Diva Guide: 11 Tips for Reducing Salt Intake

Schedules are about to normalize as families get ready to go back to school.  It’s a great time to start some new habits for the health of your family!

For the next month PND is an ambassador for Mrs. Dash – I’ll be sharing some recipes for low sodium cooking.  This week we’re talking salt.  Cheap, plentiful, and pretty much makes everything taste good.  Or have we just become accustomed to the flavor of more salt?

Recommended Daily Salt Intake

1500-2400 milligrams or almost one teaspoon or less

In a way that we can all relate to – One teaspoon of salt contains 2300 milligrams of sodium.  One teaspoon a day… Which is at the high end of the recommended allotment.  Seven out of 10  American consume 2.3 times the recommended amount.  And the average American doesn’t fare much better… consuming 1.5 teaspoons at day.  It might not seem like much… but the risk associated with high sodium intake to important to overlook!

Health Risks Associated with High Sodium Intake Include:

• Stroke
• Heart Disease
• Hypertension
• Abnormal Heart Development
• Osteoporosis
• Kidney Disorders
• Dehydration and Swelling

Tips to Reduce our Salt Intake

Reduce your intake of processed foods; 75% of the sodium we consume comes from processed foods.  So reducing the processed foods we consume is a great start.  Buy fresh fruits, vegetables, meats or fish – to avoid salt added during processing.  When buying frozen foods – use care as salt may be added.

When cooking, don’t add salt at the beginning – wait until right before you are ready to serve to add the season. Adding it early on the salt will disperse through the layers of the food vs at the end it will be right on the surface where your taste buds will immediately pick up the flavor.

Watch out out for your Dressings & Condiments!  A 1.5 oz serving of Newman’s Own Low Fat Italian Dressing contains almost a third of the maximum daily amount we should be consuming at 730 calories!  A 2 oz serving of Ranch dressing weighs in at 530 mg.

When it’s an option; buy low- or reduced-sodium, or no-salt-added versions of your favorite foods.

Rinse canned foods to wash away some of the sodium added to canned food (like beans & canned fish) during processing.

Keep an eye open for hidden sodium in foods like; baking soda, baking powder, and MSG.

When cooking use low sodium broths, bouillion or soup.

Don’t add salt to the water when cooking pasta, rice and cereals.

On food labels look out for sodium in ingredients such as disodium phosphate, sodium alginate, sodium benzoate, and so on.

When snacking choose nuts & seeds that are unsalted (and raw – for an unrelated reason!).  And of course limit salty potato chips & pretzels.

Use herbs, spices, and salt-free seasoning blends in cooking and at the table – Like Mrs. Dash.

I know preparing this post has reminded me of a few areas that I can improve on to reduce my  families sodium intake!  I hope it does the same for you!  Later this week I’ll be posting the first of a few low sodium recipes I’ll be preparing as part of my ambassadorship with Mrs. Dash.  In the meantime, to check out all the recipes that have been posted so far by other’s participating in the campaign click here!  My recipes will  of course feature organic and whole grain ingredients!

Love letter to the FDA – This blog post was written as part of the Mrs. Dash and TwitterMoms blogging program. I was compensated for the time I took to research, test and create recipes, and to write the posts.  My opinions are my own and aren’t for sale.

Welcome back to PND. It's good to see you again!Diva Guide: 11 Tips for Reducing Salt Intake

Diva Report: Egg Recall

The Egg Recall is all over the news. I am VERY grateful that I’ve been buying most of the eggs for our family over the past months from a local farmer at our farmer’s market.  To be clear – doing this doesn’t guarantee my eggs will be free from salmonella – it just protects you from searching through the recall lists and all the worry that goes with it.

Salmonella is an inherent risk associated with eggs. Just not normally not in the numbers we are seeing at the moment. One thing I know for sure… if my local farmer had a problem with their eggs – the recall numbers could NEVER amount to over a billion eggs!

About Salmonella in Eggs

Salmonella is widely spread in nature – and especially in the intestines of birds. Salmonella doesn’t typically live inside the egg, the normal incidence of salmonella inside the egg is about .005%.

What happens if you eat an egg containing salmonella?

If the egg is has been properly handled, cooked and is served immediately – typically nothing – the bacteria is killed during cooking.

Symptoms

If you get ill from salmonella you get – Salmonellosis.

Symptoms include: abdominal cramps, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, chills, fever and/or headache within 6 to 72 hours after eating. These typically last only a day or two in healthy people but can lead to serious complications for the very young, pregnant women, the elderly, the ill and those with immune system disorders.

Check Your Eggs

Hillandale Farms
Sunny Farms
Sunny Meadows

Eggs were distributed in Arkansas, California, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin.

Package Sizes:
6-egg, dozen-egg
18-egg
30-egg cartons
5-dozen-egg cases
Loose eggs were packaged under the brand names Wholesome Farms and West Creek in 15 and 30-dozen tray packs.

