Get the Salt Out (69 page)

437
Another quick lunch is a Mushroom Broccoli Cheese Muffin, which is a meal in itself;
it serves as a wonderful substitute for a sandwich when you are on the run. If you plan ahead by making a batch of the following muffins ahead of time and then freezing them, you have a ready-to-eat complete meal with each muffin, which you can grab whenever you need. Note that even though the following recipe contains cheese and a small amount of regular butter, one muffin still provides only about one-fifth the sodium found in a regular fast-food burger. (If you want to reduce the sodium content of the muffins further, however, just substitute unsalted butter or olive oil and sodium-reduced cheese in the recipe.) This creative idea and recipe comes from
Smart Muffins
by Jane Kinderlehrer.
Two Salt Shakers.

Combine the broccoli and cheese and set aside. Sauté the onions and mushrooms in the butter. Stir in the 2 tablespoons of pastry flour and add ½ cup of water. Cook slowly until the sauce thickens.

In a mixing bowl or food processor, blend together the eggs, wheat germ, remaining flour, pepper, and oregano.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Oil 12 regular-size muffin cups and sprinkle the sesame seeds on the bottom of each.

Combine the broccoli-cheese mixture with the other mixture and spoon into the muffin cups. Top each with a sprinkle of sesame seeds (and a pinch of cheese, if desired). Bake for 20 minutes.
Makes 12 muffins.

438
Consider purchasing a small cooler
so, you can take low-sodium cold or perishable foods to work with you. (A cooler is especially helpful if you live in a warm climate.) A few ideas of tasty cold lunch items you can carry in a cooler are: Fresh Herbal Tabouli (in tip 202); Salt-Free Sauerkraut (in tip 203); vinaigrette-marinated vegetables; bean salads; salad fixings and salad dressings (like the Reduced Calorie Ranch Dressing in tip 217); vegetable sticks and dip; hard-boiled eggs; cold cooked chicken, turkey, or beef slices; and even leftover Turkey Sausage Pizza (in tip 301).
One to Three Salt Shakers.

439
Carry along low-sodium bottled water with you.
This tip may not seem important, but it is, particularly when you unknowingly consume more sodium than you should while eating on the run. Remember, low-sodium water flushes the system of excess salt and helps to prevent bloating and weight gain from retaining excess water. In addition, bottled water tastes better than tap water, so you’ll be apt to drink more of it. It’s also better for you. One of the best preventive measures to get the unhealthy salt out of your system (and one of the healthiest
habits in general) is to drink low-sodium bottled (or filtered) water frequently throughout the day.
One Salt Shaker.

440
If you’re traveling by car,
bring some low-sodium meals and snacks with you to avoid grabbing salty foods on the run. If you have a cooler, pack homemade turkey or roast beef sandwiches (or any of the other low-sodium sandwich suggestions from the section Sandwich Fixings in
chapter 6
). If you don’t have a cooler, take along sandwiches made with unsalted peanut butter. These are simple meals that give you plenty of staying power.

441
When you’re out of town
(particularly if you don’t know the area well), it can be a challenge to know where to eat. When in doubt, go to basic, medium-priced restaurants in the major hotel chains. You’ll usually have much more luck getting low-salt meals there than you will if you try trendy, independent restaurants. Hotel restaurants tend to feature more simple, basic meals, and they usually do their best at honoring special requests if they are able to. When you’re on the road, remember that in most cases hotel restaurants are better equipped to prepare food to order. Particularly if the hotel has room service, the restaurant usually has a full kitchen and staff that can fix food a number of different ways to cater to its many guests.

BONUS TIP:
Don’t forget to take your traveling salt shaker with you on trips. At times, foods that are prepared without salt may need a little seasoning, but you certainly don’t want to use common table salt. Carry along healthy salt with you and feel free to add a dash to bland food without feeling guilty.

442
If you’re traveling by plane,
order a special low-salt meal. Most of the major airlines in the United States now have a policy in which no MSG is added to any of their special meals, and that includes the low-sodium or low-salt entrée. Call your airline carrier to be sure of its policy, and place your order directly through the airline or through your travel agent every time you reserve your ticket. If you’re sensitive to salt or MSG, taking the time to order a special meal just may prevent you from developing uncomfortable bloating, an allergic headache, or other troublesome symptoms while traveling. To prevent any mishaps, double-check on your special meal a day before your departure.