I was going to write about my meal plan, but I thought that this is a bit more exciting.

Let me talk to you about Herbie’s spice mixes. I’ve always been a big fan of Herbies, and recently they have come out with a range of boxed spice kits, including a Super Salt-Free Kit. They do have a lot more low sodium spice mixes than what’s included in the box though. Herbie’s tagine spice mix only has about 2 mg of sodium per tablespoon and more importantly, it’s very tasty. The dish below is clean-fridge-and-throw-everything-in-a-pot kind of meal, and the spice mix makes it taste like I put a lot more effort than I did. If you don’t have a tagine spice mix, use a Moroccan spice mix and throw in a cinnamon stick while everything is simmering.

Vegetable tagine

2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 – 3 tbsp tagine/Moroccan spice mix
1 carrot, sliced
1 x 400 g can no-salt added diced tomatoes
250 g butternut pumpkin, cut into chunks
100 g French/round beans, cut in half
1 x 400 g can no-salt added chickpeas
2 tbsp no-salt added tomato paste

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, onion and tagine spice mix and sautee until onion is wilted. Add carrot, sautee for a couple of minutes. Bung in the tomatoes, tomato paste and a cup of water (less if you don’t like the sauce to be too runny). Bring to boil, cover and lower heat to simmer for 15 minutes.

Add pumpkin and simmer for about 20 – 30 minutes or until tender. Add beans and chickpeas and simmer for 8 – 10 minutes more or until beans are tender and chickpeas are heated through. Serve with couscous or rice.

This lasts me 5 meals, but if you’re really hungry it would feed four large eaters.

Nutritional information per serve

Approx. sodium count: 24 mg
Approx. calories: 187

The vegetarian diet is going OK except I’m craving steak like crazy. Two more days!

Sweet and sour tofu
Serves 3

300 g Nigari/extra firm tofu, sliced into thick batons
1 tsp low sodium soy sauce (I used Kikkoman)
Thumb size ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Half red capsicum, sliced into strips
Half green capsicum, sliced into strips
Half of a brown onion, sliced
1 small can (225 g) tinned pineapple in juice – drain and reserve 2 tbsp of juice
1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water (optional)

Sauce ingredients:
1 tbsp chilli sauce, preferably low sodium
3 tbsp low sodium tomato sauce (I use Heinz no added salt tomato ketchup)
¼ cup water

Mix together tofu and soy sauce in a bowl, being careful not to break tofu. Let marinate for about 15 minutes.

Heat 1 tsp of oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Stir fry tofu until nicely browned, set aside.

Add another 2 tsp of oil to wok. Fry ginger and garlic until fragrant. Add capsicum and onion, stir fry until vegetables are tender. Add tofu, sauce ingredients, pineapple pieces and reserved pineapple juice. Bring to a simmer. Add cornstarch slurry if you like the sauce thicker. Simmer for a further few minutes until sauce thickens and tofu is heated through. Serve with rice.

Nutritional information per serve

Approx. sodium count: 245 mg
Approx. calories: 298

Notes:

I didn’t use low sodium chilli sauce, which adds about 100 mg of sodium per serve (ouch). To make this dish even lower in sodium, use a teaspoon of chilli paste instead of chilli sauce.

I debated long and hard as to whether to include the picture because I don’t have enough photography skills (or good lighting, or nice cutlery) to make a curry photo look good. White plates are on my list of things to buy, I swear. I’ve included it here anyway… at least it tastes better than it looks?

This recipe is based on the South Indian sambar, a curry dish made of toovar dal. Click here if you want an authentic recipe (including how to make sambar powder from scratch).  I used Herbie’s sambar powder which already includes fenugreek and brown mustard seeds, so I’ve left these out of the fried-herb mix.

Herbie’s sambar powder is not salt-free. This mix has approximately 79 mg of sodium per 5 g (about a tablespoon) – but you don’t need much of it to make a big serving of curry.

Lentil curry
Serves 3 (OK, so I’m pretty crap at estimating ingredients for even numbers of serves)

1/2 cup dried lentils, picked over and rinsed well (I used brown lentils)
Small carrot, diced
Pinch turmeric
1 sprig curry leaves
2 French shallots, sliced thin
1 clove garlic, minced
1-1/2 tbsp Herbie’s sambar powder
Half a cup round beans, trimmed
1 Lebanese eggplant, cut in thick chunks
1 tomato, diced
1 tsp tamarind paste (mine is a ready-to-use tamarind paste in a jar, NOT the one sold in blocks)
1 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped

Place lentils in a saucepan with diced carrot, 2 cups cold water and turmeric. Bring to boil, and then simmer until quite mushy (I cooked mine for about half an hour). Take off heat and set aside.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a clean saucepan. Fry shallot, garlic and curry leaves until fragrant and shallots are brown. Add sambar powder and stir until the powder binds to form a paste. Add beans, eggplants and tomatoes then sautee until vegetables are evenly coated with the sambar paste.

