Sodium- the Craving Culprit part 2

Deli meats are very high in sodium. Most have between 300-600 mg per slice! That means if you eat a turkey sandwich with 4oz of meat you would consume at least 1200 mg sodium in the meat alone, not to mention about 200 per slice in the bread and whatever else you put on the sandwich. Dieters are known to use low calorie mustard instead of mayonnaise but there is between 60-75 mg sodium in one teaspoon mustard. I’m not suggesting that you stop eating all of these items, just be aware and modify accordingly.
Eating out- When you start reducing sodium, order exactly what you would like but ask them to hold the salt. Restaurants use salt freely. Order your eggs, hamburger, chicken, fish even salad without salt. Soups, especially the low calorie broth types, are full of sodium. Some soups have as much as 2500mg of sodium per serving. Remember, sauces pack in the sodium too. Just order the sauce on the side and use only as much as you need to be satisfied. Never do without if this is what you love about the dish, just use discretion and chances are you will use a lot less than if it were poured over the top. If you can, order French fries without salt or at least lightly salted until you have detoxed from high sodium.
A word about salads- Always uses the dressing you like
Diet salad dressings-
The low sugar versions pack in more fat or sodium and the lowfat version usually has a lot of added sugar. Diet dressings are not tasty and are usually full of preservatives and chemical foods to make it taste richer. The body does not know what to do with chemical foods.
Always order dressing on the side and dip your fork in the dressing before each bite. You will be surprised by how much taste you can get from a small amount of dressing. At home, make your own dressing. It is easy and delicious!

My base salad dressing recipe-
4 oz vinegar
2 Tbsp Trader Joe’s olive oil
1 Tbsp honey or Trader Joe’s Fresh Fruit Preserves- any flavor
½ tsp Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute
Shake, chill and serve

Dressing add-ins-
Dijon or any mustard (but watch the sodium and only use one tsp for a bottle of dressing, any fresh herbs, scallions or garlic, agave or stevia( be sure it is all natural) in place of honey, citrus juice in place of some or all of the vinegar etc… have fun experimenting!