The plant numbers and Julian dates affected are:
-P1860 – Julian dates ranging from 099 to 230
-P1663 – Julian dates ranging from 137 to 230

Find these numbers on the side of your packaging.

Data Compiled from:

Incredible Edible Egg

Associated Content

Emax Health

Diva Report: Egg Recall

I don’t like “Organic”

Did you ever taste a cookie you didn’t like?  Probably.

What about ice cream, do you enjoy EVERY flavor? Probably Not.

We all have our own unique tastes and preferences.  Many Australian children grow up loving Vegemite a dark viscous yeast spread that would make the average American child run screaming from the kitchen.  These same Aussie youngsters may find peanut butter peculiar.

It’s all a matter of what you grow up with, what you are accustomed, tastes,  and preferences.

I’ve noticed  a tendency for people to dismiss a whole entire category of foods & products strictly because the have had a bad experience with one item in the category.

• They will eat one Organic Cookie that isn’t to their taste and swear off ALL Organic Cookies.
• They will try an Organic Moisturizer that causes a breakout and swear off all Organic Moisturizers.

My simplistic definition of Organic is something grown without the use of pesticides.

• Don’t like a particular Organic Cookie?  It’s the recipe!  It has nothing to do with lack of pesticides on the oatmeal used in the recipe!
• If a moisturizer makes you breakout – it likely wasn’t the right formulation for your skin and had nothing to do with the lack of pesticides used for one of the ingredients.

Once you’ve decided to make the transition to organic and natural products – expect it to take time to find the perfect formulation for your skin, the right recipe for your taste buds.  Don’t give up because you don’t connect on your first attempt.

Additionally – when you are trying something new take advantage of retailers with excellent return policies, such as Whole Foods and Trader Joes.  Keep the receipt and they are more than happy to take a return on a product that wasn’t right for you.  So you can try it and take it back if it doesn’t work out.

I don’t like “Organic”

High Fructose Corn Syrup – HFCS

Dr. Oz has HFCS listed this as his number 2 of foods to avoid on his Oprah.com food hall of shame…

What’s wrong with it after all?

Consumption of HFCS prevents your brain from making a chemical that enables your brain to signal to your body that you are full, causing you to consumer on average an extra 100 calories.

It is widely used because of it’s highly concentrated sweetness making it less expensive in food manufacturing.

I have virtually eliminated HFCS from the diet of our family. If it’s on the ingredient list I look for an alternative… it is really surprising just how many food products are made using HFCS.

Look for it in Sodas, Breads, Ketchup, Relish, Baked Beans. Syrups, Salad Dressings and my favorite it’s even in Mott’s applesauce… and so on.

If you check the labels – in most cases you will find that one of the brands does not contain HFCS.

http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/health/weightloss/slideshow2_ss_yourbody_20060501/2

High Fructose Corn Syrup – HFCS

Natural First Finger Foods for Infants

During the finger food stage of feeding your little one my favorites are (Organic):

Puffed Wheat

Puffed Kamut (related to wheat) – larger and easier for little hands to grasp

Puffed Brown Rice

Puffed Corn

Brown Rice Cakes – Unsalted

* Don’t forget the fruits and vegetables.  You can cook and chop into small pieces any vegetable or non soft fruit that you might feed them at meal time.

Natural First Finger Foods for Infants

I’m Buying a Cow.

I’m not going to pasture a cow in our backyard, but have I decided that I need to opt out of the mainstream meat production as much as I can.

The first step in “buying our cow” is acquiring a deep freeze.  If you aren’t going to get your meat from the market, you’ll likely be buying it in larger quantities and that will require a freezer.

In an effort to ensure anyone could do this -  I found our deep freeze on craigslist in the free section.  It took a few weeks of steady checking – but one day there it was – an upright, clean, free deep freeze.

I don’t think we’ll buy a whole cow, we don’t eat that much meat – a share will do us nicely.

So why am I doing this?

It’s my belief that the food system in our country is very broken and one of the areas that is of particular concern is the meat industry.  It’s no wonder so many people turn to being vegetarian. About 70% of ground beef in America contains a filler product that is washed with ammonia in order to kill e-coli – it’s time to for a change.

For me and my family that means eating less meat,  higher quality meats and whenever possible – supporting local farmers and ranchers.

Recently, I had an great discussion with a farmer named Xenia, from Rainbow Ranch Farms in San Bernadino, CA.  She used to be a vegetarian – now she has a farm, and on her farm she has  chickens, goats, cows, and 2 dogs.  She raises these animals in the manner that we imagine all the farm animals are raised.  Unfortunately meat we are getting from conventional grocers isn’t raised in this fashion.

Xenia can’t sell to any stores, she can’t sell to whole foods, she can only sell to folks who are shared owners of her farm. The good news is anyone can become a shared owner of her farm or many of the other CSA farmers around the country!

