500 Low Sodium Recipes (51 page)

My complaint about most sweet yeast breads is that they really don’t have a lot of sweet or fruity flavor. So I began experimenting with using fruit juice as the liquid. It appears that the loaves tend to be a bit denser, but they have a nice sweet flavor. This one is good without even adding anything to it.

1 ¼ cups (295 ml) orange juice

1 tablespoon (14 g) unsalted butter

1 tablespoon (20 g) honey

3 cups (330 g) bread flour

¼ cup (28 g) nonfat dry milk powder

1 ½ teaspoons yeast

½ cup (40 g) oats

½ cup (75 g) cranberries, dried

Place all ingredients except oats and cranberries in the bread machine pan in the order specified by the manufacturer. Process on white bread cycle. Add the oats and cranberries at the beep or 5 minutes before the kneading cycle is finished.

Yield:
12 servings

Nutritional Analysis

Each with:
30 g water; 201 calories (9% from fat, 12% from protein, 78% from carb); 6 g protein; 2 g total fat; 1 g saturated fat; 0 g monounsaturated fat; 0 g polyunsaturated fat; 40 g carb; 2 g fiber; 6 g sugar; 33 mg calcium; 2 mg iron;
10 mg sodium
; 198 mg potassium; 84 IU vitamin A; 9 mg vitamin C; 3 mg cholesterol

A nice little breakfast bread. Slightly denser than most. Very good toasted.

1 cup (235 ml) skim milk

¼ cup (60 ml) lime juice

3 tablespoons (42 g) unsalted butter, melted

3¼ (365 g) cups bread flour

1 teaspoon lime peel, grated

1 teaspoon ground ginger

¼ cup (60 g) brown sugar, packed

2 ½ teaspoons (10 g) yeast

⅔
cup (46 g) coconut, toasted

½ cup (75 g) dried cherries

Place all ingredients other than coconut and cherries in the bread machine in the order specified by the manufacturer. Process on sweet bread or large white bread cycle. Toast coconut on ungreased baking sheet at 350°F (180°C, gas mark 4) for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often. Add cherries and coconut at the beep or 5 minutes before the end of the kneading cycle.

Yield:
12 servings

Nutritional Analysis

Each with:
34 g water; 211 calories (21% from fat, 11% from protein, 68% from carb); 6 g protein; 5 g total fat; 3 g saturated fat; 1 g monounsaturated fat; 0 g polyunsaturated fat; 36 g carb; 1 g fiber; 5 g sugar; 42 mg calcium; 2 mg iron;
16 mg sodium
; 139 mg potassium; 137 IU vitamin A; 2 mg vitamin C; 8 mg cholesterol

This also makes a nice breakfast bread. It’s sweet itself and a good match for a spread like apple butter.

½ cup (120 ml) apple juice

½ cup (125 g) unsweetened applesauce

3 cups (330 g) bread flour

1 ½ tablespoons (21 g) unsalted butter

½ cup (75 g) Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 ½ teaspoons yeast

Place all ingredients in bread pan in order specified by manufacturer, select light crust setting, and press start. Allow to cool for 1 hour before slicing.

Yield:
12 servings

Nutritional Analysis

Each with:
27 g water; 150 calories (13% from fat, 12% from protein, 76% from carb); 4 g protein; 2 g total fat; 1 g saturated fat; 0 g monounsaturated fat; 0 g polyunsaturated fat; 28 g carb; 1 g fiber; 2 g sugar; 8 mg calcium; 2 mg iron; 2 mg sodium; 70 mg potassium; 50 IU vitamin A; 2 mg vitamin C; 4 mg cholesterol

All of us want something a little sweet occasionally. As with the quick breads, the main problem with most baked goods is the added salt and the baking powder and baking soda. Leave out the salt and use sodium-free baking powder and baking soda, and the results are very low sodium and just as satisfying. This chapter contains an assortment of low sodium cakes, pies, cookies, and other desserts as well as some suggestions for drinks.

This makes a fairly heavy, very moist cake … almost like brownies or bars of some sort. It’s lower in fat than most cakes.

