My Love Affair is Over

[Barbara L]

My love affair with canned cream of mushroom soup, that is. I have always known there is a lot of sodium in canned soups, but it was just one of those things that I put up with, as I liked to cook with cream of mushroom soup. Well, last night I used cream of mushroom soup in my meal, as I have done for many years, and it was so salty that I just didn't enjoy my meal. That was the only salt in the meal, so I decided to take a look at the nutrition information on the side of the can. I knew it would be bad, but I didn't know HOW bad it would be. In one-half cup (straight from the can, not diluted) there are 880 mg of sodium, which is 37% of the daily value of sodium. YIKES! My blood pressure practically went up just reading the label!

 

[Midnight_Merlot]

*tune of Smurfs* (with fingers in ears, &, eyes wide-shut) "La-la-la-lah-la-luh...-la-lah-la-la-luh"...Please, I beg of you...PLEASE don't make me have to "give up" my beloved cream of 'shroom soup!! *sniffles*...I know me VERY WELL, &, I think that "me" is also goiing to NOW give a "peek" at the label...*sobs*

 

[PrincessFiona60]

My love affair with canned cream of mushroom soup, that is. I have always known there is a lot of sodium in canned soups, but it was just one of those things that I put up with, as I liked to cook with cream of mushroom soup. Well, last night I used cream of mushroom soup in my meal, as I have done for many years, and it was so salty that I just didn't enjoy my meal. That was the only salt in the meal, so I decided to take a look at the nutrition information on the side of the can. I knew it would be bad, but I didn't know HOW bad it would be. In one-half cup (straight from the can, not diluted) there are 880 mg of sodium, which is 37% of the daily value of sodium. YIKES! My blood pressure practically went up just reading the label!

My sodium limit is 1000mg/day...I have to be very careful! Watching the sodium in the chocolate...yikes!

 

[Barbara L]

*tune of Smurfs* (with fingers in ears, &, eyes wide-shut) "La-la-la-lah-la-luh...-la-lah-la-luh"...Please, I beg of you...PLEASE don't make me have to "give up" my beloved cream of 'shroom soup!! *sniffles*...I know me VERY WELL, &, I think that "me" is also goiing to NOW give a "peek" at the label...*sobs*

Believe me, it's a shocker!

 

[Midnight_Merlot]

Believe me, it's a shocker!

True enough Barb, I sure do "trust" you, but...*sniffles*....WHY OH WHY did you HAVE to check that label???? I was quite content being ignorant. Now, though, its not going to be an option!! I grew up on the stuff! Love it dearly too! But, like you, BP is also something that needs "watched"....my poor, poor little soup that I have used for YEARS on end, must now be "evaluated"....*shucks - kicks foot*

 

[Somebunny]

Interesting that you mention this tonight Barb, as my DH used a can on the pork chops tonight and I found them very salty. I admit that I really never thought the sodium would be that high in a can of soup. Oh dear me!

Sent from my iPhone using Cooking

 

[Zhizara]

Horrors! Now we'll have to create a replacement.

I'm thinking an extra thick white sauce as the base?

What do you think?

I suppose this means all the rest of the cream of soups are just as doomed.

Need more coffee!

 

[Zereh]

Watching your sodium intake has about 1% to do with what comes out of your salt shaker. It's the other 99% that comes out of a can / box / bag / jar / drive-through / takeout container that needs to be monitored closely.

 

[Rocklobster]

Campbell's makes a sodium reduced line of canned soups. I've never read the actual numbers, but I've seen the cans....

 

[pacanis]

Barbara, do you think they have raised the sodium level, or are you developing a sensitive taste towards it?

 

[Zhizara]

Barbara, do you think they have raised the sodium level, or are you developing a sensitive taste towards it?

I know you asked Barbara, but I have noticed that as I get older I become more sensitive to the taste of salt.