Pour in mushy lentils and simmer for another 10 – 15 minutes, adding more water if it looks too dry. Stir in tamarind paste, then taste and add more if necessary. Stir in chopped coriander leaves and serve with rice.

Nutritional information per serve

Approx. sodium count: 107 mg
Approx. calories: 261

Anyone who knows me know that I’m a total crisps fiend. I’ve had a love affair with the little discs of joy for as long as I can remember, and one of my favourite comfort snacks (after being introduced to it a couple of years ago) is potato crisps and salsa. I like it heaps better than corn chips and salsa, but I’m weird like that.

Once I went low salt I looked for low salt potato crisps – I knew that they’re not very rare because low salt corn chips were relatively easy to find. Well, yes and no. Thomas Chipman low salt potato chips were the only low salt crisps that I can find in Disappointing Woolies, but they’re widely available in all good grocery stores (usually in the health food aisle), gourmet food shops and delis. They’re not very cheap at $3.40 per 100 g pack, then again that’s not a bad thing because it forces me to eat less junk. And they are junk food, just slightly better for you than your bog standard potato crisps. Thomas Chipman chips are certified gluten free, certified organic, cholesterol free, dairy free, vegan and certified halal and kosher. It’s also Australian made and owned if that’s something you look for.

Taste wise these chips are fantastic. Because they’re low in salt, the potato flavour really shines – these are probably the most potato-y crisps I’ve ever had. The chips are also cut slightly thicker than normal potato chips so each serve is very satisfying. The only downside is that the chips are a bit oilier than what I’m used to and it’s high in saturated fat (it’s junk food after all). Despite that I’m a huge fan – so big a fan that I’ve whipped up a salsa recipe just to have with the crisps!

Tomato Salsa
Makes approximately 2 cups

1 clove garlic, crushed
1 Spanish/red onion, finely chopped
2 fresh jalapeno peppers, chopped
1 green capsicum, finely diced
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 400 g can no added salt diced tomatoes
Chilli flakes to taste
1/2 tsp sugar (or to taste)
Dash lemon juice

Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a medium saucepan. Sautee garlic and onion until onions have softened. Add jalapenos and green capsicum. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Add cumin, smoked paprika, tomatoes and chilli flakes. Simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes (less if you like your veggies more crunchy). Stir in sugar and lemon juice – you may need to play around with the amount of sugar and lemon juice to get your preferred sweet/sour balance.

Nutritional information per serve (approx. 1/4 cup, not including crisps)

Approx. sodium count: 4 mg
Approx. calories: 35

Verdict: Can’t talk. Must eat. 4.5 salt shakers

Thomas Chipman Potato Chips nutritional information

Thomas Chipman website.

This recipe was originally from here, but I’ve tweaked it to be slightly healthier and with less sodium. I wasn’t able to find some of the ingredients so I’ve substituted them with stuff I can find at Woolies.

Turkish Bulgur Pilaf with Lamb and Chickpeas
Serves 6

Olive oil
500 g diced lamb – I used Woolworth’s Heart Smart diced lamb
1 onion, thinly sliced
Fresh red chillies, seeds and membranes removed, thinly sliced (I used one long chilli plus a few shakes dried chilli flakes)
2 cups bulgur – coarse bulgur is best for this dish, but I can only find finely ground bulgur and used about 1 ¾ cups
400 g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed – I used Woolworth’s Select no added salt chickpeas
2 tbsp butter – I used Mainland Buttersoft salt-reduced spread
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
1 ½ tsp dried mint
Freshly ground pepper

Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a large deep pot over medium-high heat. Brown lamb on all sides, turn down heat and add 5 cups of water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes. Skim the scum off the surface of the broth if you’re really motivated.

Drain lamb, reserving 3 cups of broth. Place broth in a small saucepan and keep hot. Return the large pot over medium heat – once it dries out add 2 tsp olive oil to heat. Add sliced onion and chillies, cook until onions are slightly soft. Stir in bulgur, then add lamb, chickpeas and hot lamb broth. Bring to a simmer, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until bulgur is tender and have absorbed the broth – my bulgur needed about 15 minutes. Take off heat and leave to rest for about 10 minutes (original recipe had some stuff about draping a tea towel over the pot before covering it again but I didn’t have any tea towels on hand that I’m comfortable with putting over my food).

