack moment.

If you want to pick up something at the store, I suggest Alpine Lace Swiss you can find the low-sodium product at Safeway and most large markets and it is a mere 15mg per slice! Its great for throwing onto some bread or in a corn tortilla for a quick hiking or picnic snack.

For more wonderful low-sodium products (like baking powder, baking soda, sauces, condiments, and deliciously dangerous BBQ chips) check out the Healthy Heart Market. I check regularly - there are new products cropping up everyday and they are becoming more and more prominent in grocery stores.