Low Sodium Chili

Doing this low sodium diet can be such a challenge especially when dining out.  Most often, I will simply order a green salad with vinaigrette dressing.  That's usually the safest route.  I get really excited if the restaurant offers the option of a fruit side dish.  Sometimes I will add grilled chicken breast to the salad and hope that it's not too salty.  Mostly, I just compensate by balancing the daily sodium intake.  That means I eat almost no sodium before I dine out so that I can eat the foods with the extra salt.

I like chili but I will almost never order it from a restaurant because I have no idea how much sodium is in it.  I do make it at home fairly often because it's so easy to make and saves well.  I found a recipe I like and I altered it to keep the sodium low.  It's also low fat if you use lean meat.

This recipe is not too spicy because I don't like hot chili.  Add more spices if you do, but this is a good basic chili recipe.

LOW SODIUM CHILI:

Ingredients:
1 pound ground meat
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
2 cloves minced garlic
1 can (14 oz) low sodium diced tomatoes
1 can (15 oz) low sodium red kidney beans
1 can (8 oz) low sodium tomato sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Preparation:
In large saucepan, cook meat, onions, and pepper and drain.  Stir in tomatoes, beans, tomato sauce, and spices.  Bring to boil and reduce heat.  Cover and simmer 20 minutes.  Makes 5 cups.

Three Bean Salad

I know that it's not summer, far from it, but I enjoy summer salads year round.  I like to eat them with a sandwich for lunch; that way I get my third vegetable serving of the day (which I shamefully admit doesn't happen too often).  Potato salad, pasta salad, and coleslaw are a few of my other year-round lunch favorites.  I'll share some of those recipes with you later :-)

If you take all the shortcuts for this recipe, it should take you less than 10 minutes to prepare.  The hard part is waiting for the salad to chill for at least 4 hours before eating it.  I believe that it's well worth the wait.  This is one of the staples at my family's gatherings.  We almost always have a dish of it at every occasion, even Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.  Enjoy!

THREE BEAN SALAD

Ingredients:
1 can (16 oz) low sodium garbanzos, rinsed & drained
1 can (16 oz) low sodium kidney beans, rinsed & drained
1 cup cut green beans (I use the frozen kind)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper (I use the frozen kind)
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 clove garlic, minced (I use the kind in the jar)

Preparation:
In a large bowl, combine beans, onions, and green peppers. 

In a small bowl, whisk vinegar, sugar, celery salt, mustard, and garlic.  Then add oil and whisk together.  Pour over bean mixture and toss to coat. 

Cover and chill in refrigerator for 4 to 24 hours.