You’ll need to temper the remaining spices to mix in the pilaf right before serving. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a small pan or saucepan. Add cumin, mint and black pepper. Cook, stirring, for about a minute or until spices are fragrant. The dried mint will smell REALLY strong, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Stir butter mixture into pilaf with a fork. Serve with a dollop of yogurt or tzatziki sauce.

Nutritional information per serve (without yogurt/sauce)

Approx. sodium count: 25 mg (I personally find this hard to believe, but that’s what my nutrition tracker said!)
Approx. calories: 394

This dish will taste a lot better with a fattier cut of lamb and more butter, but I’ll save the more decadent version for a special occasion.

So this weekend was still pretty bad sodium intake-wise, but I’m pretty much on track. I’ve been eating less sodium for breakfast/lunch to prepare myself for a “normal” dinner with the exception of Friday, when I was pretty sure that my lunch pasta was salted even though I requested no salt. It didn’t really help that I overindulged on alcohol, but uh, I’ll get to resolving that in time. I have a hard enough time with reducing salt, OK?

Anyway! This recipe is one that you’d want to make on a weekend and keep in the freezer for fuss-free dinners/lunches throughout the week. I initially served this with soup (salt reduced stock with ginger and sesame oil), but since I found out that “salt-reduced” chicken stock still has a metric arseload of sodium (Campbell’s has 640 mg per cup) I just boil them and serve them with blanched baby bok choy. They taste good either way.

Chicken Wontons
Makes approximately 100 wontons

600 g chicken mince
200 g raw prawns/shrimp, finely minced (I usually have a 1:2 ratio of prawns to chicken but I didn’t have enough on hand)
3 stalks spring onions, thinly sliced
Thumb size ginger, grated
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp cornflour
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 tsp sesame oil
Wonton wrappers (I used Double Merinos brand Shanghai wonton wrappers – 187 mg sodium per 68 g serving/10 wrappers)

Combine all ingredients except for wonton wrappers. Mix well – you may need to use a bit of arm power for this because it will all come together like a firm dough. It might be a bit easier to use a food processor with a dough attachment but frankly I didn’t need the extra washing up. Use about a teaspoon of filling for each wrapper. If you need a bit of help with how to fold a wonton, this page has more wonton folding techniques than you can shake a stick at.

We got the shits with delicate folding and the shapes started to get interesting.

To cook the wontons, chuck wontons in a large pot of boiling water. Wontons are ready when they float to the surface (about 5 – 8 minutes). Serve with blanched greens.

Nutritional information per serve (8 wontons)

Approx. sodium count: 209 mg
Approx. calories: 253

Ugh, had a massive food and alcohol binge last night. Really feeling the after effects of it this morning. Why do I do this to myself?

Anyway, this egg bake recipe (inspired by dishes like this one) is great for long weekend brunches. It takes a bit of effort to prepare, but you can make the mushroom and capsicum sauce in advance. This also makes lots of leftover sauce – you can reuse it for pasta or as a cold dish to have with toasted sourdough.

Look, I never said I was any good at taking photos.

Baked Eggs with Mushrooms and Capsicum
Serves 3 – 4

1 large red capsicum, roasted
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, finely chopped
Mushrooms, diced large (I don’t have an exact measurement, but I think I ended up with about 2 cups… just put in as much as you like)
400 g can no added salt diced tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp sweet paprika
Dash chilli flakes
Optional: Lemon juice

To make roasted capsicum:

Preheat grill to high, shove under grill for about 10 minutes, turning often. The skin will blister and char. Take off heat, cool slightly and place it in a zip lock bag or cover with cling wrap for capsicum to sweat. After about 5 minutes (and cool enough to handle), the skin should just slide off. Here’s a step by step guide because I forgot to take pictures of the process.

Peel skin off capsicum, remove stalk and seeds. They never tell you that there’s going to be liquid in the capsicum if you cook it when it’s still cold from the fridge, so you might want to cut the top off and drain any accumulated juices before spilling it all over the kitchen bench like muggins here. Chop the flesh coarsely and set aside.

Sauce & eggs:

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Heat 2 tsp of olive oil in a wide pan or wok. Sauté garlic and onion over medium heat until onion is soft. Add mushrooms and spices, cook until mushrooms are slightly tender. Add chopped capsicums and tomatoes. Bring to boil, then simmer until thickened. Cool slightly. Season with ground pepper if you like. I didn’t have any lemons on hand, but I think the sauce will taste better with a dash of lemon juice stirred in at this point.