More good news – there are farms that are licensed to sell without requiring a CSA share.  Farms like Lazy 69 Ranch in Central California.  They will ship anywhere, but see if you can’t find a  great ranch like this one close to you.

Don’t think you have a small farm in your area – you’d be surprised.  Spend a few minutes with google or www.localharvest.org.

You can also find  local farmers who sell meat and eggs through the Farmer’s Markets.

I’m Buying a Cow.

Mercury – Why Avoid It?

Why should we be concerned about mercury exposure?

It may seem like an odd question… We keep seeing it in the news, hearing it in our doctor’s offices, but one day I stopped and asked myself, why is it important to avoid mercury?  I did some research and this was the best explanation I came up with:

The nervous system is very sensitive to all forms of mercury.  Methylmercury and metallic mercury vapors are more harmful than other forms, because more mercury in these forms reaches the brain.

Exposure to high levels of metallic, inorganic, or organic mercury can permanently damage the brain, kidneys, and developing fetus. Effects on brain functioning may result in irritability, shyness, tremors, changes in vision or hearing, and memory problems.

From the ATSDR – Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry:

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts46.html#bookmark05

And the EWG says this:
Mercury can damage the neurological development of fetuses and infants. Recent studies have suggested that mercury may also pose a health risk for adults, including an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Mercury – Why Avoid It?

Diva Recipe: Ranch Salad Dressing Recipe

I have been contemplating making my own dressing for some time now – so many store bought are laden with ingredients that are unknown, preservatives I can’t pronounce and additives you don’t really want to eat.   This one is made from ingredients you probably have in your pantry

We used the last of our Maria’s Ranch Dressing – the little ones were happy & busy. I seized the moment.

Ingredients

3/4 cup of light sour cream
3/4 cup of lowfat yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoon of parsley flakes
1 1/2 teaspoon of dried chives 1/2 teaspoon of salt 1 teaspoon of agave or sugar
Squeeze of lemon juice or rice vinegar – maybe 1/2-1 teaspoon

Combine all the ingredients, adjust seasonings to your taste and chill.

I made the recipe in the clean and empty Maria’s jar – so I didn’t even need to mess up a bowl.

Gave my 3 year old a taste and she wanted the whole spoon! She is pretty much exclusively a ranch girl – so we’ll take that as a positive review. It really is delish – if I do say so myself!

Diva Recipe: Ranch Salad Dressing Recipe

Diva Recipe: Homemade Body Butter

Kadi Prescott -  of Girly Gazette – this is for you!

I keep a small tub of this homemade recipe in my car and shared some of it with Kadi Prescott – dynamo mother of 7 children.  Needless to say – she instantly wanted to know how to make it for her sensitive skinned little one.   Because we are both blogging diva’s – instead of emailing the recipe to her I told her I’d kick into gear and get the recipe posted.

All of the ingredients can be easily sourced – but the trickiest may be the beeswax.  You buy it buy the pound so one block will make a lot of lotion!  You can find it at Michael’s for $20 – but I found for less money, not to mention a more trusted source on Local Harvest.

This lotion recipe has 3-4 ingredients, is easy to make and you’ll have the pleasure of knowing every ingredient that went into it.

Diva Honey Citrus Body Butter

2 Tablespoons of Beeswax
1/2 Cup of Grapeseed Oil
2-3 Tablespoons of Distilled Water
10 Drops of Citrus Essential Oil – or to preference

Combine the wax and oil together in a wide mouth jar. Microwave until the wax is almost completely melted.

Use a hand blender to whip – ensure it’s completely submerged for safety reasons!
Slowly add water and continue to aerate, then add fragrance. It will turn white and be thick and goopy.

Allow the lotion to settle for at least 15-20 minutes.

Scoop into a lotion container of your choosing, empty lip balm tubs.

Apply a small amount to any dry spots and enjoy!

Diva Recipe: Homemade Body Butter

Diva Recipe: Vanilla Room Fragrance

Fragrances are a key area of concern for many people trying to reduce their exposure to potentially toxic chemicals and phthalates.  There are numerous articles dedicated to this subject on the EWG website.  My concerns have led dramatically reduce my perfume use – opting instead for pure vanilla and to stop purchasing room fragrances.

The trouble is – it’s still really nice to have a nice room spray to freshen up a room when it’s needed.  This recipe does the trick in our home.

So – now I make my own!  It’s simple, fast and inexpensive.  Anyone can do it and keep their powder room safely fresh.

1/2 Cup of Distilled Water

1 Tablespoon of Vodka

20 drops of Vanilla (or other favorite) Essential Oil

1 Teaspoon of Grapeseed Oil

Combine all the ingredients and store in a glass container for 45 days.  When you think of it – or every 7-10 days shake your concoction.

Once the fragrance has aged – use a funnel to transfer the liquid into a gorgeous atomizing container.

Diva Recipe: Vanilla Room Fragrance

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