The 20 saltiest foods in America

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One of the reasons most people don't notice all the salt is that we as a country have become so used to it. Prepacagked food is so high in salt it is scarry at times. Once I started reading lables my cooking and eating habits, for the most part, changed. Micro-meals, nope.... frozen heat and serve dinners, not any more...and casseroles made with cream-of-anything soup, outta here.

If I am going to consume salt and fat I'd rather choose when I indulge. And I do indulge at times :rolleyes:. But I've been trying to cook more and more from scratch.
 
I always thought when one ate at a chain restaurant, even some of the better ones, it was assumed that sodium content was higher. With all the processed sauces and pre-marinated, processed chicken it's a chance we take when we eat out at these places. I got a salad from McDonald's ONCE and I will never get another one. I think it was the Asian salad? The dressing was horrible along with the chicken - both laden with preservatives!

Now, if you go to a more privately owned, finer dining restaurant, it's not near as bad as most everything should be made from scratch. Though canned goods are still used in a lot of dishes the sauces should be preservative free.
 
I always thought when one ate at a chain restaurant, even some of the better ones, it was assumed that sodium content was higher. With all the processed sauces and pre-marinated, processed chicken it's a chance we take when we eat out at these places. I got a salad from McDonald's ONCE and I will never get another one. I think it was the Asian salad? The dressing was horrible along with the chicken - both laden with preservatives!

Now, if you go to a more privately owned, finer dining restaurant, it's not near as bad as most everything should be made from scratch. Though canned goods are still used in a lot of dishes the sauces should be preservative free.

I thought that, too, Elf. That's just another reason why I avoid them like the plague. I remember many years ago, stopping at an Arby's when they were new. I couldn't believe they didn't use real beef in their sandwiches. That pressed beef is even nastier than the plastic chicken/turkey sold in so many places! :ohmy: not to mention the sodium content.....
 
I love my salt, but the sodium count ( and calorie count) in some of those dishes in incredible!!!

I had to recently explain to a friend of mine why I take the time to make my own fish on the grill rather than buy the pre packaged ones in the freezer section. He swore that they had to be low salt because he couldnt taste alot of sodium in the dish.....until we went food shopping and I took my flounder from the fish monger down the road...and we went to Shop rite and he got his "fish fillets" and saw 550 MG..... ahhh the wonders of processed foods.
 
I had to recently explain to a friend of mine why I take the time to make my own fish on the grill rather than buy the pre packaged ones in the freezer section. He swore that they had to be low salt because he couldnt taste alot of sodium in the dish.....until we went food shopping and I took my flounder from the fish monger down the road...and we went to Shop rite and he got his "fish fillets" and saw 550 MG..... ahhh the wonders of processed foods.


In siome ways these lists are misleading because they are measuring sodium content and not salt.

While salt adds sodium to food, so do many other things, primarily preservatives and flavor enhancers. So something might not taste overtly salty, but could have very high levels of sodium in it.
 
I'm reminded of a line from Futurama. "That's the saltiest thing I ever tasted...and I once ate a big, heaping bowl of salt!"
 
however, some of the suggestions in the list for how to make it healthier are stupid. like many nutritionists, they miss the point of why we choose to eat something.

for instance, how about the rigatoni romano. that's rigatoni with sausage and a cheesey sauce. their suggestion was to have plain sauce and chicken. well, then why order rigatoni romano?
or have a steak instead of having beef stroganoff, in the beef category. they're not the same thing. why would i order a hunk o' beef if i wanted it with gravy and noodles?

for the chinese food, it says to skip the fried rice with the beef and broccoli. ok, i thought they were seperate dishes to begin with.

and never eat fajitas at any cost, anywhere.

men's health needs better editors.

Agreed Bucky the problem is not fajitas the problem is presevative laden fajitas....

I think all of these preservatives are one of the reasons I tend to start feeling crummy if I eat out too much which is one of the reasons I started cooking in the first place.

I see nothing wring with indulging in tasty food that has high salt and fat on occassion as long as I balance my diet out.... I am not going to worry about salt when it comes to olives or genoa salami but of course these are things to be consumed in moderation.

The problem with these chain joints is that they are feeding you processed industrial product not fresh food. A piece of chicken should be a piece of chicken not a byproduct of NASAs food research.
 
The problem with these chain joints is that they are feeding you processed industrial product not fresh food. A piece of chicken should be a piece of chicken not a byproduct of NASAs food research

You know, there IS an alternative if Americans will take it.. There are (or perhaps in some areas "used to be" is a better term) independent restaurants -- not all of which are high end -- where one can still get a fantastic meal at reasonable (considering the high cost of everything) prices.

Why is it so many folks are so enamored with the Dominos',Olive Gardens', TGI Fridays', and Red Lobsters of the world? I've never gotten that. :huh:
 
Chef June, I think that so many people are stressed out at the end of the day that's it's so easy to drop in or pick up the phone....living here...there is no fast food or delivery...that doesn't mean that they don't use salt, however, but many places here will take it off if you ask....but you don't have that back-up here----you want pizza you're going to hike for it........and with snow and cold temps most of the year you think twice about it
 
Agreed Bucky the problem is not fajitas the problem is presevative laden fajitas....

