Chapter One

Preface

Cutting down on salt, or sodium, in your diet is a good idea for a lot of reasons. Maybe your doctor recommended that you reduce your sodium intake to control high blood pressure or congestive heart failure. Maybe you just decided on your own that you’d like to cut down on salt.

You may have put off making the change if your idea of low-sodium cooking is that it would be about as tasty and appealing as cardboard on a plate. Well, you’re in for a wonderful surprise! Regardless of your reason, if you’re trying to cut the salt, this second edition of the American Heart Association Low-Salt Cookbook is your cookbook!

Much has changed on the food front since 1990, when the first edition of this cookbook was published. For instance, convenience foods, low-sodium foods, and other ingredients that simply didn’t exist or weren’t widely available a decade ago are easy to find now, so we’ve incorporated lots of them into the existing recipes. We’ve also reduced the total fat and saturated fat in many of them. In addition, this updated cookbook contains more than 50 brand-new recipes. With their emphasis on fresh ingredients, herbs, and spices, both the old and the new recipes pack flavor into each dish. You’ll be so impressed by these taste sensations, you’ll never miss the salt. Finally, the revision includes fiber in the nutrient analysis of every recipe.

Most of us know from experience that change—any change—is hard. Changing longtime eating habits is no exception, so take it slowly, one step at a time. With this book to help you make gradual changes, you can devise a low-salt eating plan tha