Do you check food labels for sodium content?

[Andy M.]

In an earlier post, I stated I don't check sodium content. Typically I don't because I buy ingredients rather than processed foods. Fruits and veggies in their natural state, no sodium added and unprocessed meats.

I typically don't buy packaged foods other than breads and occasional items. If I buy canned chicken broth to tide me over between batches of homemade, I go for the low sodium as It makes salt control in a recipe easier.

I do use salt. It makes food taste better and I'll take all the help I can get. Like most things, moderation is key.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

JPB, I rinse my green olives in cold water, replace in the jar and drain and refill with cold water once a day x 3 days. This is really good at removing the excess salt and lets the good olive taste come through.

 

[Timothy]

I do use salt. It makes food taste better and I'll take all the help I can get. Like most things, moderation is key.

I hear you Andy. For years, I was out of control with many additives that are bad for the body. I poured salt on like it was mana from heaven!

I've found that now, with the much reduced amount of salt I eat, when I do add some to a meal, it takes very little to add a fantastic flavor to the food!

Moderation; a concept that so many avoid.

 

[Dawgluver]

JPB, I rinse my green olives in cold water, replace in the jar and drain and refill with cold water once a day x 3 days. This is really good at removing the excess salt and lets the good olive taste come through.

That's brilliant, PF. Do they last as long as the original olives?

 

[vitauta]

JPB, I rinse my green olives in cold water, replace in the jar and drain and refill with cold water once a day x 3 days. This is really good at removing the excess salt and lets the good olive taste come through.

best tip i've gotten in many months!! pf, my sweet enabler, thank you--loving those olives even more now!!

 

[justplainbill]

Thanks for the tip PF60. Wonder if it would work with Kalamatas.

 

[Hammster]

I don't check the levels on most meat from the butcher case unless it's a cured or brined product where it's likely extra sodium has been added. I look for no, or low, sodium products whenever I buy canned type things. I can find no sodium canned tomatoes, low sodium beans, things of that nature so I don't read the sodium content on those. I do tend to check sodium content on canned beef broth as that one often seems to be high, generally speaking. I always buy the one with the lowest sodium. I always buy unsalted butter so I don't check sodium level there.
Nearly everything has some level of naturally occurring sodium, so what you are really looking for is no, or minimal, sodium added items.

 

[Katie H]

No, not really, but we consume very little pre-packaged or processed foods. Nearly everything in our house is made from scratch, including all of our bread products. We have a large garden during the summer and a great deal of what comes from that is either canned or frozen. I haven't bought commercially-canned tomato sauce in too many years to count.

On the other hand, I shop for my mother-in-law (she's unable to get out) and I can't tell you how many times I've had to ask a store clerk for assistance in finding some item on her list. Always a boxed or packaged item. Shopping for her has been a real education. I didn't know some of that boxed stuff existed. And, to me, most of it is so expensive.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I check the nutrition labels on everything I buy, not just for sodium, either. I'm also looking at the quantity of fat and carbohydrates, and especially looking for trans fats and high fructose corn syrup. I don't care what the Corn Refiners Association says, although cane sugar, beet sugar, maple sugar, agave nectar, sorghum, molasses, and corn sugar all contain the same number of calories, 16 per tsp, the human body does not recognize HFCS as a sugar, but as a fat, and treats it accordingly.

BTW, sorry to disagree with Andy, but I believe that nothing that is naturally occurring in the product, such as sodium in beef, needs to be listed on the nutrition label. None of the raw meat I buy from Omaha Steaks even has a nutrition label on it, because nothing has been added to it. Prepared items from them, however, have nutrition labels. So if your ground beef chub lists sodium on the nutrition label, it has most likey been added. If you want to know why, I'd say email the manufacturer. They're always happy to hear from consumers. You might even get some really good coupons out of the deal. I certainly have. I got 10 bucks worth of coupons from Oroweat and a check for $9.00 from Land-O-Lakes.

 

[Andy M.]

