RDHQ Podcast 94: Condiments Do's and Don'ts

Rdhq Podcast 94: Condiments Do’s And Don’ts

I want to talk to you about Condiment Do's and Don'ts. So, if you started on a renal diet you may have found out that it can be sometimes bland or taste bland without the salt that you're used to possibly eating.

Don't think it has to be bland. There are ways that you can add flavor and one of those ways is through using condiments. Condiments are things like ketchup, mustard, mayo, spices, blends - all those things. So, I want to take a few minutes and talk to you about different do's and don'ts for condiments so I want you to create delicious food but I want you to be healthy at the same time.

Condiments can be sneaky. Sometimes they can put you off track because you may not realize some of the things that are in the condiments so learn the basics do's and don'ts and I'm going to help you with that to spice up your next meal.

One of the things you can do is to always check the sodium. Check the amount of sodium, look at the label, read the labels, see what it says amount of sodium. Sodium can be sneaky in these products so you may think of things like soy sauce or things that you know are salty but there's other things like barbecue sauce can have a decent amount of salt in it; ketchup can have a decent amount of salt, it can also have a decent amount of sugar in it so just make sure that you're paying attention to how much sodium is in there and when you read a food label its per serving so make sure you're looking at the serving size that's at the top of that Nutrition Facts label it says serving maybe one teaspoon. Make sure that you know you know that you're getting just that amount. So, don't.

Aside from a do let's talk about a don't. So, don't assume that low fat or low calorie is better. Actually, in a lot of ways the regular stuff if you just use a smaller amount can taste just as good. Low-calorie versions of sauces and condiments like mayonnaise are higher in sodium a lot of the times. Obviously, you're gonna read the label but be sure to check the label. Low fat a lot of times they'll replace with salt or other things that may not be as healthy for you so always look at the label. If you want to have a little bit of mayo, read the Mayo for regular Mayo. Use a smaller amount it's probably more flavorful.

Salt taste I know can be really strong so just make sure that when you're using it that you're paying attention to the amount that you're eating and then over time it'll go away but you're just going to have to work through those few maybe weeks while your sodium taste buds flavors go away and you start to be able to taste those other delicious flavors that are in a lot of foods that salt may have covered up.

Back to a Do, do try a seasoning blend instead of a sauce. A lot of times sauces will have sodium, extra fat, those types of things but seasoning and you may know you can go over to Nickanny's Kitchen nickannyskitchen.com. I have three or four seasonings over there that are salt free and make great additions to any meal but any seasoning just make sure when you read it you read the label again looking for salt so you can find some low sodium seasonings. You can use them as a dry rub so putting it directly on like your chicken or your fish. You can mix it with a little bit of lemon juice or oil or vinegar and make a little marinade with that flavoring and then add it to the sauce you know when you're cooking cook it in there. So, use seasonings and sauces.

Sometimes if you can do that but just make sure you're reading their labels for those because a lot of seasonings have salt in them too. So, Don't, don't use tomato-based sauces very often. Tomatoes can be high in potassium and that's one of the things that as you advance in kidney disease, you're gonna essentially have issues with. So, just watch the amount of tomato-based sauces that you use and if  you are using one just use a little less or thin it out with a little bit of a white sauce or a little bit of broth maybe some vegetarian broth that's salt free that you want so it's not as high in potassium.

Do go for fresh. I love fresh herbs. I love using fresh cilantro, fresh basil. They're absolutely salt-free and they're very flavorful. You use a little bit more just because the fresh like when it's dried the flavor is more concentrated but it's also lost some of those extra that makes the fresh taste so much better so freshly chopped or ground herbs will be better than you know potentially getting some salt and dried flakes in a jar but you can add more flavor to foods. I love pizza with you know basil leaf on it. I love to put basil in a lot of things because I love that flavor.

Think about if you love those flavors like rosemary, basil, cilantro. Those are delicious and you can make, you can chop them up and make dressings in the same way I told you just to make a marinade. You can chop up the herbs really fine add a little bit of oil, add a little bit of vinegar, mix it up and use that on your salad or on your chicken for like a nice delicious sauce. As long as it's not like the marinade you need to cook or discard it doesn't it shouldn't have touched the raw meat but it can make a deliciously flavorful sauce to add on to your meat or your vegetables to be just extra delicious.

The last don't is don't lose your imagination. Don't stop thinking about different ways. Don't stop trying new foods. If being on a renal diet shouldn't mean you have a bland diet, it shouldn't mean it's boring. Think about some of those "approved seasonings" like cayenne pepper which is really strong, you just need a little bit, basil, ginger, mustard powder, onion powder, fresh garlic. Those are all great things to put into dishes. I know I talked to a lot of you and a lot of people love onion and garlic. I do have a toasted onion seasoning at  nickannyskitchen.com but you can dice up onions and that can be a seasoning for your burger for example or to add to your food. So, don't forget to try new things, try fresh, try non-salted. Let that sodium flavor kind of take.

Use some other sauces that or other seasonings that can replace that a little bit of salty flavor and work through that period of time when you crave that salt and you miss it but you'll be much healthier on the other side.

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