Making a Low Sodium Salad Bar

I think one of the biggest misconceptions about low sodium is that if a food is considered "healthy," it must be low in sodium as well. This is just not true. A lean piece of grilled chicken could be a great healthy protein to add to a salad -- but it is not necessarily low sodium. All those great toppings you see at salad bars get a no as well. How about those Hearts of Palm? That would be a no. Bottled salad dressings, definitely not. However, it is easy to transform your salad bar with low sodium options that will keep you going back for second helpings, without breaking your low sodium bank for the day.

A low sodium salad bar is pretty easy to accomplish. Check out our suggestions below and be ready to have some fun with all the options available!

For your low sodium salad, bar the base is the easy part -- you can use any lettuce or spinach as your base. 1 cup of Green Leaf Lettuce is only 10 mg of sodium, while 1 cup of Spinach is 25 mg. Here are some other lettuce options:

SALAD BAR PROTEINS

If you are going to be making your salad into a meal, you should incorporate a protein. There are several choices, depending on whether you want to keep your salad meat, dairy or pareve. Obviously the protein you choose will determine the level of sodium in your salad. As soon as you go with chicken or beef, your levels will increase. You can also halve the amount of protein to cut down on sodium. For example, a 4 oz piece of grilled chicken is 300 mg. If you only put 2 oz, you can cut that down to 150 mg. In a salad, you probably won't notice the difference. But make sure the grilled chicken isn't smothered in high sodium barbecue sauce! That won't help your sodium levels at all.

Try marinating your chicken in olive oil with one of our suggested seasoning blends to keep the sodium down. If you want to put in a bit more effort, or really crave barbecue sauce, you can make a basic grilled chicken with your own homemade barbecue sauce. We have a great recipe in our Building Blocks collection.

SALAD BAR VEGETABLES

You can go crazy with vegetables. Below are some of my favorites, but you are by no means limited. Go browse the vegetable aisle in your local supermarket and I am sure you will come up with ever more great ideas.

Don't forget the options if you want to spend some advance time roasting vegetables. A favorite of mine are balsamic roasted vegetables. You can prepare in advance and store them in mason jars for quick use in a salad any day of the week, or for a fun salad bar evening dinner for the family. Great vegetables to roast are sweet potatoes, mushrooms, onions, red onions, eggplant, and peppers. These are my favorites, but am sure you can come up with your own list!

SALAD BAR FRUITS

Fruits are a great way to add sweetness to your salad, without adding processed sugar or substitute sugar products. Throw in some strawberries and mandarin oranges, and your sweet tooth may be gone forever.

Admission: Watermelon is listed here, but I actually really dislike watermelon. Yes, I promise, I hate watermelon. I think I am one of five people in the world who hate watermelon. But since it's a favorite for many, many people, I have included it here. It is apparently very good in salads!

OTHER FUN STUFF FOR YOUR SALAD BAR

There are so many other fun things you can add to your salad -- assuming you watch the sodium content. For example, Black Beans are a great addition to a salad and provide a protein kick to boot. However, a regular can of Goya Black Beans is 410 mg of sodium for a half cup! Trade that for a No Salt Added brand of Canned Black Beans, like Stop and Shop's Nature's Promise Brand and that same 1/2 cup will be only 5 mg. That's quite a difference.

Cheese is a whole topic until itself...which we will be looking at in more detail. But there are some low sodium choices -- but you MUST be careful with your serving sizes, which I know for me is pretty hard to do with cheese. If you have some self control, cheese is still an option.

French fried onions are a great addition to any salad -- and I must admit, for months I didn't even look at these, because I just assumed they were very high in sodium. Well, I was in for a surprise (and a good one!) French's Original French Fried Onions only have 50 mg in a 1/2 cup serving.

Below are some other suggestions to help you think out of the box!

TOPPING OFF YOUR SALAD BAR

So now you have the makings of a fantastic salad. But let's all be honest, what good is a salad without a dressing? And that is where we low sodiumers get into big trouble. Don't even bother looking for a bottled dressing off the shelf. If you want dressing, you are going to have to make it yourself. Thankfully, making dressings is usually quick and painless and there are definitely some choices. Visit our Recipe Page to get some great ideas!

Oh, and don't forget to top it off with your own home-made Everything But the Bagel...and the Salt!