Get the Salt Out (53 page)

332
Better yet, snack on unsalted pretzels
such as the organic whole wheat and 9-grain pretzels offered by Barbaras, another brand you can find in health food stores. If you don’t like unsalted pretzels plain, try them with a little unsalted mustard.
One Salt Shaker.

333
Buy unsalted, air-popped popcorn,
or for fresher flavor, air-pop your own. Drizzle it with a little heart-healthy oil like unrefined flaxseed oil or canola oil, and experiment with salt-free seasonings to vary the flavor. To make popcorn savory, try sprinkling it with garlic powder, onion powder, herbs of your choice, or any salt-free vegetable seasoning.
One Salt Shaker.

334
To make your popcorn sweet,
add a few dashes of cinnamon.
One Salt Shaker.

335
To make it hot and spicy,
lightly sprinkle with curry powder, cayenne pepper, or salt-free chili powder.
One Salt Shaker.

336
To add a slightly salty taste,
shake on a few dashes of powdered kelp or dulse (see tips 60, 61).
Two Salt Shakers.

337
To give popcorn a buttery flavor,
sprinkle it with
nutritional yeast, a powdered food supplement you can find in health food stores.
One Salt Shaker.

338
Like commercial popcorn, standard corn tortilla chips can be incredibly salty.
They also can be undesirably greasy. Try some of the new lines of tortilla chips that are baked, not fried, and that contain no oil at all. Many of these brands (Unsalted Baked Tostitos, for one) come in unsalted versions that are sodium-free. Some of my clients are pleased to find out that they don’t need salt on chips; they just like the crunch.
One Salt Shaker.

339
If unsalted chips are too plain for you,
dip them in lively, low-sodium salsa. This is a great way to put extra salt-free flavor in your diet at the same time you get the health benefits of eating fresh vegetables. For a quick easy-to-make dip, try this simple salsa recipe from my book
Super Nutrition for Women. One Salt Shaker.

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and chill in the refrigerator before serving.
Makes about 1 cup.

340
Another tasty way to serve tortilla chips is with freshly made (warm) Refried Beans.
(See tip 263.)
One Salt Shaker.

341
Instead of pretzels, chips, or popcorn, nibble on unsalted nuts,
nature’s nutrient-rich snack foods. I find it a shame that during our country’s fat-free craze, nuts are one of
the foods that Americans have been told to avoid. Nuts are wonderful foods that can keep you going for hours. They’re good sources of protein and healthy fats and rich in nutrients such as potassium and magnesium, in which Americans are often deficient. Nuts satiate the appetite so well that they are the ideal solution for some of my clients who devour entire bags of fat-free chips and still feel hungry. When those same clients snack on unsalted nuts instead of chips, they find they need just a few to be satisfied. I recommend nuts as heart-healthy snack foods that can be eaten in moderation. If you don’t like nuts plain, buy unsalted, dry-roasted nuts in supermarkets.
One Salt Shaker.