Type of Food & Selected
              Good Choices

Fresh unseasoned Meat, Poultry, Fish

Use lean meats without added salt which you cook yourself.

Frozen, if unseasoned.

Low salt cheeses.  Some Swiss cheese

Breads  ( Pick a bread ≤ 125 mg/ slice)

Starches & Cereals

Uncooked noodles & rice. Potatoes-plain

(Shredded wheat ≤ 5mg)

(Regular oatmeal, or “lightly cooked”)

Fruits & Vegetables

(All fresh fruit and vegetables. All frozen vegetables unless salty sauce)

For salad dressing: olive oil & vinegar

Fats

Olive oil, canola oil, unsalted nuts

Soups

Spices

Black pepper

Herbs- basil, oregano, cilantro, etc

Mrs Dash- multiple flavors & marinades

Dried chili peppers

Cosalt, Lite salt –dangerous if started  without physician giving specific OK.

Remind physician if new med started.

(These are potassium salts and can be a problem with certain blood pressure meds or medical conditions.)

              Foods to Avoid                 

Salted, smoked, cured, or canned meat.

Luncheon meats. ( Bologna , bacon, Canadian bacon, chipped beef, corned beef, kosher meat, sausage, ham, turkey or chicken franks, frozen precooked meals.) Some shellfish.  

Precooked meats.

Most cheeses are quite salty.

Salted crackers, chips (look at serving size & sodium content

Instant seasoned rice, noodle. Stuffing mixes.  Instant oatmeal

Canned vegetables and beans, pickled vegetables, sauerkraut, tomato & V8 juice, salad dressings

Bacon fat, salt pork, gravy (including prepackaged and prepared with bouillon)

Bouillon cubes, canned soups, or broths

Salt, sea salt, seasoning salts “Lite Salt”, onion salt, garlic salt, lemon pepper, BBQ sauce, soy sauce, mustard, ketchup, meat tenderizers, olives, pickles, salted nuts

Water softeners usually only 13mg per glass which is not much sodium. Very “hard” water initially can result in much more sodium being added. Check locally in this situation.