2 cups (220 g) all-purpose flour

1 ¾ cups (350 g) sugar

½ cup (55 g) unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tablespoon (14 g) sodium-free baking soda

⅔
cup (147 g) applesauce

⅓
cup (80 ml) buttermilk

2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil

1 cup (235 ml) coffee

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C, gas mark 4). Spray a 9 × 13-inch (23 × 33-cm) pan with nonstick vegetable oil spray and then dust with flour, shaking out the excess. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, cocoa, and baking soda. Stir in the applesauce, buttermilk, and oil. Heat coffee to boiling. Stir into batter. Mixture will be thin. Pour into pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Yield:
24 servings

Nutritional Analysis

Each with:
20 g water; 116 calories (11% from fat, 5% from protein, 83% from carb); 2 g protein; 2 g total fat; 0 g saturated fat; 0 g monounsaturated fat; 1 g polyunsaturated fat; 25 g carb; 1 g fiber; 15 g sugar; 8 mg calcium; 1 mg iron;
6 mg sodium
; 55 mg potassium; 2 IU vitamin A; 0 mg vitamin C; 0 mg cholesterol

This recipe comes from my mother. It was one of my favorites for years, and it doesn’t suffer at all from having the salt left out.

1 cup (235 ml) vegetable oil

2 cups (400 g) sugar

3 eggs

2 ½ cups (275 g) all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons (9 g) sodium-free baking powder

1 teaspoon sodium-free baking soda

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups (450 g) apples, peeled and chopped

Mix oil and sugar together; add eggs. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg; add to sugar mixture. Stir in vanilla and fold in apples. Pour into a 9 × 13-inch (23 × 33-cm) pan. Bake at 350°F (180°C, gas mark 4) until knife inserted in center comes out clean, 1 to 1 ½ hours. Dust top with powdered sugar if desired.

Yield:
24 servings

Nutritional Analysis

Each with:
19 g water; 211 calories (42% from fat, 4% from protein, 54% from carb); 2 g protein; 10 g total fat; 1 g saturated fat; 2 g monounsaturated fat; 5 g polyunsaturated fat; 29 g carb; 1 g fiber; 18 g sugar; 25 mg calcium; 1 mg iron;
11 mg sodium
; 79 mg potassium; 41 IU vitamin A; 1 mg vitamin C; 31 mg cholesterol

This sounded so good when I came across it that I had to try it. Turns out to have been a good decision. It’s also nearly fat-free, by the way.

2 cups (220 g) cranberries

1 ¾ cups (350 g) sugar, divided

½ cup (120 ml) water

1 cup (110 g) all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons sodium-free baking powder

½ cup (125 g) applesauce

1 egg

¼ cup (60 ml) skim milk

¼ cup (60 ml) orange juice

1 teaspoon orange peel, grated

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Spray bottom and sides of 9-inch (23-cm) round baking pan with nonstick vegetable oil spray. Combine cranberries, 1 cup (200 g) of the sugar, and the water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened to syrupy consistency, about 10 minutes. Pour into prepared pan. Cool to room temperature.

Sift together flour, remaining ¾ cup (150 g) sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl. In another bowl stir applesauce, egg, milk, orange juice, orange peel, and vanilla until blended. Add to dry ingredients and stir just until blended. Pour over cranberry mixture. Bake at 375°F (190°C, gas mark 5) for 25 to 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cake cool in pan about 5 minutes. Loosen cake around edges of pan. Place inverted serving platter over cake and turn both upside down. Shake gently, then remove pan. Serve warm.

Yield:
12 servings

Nutritional Analysis

Each with:
37 g water; 255 calories (3% from fat, 4% from protein, 93% from carb); 3 g protein; 1 g total fat; 0 g saturated fat; 0 g monounsaturated fat; 0 g polyunsaturated fat; 62 g carb; 1 g fiber; 46 g sugar; 54 mg calcium; 1 mg iron;
17 mg sodium
; 314 mg potassium; 40 IU vitamin A; 3 mg vitamin C; 21 mg cholesterol

A nice little fall treat. Good even without the icing. You could dress them up with just a dusting of powdered sugar.