The site said this about the fajitas: "Here are a few offenders to choke on: fried chicken, Buffalo sauce, blue cheese, smoked bacon, ranch dressing, and sour cream. All make this the sodium equivalent of single-handedly downing three and a half baskets of Chili's bottomless tostada chips. Add rice and beans and you've just ordered 3 days' worth of sodium and an entire day of calories. If you're salt-sensitive, avoid fajitas--any kind of fajitas--at all costs."


Just curious - why would restaurants need to use preservatives in their food? It would seem to me that they get deliveries often enough that preservatives would not be necessary.
 
ChefJune, I get what you're saying, but in Metro NY, you likely have thousands of choices, whereas some people in remote areas don't. Sometimes those chains are all there is to choose from, unless you are lucky and have a family run outfit in your town. Most food service products contain highly processed ingredients, period. Labor prevents most from doing EVERYTHING the old fashioned way, no matter how hard they try. You can only work so many hours before something's gotta give, and that's where it starts.

Chains are not my first pick either, but even in a small city like Green Bay, there are more of those than indies, believe it or not. And then even a couple of our local outfits are marketing themselves like chains or sports bars, which is a whole 'nother rant. I do think food servie
 
I'm reminded of a line from Futurama. "That's the saltiest thing I ever tasted...and I once ate a big, heaping bowl of salt!"

Hahahaaa!!! I love Futurama!

I'm constantly surprised by how many people still live off processed foods. The UK has soooo many ready-meals and they are all just loaded with sodium. One of the main reasons I don't enjoy eating out more often is because I can't see what went into my dinner! :ermm:
 
ChefJune, I get what you're saying, but in Metro NY, you likely have thousands of choices, whereas some people in remote areas don't. Sometimes those chains are all there is to choose from, unless you are lucky and have a family run outfit in your town. Most food service products contain highly processed ingredients, period. Labor prevents most from doing EVERYTHING the old fashioned way, no matter how hard they try. You can only work so many hours before something's gotta give, and that's where it starts.

Chains are not my first pick either, but even in a small city like Green Bay, there are more of those than indies, believe it or not. And then even a couple of our local outfits are marketing themselves like chains or sports bars, which is a whole 'nother rant. I do think food servie

What I'm saying, Andrea, is that there used to be small mom and pop restaurants everywhere, before the chains came in and out advertised them and made folks believe they were DA BOMB, when in fact, they were the bomb, but not in a good way! :ermm:
 
Just curious - why would restaurants need to use preservatives in their food? It would seem to me that they get deliveries often enough that preservatives would not be necessary.


Many of those chain restaurants use processed food.

I think that's one of the points June makes.
 
You know, there IS an alternative if Americans will take it.. There are (or perhaps in some areas "used to be" is a better term) independent restaurants -- not all of which are high end -- where one can still get a fantastic meal at reasonable (considering the high cost of everything) prices.

Why is it so many folks are so enamored with the Dominos',Olive Gardens', TGI Fridays', and Red Lobsters of the world? I've never gotten that. :huh:

independent restaurants in general I believe are a better bet from the health standpoint (with the exception of all the pizza/wings/steaks places around here that use pretty much processed everything) I certainly feel better about eating in them.

People like the big chains because they are easy and predictable. I will admit on occassion I find them useful... when you have a big group of people or have been driving all day and just need to pull off the road to grab a bite and are not really up for exploring. They definitley fill a void. The occasional meal of preservative laced chickenbreast wont kill you it is making them a regular part of life.... I mean I like a big mac or a sack of white castle on occassion too but not everyday.

There are so many processed pre-made foods in the supermarket as well. I have no problem with convinience foods being used in a pinch but I think too many people take them for granted without thinking.

Growing up we ate almost nothing packaged (except baked goods mom sucked at that) never health food either nothing skim or light just food. Plenty of meats and cheeses etc. If we ate out it was usually at a local bar diner or italian joint and yeah on occassion we had mc donalds becase somewhere inbetween working full time and going to grad scool and holding down 2nd jobs sometimes the parents just couldn't get dinner on the table but that was rare. I see so many people feeding thier familes on fast food it is sad.

I was suprised to see Macaroni Grill top the list I wouldn't have guessed them the worst. I have a particular dislike of Chillis and Crapplebees for this type of restaurants and a fondness for Dennys and I-HOP
 
Many of those chain restaurants use processed food.

I think that's one of the points June makes.

I know, but there are lots of ways to process food, and not all of them are bad - pasteurizing milk, for instance, or freezing vegetables. So I'm wondering why restaurants would need to use preservatives in their food. I don't think "processed" automatically means "preservatives added."
 
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I know, but there are lots of ways to process food, and not all of them are bad - pasteurizing milk, for instance, or freezing vegetables. So I'm wondering why restaurants would need to use preservatives in their food. I don't think "processed" automatically means "preservatives added."

Restaurants buy a lot of pre-made, pre-processed food that already has preservatives and stabilizers added. They don't always make their dishes from fresh ingredients.
 
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Restaurants buy a lot of pre-made, pre-processed food that already has preservatives and stabilizers added. They don't always make their dishes from fresh ingredients.

All restaurants?


Not sure what I'm supposed to be looking for here.

Also those big chains pre make thier foods they do not employ Chefs much of the food is pre-cooked bagged up and shipped unbagged heated

Howstuffworks "Mass-produced Food"

It seems to me you are implying that all restaurants use preservatives, which is specifically what I was asking about. If you're talking about fast-food restaurants, then you need to say that.
 
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