...
BTW, sorry to disagree with Andy, but I believe that nothing that is naturally occurring in the product, such as sodium in beef, needs to be listed on the nutrition label. None of the raw meat I buy from Omaha Steaks even has a nutrition label on it, because nothing has been added to it. Prepared items from them, however, have nutrition labels. So if your ground beef chub lists sodium on the nutrition label, it has most likey been added. If you want to know why, I'd say email the manufacturer. They're always happy to hear from consumers. You might even get some really good coupons out of the deal. I certainly have. I got 10 bucks worth of coupons from Oroweat and a check for $9.00 from Land-O-Lakes.

No issues with someone's disagreeing with me, but I'm not sure what you're disagreeing with. I wasn't promoting labeling of raw foods.

My statement about ground beef containing sodium naturally came from the USDA nutrition database.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

That's brilliant, PF. Do they last as long as the original olives?

I'm not sure, we end up eating them very fast without all the salt.

best tip i've gotten in many months!! pf, my sweet enabler, thank you--loving those olives even more now!!

I love olives, so I had to find a way to make them available to me, I also rinse my sweet relish to remove all the syrup, still tastes like sweet relish, but better for my sugars.

Thanks for the tip PF60. Wonder if it would work with Kalamatas.

You are Welcome. I'm not sure about Kalamatas and I'm going to try a can of regular black olives before I do the Kalamatas. They may not need as much soak time and I do use filtered water. I'll go do a can now and report back.

 

[taxlady]

I'm not sure, we end up eating them very fast without all the salt
...

I'll have to try this with only some of my olives. I buy stuffed, green olives in a 2 litre jar and kalamatas in a 3 litre container.

 

[vitauta]

I'll have to try this with only some of my olives. I buy stuffed, green olives in a 2 litre jar and kalamatas in a 3 litre container.

oh wow, two and three liter olive jars, taxlady? and i thought i was an glutton for olives! how long do 2-3 liters of olives last you, if you don't mind my asking?

 

[taxlady]

oh wow, two and three liter olive jars, taxlady? and i thought i was an glutton for olives! how long do 2-3 liters of olives last you, if you don't mind my asking?

I'm not sure how long they last, but a long time. Months and months. I like to know I won't run out

We use them as an ingredient. Even my DH, who really dislikes olives, will add them to pasta sauce. They are also the "secret ingredient" in my humus.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

My black olives have 95 mg sodium to 1 serving which is 3 large olives

They are soaking now. I'll check them tonight and do another soak if they need it.

 

[vitauta]

My black olives have 95 mg sodium to 1 serving which is 3 large olives

They are soaking now. I'll check them tonight and do another soak if they need it.

ooh, oooh--i need to check my manzanilla olives (again) too!!!

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

My statement about ground beef containing sodium naturally came from the USDA nutrition database.

I'm not disagreeing with that statement. I agree that there is some nautrally occurring sodium in beef. What I am disagreeing with is that nautrally occurring nutrients, such as sodium, are listed on the packaging. I believe the sodium listed in the nutritional information panel on the beef she bought is there because it was added to the beef by the packager.

 

[Dawgluver]

I see what you're saying. A beef roast, say, does not list ingredients unless it's one of the marinated ones. Fresh vegetables don't list additional ingredients. Will have to look at a ground beef chub. We get fresh ground beef, and all it says is ground beef/chuck/etc.

 

[PattY1]

I see what you're saying. A beef roast, say, does not list ingredients unless it's one of the marinated ones. Fresh vegetables don't list additional ingredients. Will have to look at a ground beef chub. We get fresh ground beef, and all it says is ground beef/chuck/etc.

What is a chub?View attachment 12408

 

[Dawgluver]

What is a chub?

Those rolls of ground beef wrapped in plastic. They're usually packaged off-site and may come frozen. They look like a huge sausage. Think Jimmy Dean sausage, but with GB. I think that was what Vit was referring to. I buy my GB on the styrofoam tray covered in plastic wrap that they grind at the store.