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You know how sometimes things have to go terribly wrong for things to go terribly right? We panicked when the doctor ordered my husband to ditch salt. Olives? Soy sauce? Parmesan? Gone! Gone! Gone! And with them, all our go-to recipes. Now what? Library card to the rescue! We test drove low-salt cookbooks and stumbled into a world of easy, delicious heart-smart recipes. You’ll find five favorite books below. And since I typically make only a handful of recipes from favorite cookbooks, I could make what wanted from library cookbooks and return them for someone else. Win! Win! Win!
The Heart Disease Cookbook by Katie Reines
A cookbook named “Heart Disease?” Earth to the Rookridge Press! But don’t let the unappetizing name deter you; this informative book was the best of the bunch. Its easy recipes often feature ingredients in surprising combinations. I found myself stocking up on items like hemp seeds, almond butter, beets and nutritional yeast. We barely miss Parmesan cheese thanks to our homemade dairy-free substitute. The Black Forest Cherry-Beet Smoothie, with oats, cacao powder, bananas and Medjool dates, is our new breakfast standby. And one bite of Simple Avocado and Hummus Wraps with homemade tortillas had me crowing, “Winner, winner, chickpea dinner!”
The DASH Diet Cookbook by Mariza Snyder, Lauren Clum and Anna V. Zulaika
Our low-salt journey began with The DASH Diet Cookbook, since it was an e-book available for immediate download. DASH means Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, and this book features a 28-day meal plan plus 140 recipes “designed to make cooking healthy meals delicious and simple, without sacrificing favorite foods and flavors.” Easy. Tasty. Inspiring. Zero deprivation. That’s The DASH Diet Cookbook at it’s best. It's worst? It uses “veggie” instead of vegetable. Ugh! The Tropical Salsa with mango and red pepper transformed leftover brown rice into a show-stopper salad. The Grilled Chicken with Black Bean Salsa is a keeper, too.
The DASH Diet for Beginners by Sonoma Press
All five books in this blog recognize that you’re facing a seismic transition, so they’re designed to help you succeed. The DASH Diet for Beginners doesn’t introduce recipes until chapter 12. It addresses motivation, temptations and good habits. It provides 10 steps for success and describes why the book’s cooking methods create flavorful foods. The Roasted Red Pepper Dip, for example, uses bell peppers, jalapenos and vinegar, all classic building-blocks of no-salt flavor. It’s really a sauce that can be made into a dip by adding a few ingredients. The hardest part is deciding the delicious ways to use it!
The Easy Low-Sodium Diet Plan & Cookbook by Christopher Lower
Christopher Lower had a heart transplant, so he literally feels your pain. “I needed to be able to eat the foods I wanted but make them healthy,” he writes in The Easy Low-Sodium Diet Plan & Cookbook. “I needed to lose the salt without sacrificing the taste.” And he succeeds. One of the best and easiest recipes I tried was the Greek Fish in a Packet, which steams firm fish, sliced fennel, tomatoes, red onion, lemon, garlic and dill in a foil packet. I served it with millet and English Cucumber Salad, which substitutes rosemary for salt in the vinaigrette.
50 Best Plants on the Planet by Cathy Thomas
Psst! This isn’t really a low-salt cookbook. But 50 Best Plants on the Planet is an exceptional guide to use in conjunction with a low-salt lifestyle. And did I mention it’s gorgeous? This book explains not just the nutritional value of powerhouse fruits and vegetables but how to shop for them and how to clean and store them. Tricks you learn in the other books will help you adapt these recipes to your diet. Some excellent recipes, like Chicken Breasts with Pineapple Chutney and Cilantro, don’t need adapting. Breakfast Red Quinoa with Blackberries includes almonds, dried fruit and yogurt. Genius!
About the Author
Barbara Cornell is a Library Associate at the William O. Lockridge Bellevue Neighborhood Library. She grew up in Michigan, where the public library across the street from her house was a first taste of independence. Since then, she has lived in five countries and always finds a home in books. She has two grown sons and lives with her husband in Washington, DC.
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