Breads, Grains and Cereals

Bread is tough. That's the truth. For those of us doing low carb diets and trying to watch our sugar, this is just another reason not to eat it! For those of us only on a low sodium diet, bread is a staple of our lives. Who doesn't want to break bread with someone? When you go into a restaurant and they bring you that bowl of steaming fresh, hot bread, it is really hard to resist.

Particularly in the kosher world, making a blessing on Challah on Shabbat is part of our weekly ritual. For women, "taking challah" is a mitzvah with special importance that allows us to pray for others. Luckily, making your own challah has become all the rage. There are whole groups devoted to baking challah. YouTube videos on how to make a six strand, pull apart, etc. There are so many different kinds of challah these days, it's dizzying. Spelt, gluten free, whole wheat, honey, pumpkin, chocolate, and of course all the toppings. It's endless!

Buying challah is a slippery slope. If it's packaged like Zomick's, Sterns or Beigels, you can see what the sodium is. It is generally high. One Zomick's Whole Wheat roll is 230 mg. 1 oz of a Beigel's Challah is 105 mg. Who is eating only one oz of challah?

If you are buying it straight from a bakery, then you really have no clue. And they probably don't even know. I once walked into a local bakery that markets itself as the only neighborhood bakery to be allergy free and offer other "healthier" options. You should have seen their face when I asked them if they made anything without salt or that was low sodium. They said "you can't make anything taste good without salt." And that was the end of that. So for Challah and bread, I really recommend that you get yourself a bread machine of some sort and start making your own. It's not hard, and is very freezable.

Bagels are a whole different category. I have yet to try these on my own, though I have seen many recipes that everyone says "are so easy." They might be, but I have no interest in boiling bagels over a hot stove. And since I have found that Bagel Boss make a no salt, no sugar everything bagel, I order those in bulk and freeze them. Are they the greatest? No. They taste like they have no salt and no sugar, but when I toast it and shmear with some Temptee cream cheese (75 mg for 2 Tbsp), it's not too bad.

Cereal isn't much better -- but given that most cereal (if not all?) is processed food, that was not very surprising. I did have one moment of joy when by accident I discovered that Sugar Smacks, of all things only has 45 mg of sodium in one cup! So once a year as a treat, I can have that. Because who really should be eating Sugar Smacks on a regular basis.

The good news here comes with rice and pasta! Most pasta and rice contain zero sodium. This news literally brought me to tears when I started on this low sodium journey. I can deal with the bread if I can have pasta! However, you STILL need to check your labels. I once bought Lo Mein noodles, thinking, it's pasta, it must be 0 mg of sodium. Oh, how wrong I was. 620 mg for 2 ounces of WelPac Lo Mein Noodles. You did not misread that. Some pasta has minimal sodium, which is still fine, but it is not 0 mg, so you need to calculate that in to the rest of your recipe. For example, No Yolks Extra Broad Noodles, have 20 mg of sodium in 1 1/2 cups. Again, very little sodium, but still not zero.

Having said that, there are still some options for those of us who really can't do without our bread, and don't have time to make our own. A sandwich every once in a while is more realistic. If you commute to work and pack lunch, sometimes a sandwich is the best grab and go option. Same for traveling, especially for us kosher folks who can't buy takeout food anywhere.

And of course there is always the Make Your Own option!

Below are some other low sodium options for bread, grains and cereals. There really aren't many, especially for bread, which is difficult to find kosher to begin with.

In addition to both plain brown and white rice, which have 0 mg of sodium, another great grain product is Quinoa. You cannot go wrong with quinoa -- it is a protein, cholesterol free, high in fiber, and low sodium -- as in 0 mg of sodium. It can also be used for Pesach (if it has Kosher for Passover supervision). Like rice, and pasta, quinoa can be prepared in so many different ways. You will feel like it's a different dish every time. As long as you keep the other ingredients in your recipes low sodium or sodium-free, rice, pasta, and quinoa are a great solution.