Spoon about 3/4 cup of sauce into a 1 cup capacity ramekin. Make a well in the middle of the mixture (not too deep, about halfway down mixture) and carefully break an egg into each ramekin. I find it easier to break the egg into a cup first and then pour it in. Place ramekins in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes or until cooked to your liking. Serve with toasted low sodium bread and spinach or sliced avocado.

My bread is nowhere near low sodium. Don't tell anyone.

Nutritional information per serve

Approx. sodium count: 76 mg
Approx. calories: 197

I had a good day with my sodium count today – 730 mg despite a shit day that normally triggers emotional eating. Today was in fact so shitacular that I can’t be bothered with cooking anything that requires more effort than putting stuff in a pan and waiting until it gets hot. I also needed to use up all the chicken mince from the other post, hence yet another chicken mince recipe. This recipe is an adaptation of the Kheema Matar recipe from 101 Things.

I need to learn to take better photos.

Spicy chicken mince thing
Serves 2 with leftovers for lunch

1 French shallot, minced (better with brown onion, but I only had shallots)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Thumb size ginger, minced (or grated, but can’t be arsed getting grater out)
400 g chicken mince that you have to use up today or risk food poisoning
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 cardamom pods
As much chilli flakes as you like
2 large tomatoes, diced
3/4 cup frozen peas
1 tsp garam masala

1. Heat 1 tsp canola oil in a deep frying pan over high heat. Briefly sautee shallot, ginger and garlic until fragrant.
2. Add chicken mince and fry until lightly browned. Break up lumps as you go (I didn’t really bother breaking up the mince too much).
3. Add cumin, coriander, turmeric, cardamom and chilli flakes. Stir the whole thing a bit until the kitchen smells nice.
4. Throw in tomatoes with a bit of water. Let simmer for about 15 – 20 minutes, adding more water if it gets too dry. Or you can be like me and only simmer it for 10 because I wanted to watch TV. The chicken will be chewy if you do this, so don’t.
5. Chuck in frozen peas and simmer for about 5 minutes or until thawed and heated through.
6. Stir in garam masala and turn off the heat. Serve with rice or bread.

Would be nicer with chopped fresh coriander leaves and a bit of lemon juice, but I didn’t have any on hand.

Nutritional information (per serve)

Approx. sodium count: 209 mg
Approx. calories (without rice): 357

If you’re a meat-eater, chicken is a great source of protein for a low sodium diet. Chicken naturally contains some sodium (65 mg for 100 g of skinless chicken breast), so you won’t miss the salt too much in an unsalted chicken dish.

I miss stir fries, but I have to admit that my recipes are usually pretty heavy on the salt – I normally use light AND dark soy sauce plus fermented bean paste (teochew/taucu). This is something that I made up that’s still relatively tasty even without my beloved soy sauce. I did fuck up my good work with the sodium by adding oyster sauce, but if you can always substitute with low sodium soy sauce or leave it out altogether.

Chicken mince stir fry
Serves 2

1 French shallot, thinly sliced
1 – 2 cloves of garlic, minced
Thumb size ginger, minced
1 large chilli, sliced thin
1 1/2 cups button mushrooms, sliced
200 g minced chicken breast
1/2 cup salt-reduced chicken stock
Optional: 2 tsp evil oyster sauce (or low-sodium soy sauce)
Optional: dash Chinese rice wine
Corn starch slurry (1 tsp corn starch + some water)
3 stalks spring onion, green bits only, cut in inch lengths on the diagonal (you can use the thinly sliced white bits to sub for French shallot)

1. Heat 1 tsp vegetable or canola oil in a wok over high heat.
2. Stir fry chicken mince until it browns slightly, set aside. Lower heat to medium-high (you may need to add a bit more oil at this point).
3. Bung in shallot, garlic and ginger until fragrant and golden brown. Throw in chilli slices and stir fry for a few seconds.
4. Add mushrooms, stir fry until mushrooms are just cooked.
5. Add cooked mince, chicken stock, oyster/soy sauce and chinese wine. Bring to a simmer.
6. Stir in corn starch slurry, bring to boil and simmer until sauce is nice and thick.
7. Stir in spring onion until just wilted. Serve with rice.

Hopefully it will look like this, but better.

Nutritional information (per serve)

Approx. sodium count: 446 mg
Approx. sodium count without evil oyster sauce: 227 mg WTFFFF
Approx. calories (without rice): 250

Let that be a lesson to you: oyster sauce is evil and must be avoided or used very sparingly in a low sodium diet.