 

[pacanis]

I'll take any answers, Z

 

[joesfolk]

Just playing Devil's Advocate here...Remember that the sodium content is for the whole 1/2 cup sreving. When you put it in a dish you would divide that amount by the number of servings to see how much salt you are getting. Having said that , yes, canned soups do have too much sodium as a general rule. I have in the past sauteed mushrooms and made a nice thick white sauce (with some nice black pepper) and used it to achieve the same results that I can get from a can of soup. But let's face it, for us baby boomers there is just nothing exactly like that little red and white can of soup thrown in a casserole or over a hunk of meat. It's in our blood, like rock and roll.

 

[Katie H]

I've never been much of a salt user/eater so I notice the saltiness of many foods. Triscuits just put me over the edge. I just can't eat them. Never have been able to because they taste like pure salt to me.

As for canned and such, even the lower sodium ones seem salty to me, but that's just me.

I've never been one to use a lot of canned and/or processed foods in my cooking, so I suppose the salt content of those products has never been an issue.

The salt shaker? Well, a box of salt lasts forever in our house. When I cook I usually add half the salt as required by a recipe and go up from there if the dish seems to need more. Most of the time it doesn't.

After Buck was diagnosed with high blood pressure, I paid even more attention to the salt content of what we ate.

My current husband doesn't have any high blood pressure issues, but I still haven't changed my way of doing things and he seems fine with the way things taste and he seldom adds extra salt to what I serve.

My daddy, a doctor, always said I could go on a salt-free diet and never notice the difference. He may have been right.

 

[Bigjim68]

Does anybody know why so many products include so much salt? I try to purchase salt free everything, and it is difficult to find products without salt. When you do find them, they are higher priced than unsalted.

I quit buying cream soups as an ingredient years ago when I decided to reduce salt intake. Now I make my own with heavy cream and dried mushrooms, asparagus stems, etc. I seldom add salt, and when I do, it is in very small amounts. I find that I don't miss it.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Watching your sodium intake has about 1% to do with what comes out of your salt shaker. It's the other 99% that comes out of a can / box / bag / jar / drive-through / takeout container that needs to be monitored closely.

I agree, I was looking at serving sizes on my seasoning salts last night. They say 1/4 teaspoon for a serving, I use nothing close to that.

I was pleased when I was able to create today's meals with less than 1000mg of sodium from mostly canned goods. Seemes I purchased wisely!

 

[pacanis]

Katie, I noticed most bread recipes contain salt, I believe as a preservative? Just curious if you reduce the salt in your baking or if there is an alternative.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Katie, I noticed most bread recipes contain salt, I believe as a preservative? Just curious if you reduce the salt in your baking or if there is an alternative.

Salt in bread has a specific use, it stops the yeast growth. There is not that much salt in most breads, you could probably cut it in half.

 

[pacanis]

Yes, there isn't much. That's why I wondered if it could be left out altogether or cut back. Not that I wanted to, just curious. So it serves a dual purpose then? retarding the yeast growth and preserving?
I remember one time I made a salty loaf. My guess was that I grabbed the 1-1/2 TBS when I should have grabbed the tsp. It was way too salty to eat even by my standards. I've found that I rarely salt or pepper food anymore though. Even if I don't cook it in most cases it is just fine the way it is. I wouldn't say I have an aversion to salt, just that I don't use as much as I used to. And I love Triscuit crackers!

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Yes, there isn't much. That's why I wondered if it could be left out altogether or cut back. Not that I wanted to, just curious. So it serves a dual purpose then? retarding the yeast growth and preserving?
I remember one time I made a salty loaf. My guess was that I grabbed the 1-1/2 TBS when I should have grabbed the tsp. It was way too salty to eat even by my standards. I've found that I rarely salt or pepper food anymore though. Even if I don't cook it in most cases it is just fine the way it is. I wouldn't say I have an aversion to salt, just that I don't use as much as I used to. And I love Triscuit crackers!

The resident commercial baker (Shrek) says it wouldn't make any difference if you left out the salt. Your loaf might be a bit bigger but it wouldn't collapse or anything like that from over extension of the yeast.