3 cups (705 ml) apple cider

¼ cup (165 g) unsalted butter

1 ¾ cups (350 g) sugar

2 eggs

2 cups (220 g) all-purpose flour

⅛
teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon sodium-free baking soda

In a large saucepan, boil the cider until it is reduced to about 1 ½ cups (355 ml) and let it cool. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and the sugar with an electric mixer until the mixture is fluffy. Beat in the eggs. Into the bowl sift together the flour, the cloves, the cinnamon, and the baking soda; stir in the reduced cider and combine the mixture well. Divide the batter among 18 paper-lined muffin tins and bake in the middle of a preheated 375°F (190°C, gas mark 5) oven for 25 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.

Yield:
18 servings

Nutritional Analysis

Each with:
45 g water; 224 calories (34% from fat, 4% from protein, 62% from carb); 2 g protein; 9 g total fat; 5 g saturated fat; 2 g monounsaturated fat; 0 g polyunsaturated fat; 35 g carb; 0 g fiber; 24 g sugar; 13 mg calcium; 1 mg iron;
12 mg sodium
; 76 mg potassium; 269 IU vitamin A; 0 mg vitamin C; 48 mg cholesterol

Didn’t I just tell you that you didn’t need frosting for those cupcakes? Okay, for those who didn’t believe me, try this one.

¼ cup (55 g) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups (200 g) confectioners’ sugar

3 tablespoons (45 ml) apple cider

Beat together butter, sugar, and cider until smooth. Add more cider if necessary to make frosting of spreading consistency.

Yield:
18 servings

Nutritional Analysis

Each with:
3 g water; 76 calories (30% from fat, 0% from protein, 70% from carb); 0 g protein; 3 g total fat; 2 g saturated fat; 1 g monounsaturated fat; 0 g polyunsaturated fat; 14 g carb; 0 g fiber; 13 g sugar; 1 mg calcium; 0 mg iron;
1 mg sodium
; 4 mg potassium; 79 IU vitamin A; 0 mg vitamin C; 7 mg cholesterol

Sometimes you just need something chocolate. Try to limit yourself to one of the 2-inch (5-cm) squares at a time, though. They do have a fair amount of fat and sugar and almost no redeeming nutritional value. As if that was the point when you want a brownie.

¾ cup (165 g) unsalted butter, melted

1 ½ cups (300 g) sugar

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

3 eggs

½ cup (55 g) cocoa

¾ cup (83 g) all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon sodium-free baking powder

1 cup (175 g) chocolate chips

Beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and eggs in a large bowl. Mix in cocoa, flour, and baking powder. Stir to combine. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into a greased 9 × 13-inch (23 × 33-cm) pan. Bake at 350°F (180°C, gas mark 4) for 20 to 22 minutes.

Yield:
24 servings

Nutritional Analysis

Each with:
8 g water; 167 calories (46% from fat, 5% from protein, 49% from carb); 2 g protein; 9 g total fat; 5 g saturated fat; 3 g monounsaturated fat; 0 g polyunsaturated fat; 21 g carb; 1 g fiber; 16 g sugar; 26 mg calcium; 1 mg iron;
17 mg sodium
; 80 mg potassium; 225 IU vitamin A; 0 mg vitamin C; 48 mg cholesterol

Perfect for when you want something a little sweet for your party. The pizza shape goes with the finger-food style.

¾ cup (165 g) unsalted butter

¾ cup (170 g) brown sugar

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ½ cups (165 g) all-purpose flour

1 ¼ cups (215 g) chocolate chips

1 ½ cups miniature marshmallows

½ cup (75 g) unsalted dry-roasted peanuts, chopped

Beat the butter in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar and beat until combined. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour with a wooden spoon. Spread dough in a lightly greased 12-inch (30-cm) pizza pan. Bake in a 350°F (180°C, gas mark 4) oven about 25 minutes or until golden. Sprinkle hot crust with the chocolate pieces. Let stand 1 to 2 minutes to soften. Spread chocolate over crust. Sprinkle with marshmallows and nuts. Bake 3 minutes more or until marshmallows are puffed and beginning to brown. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Yield:
16 servings

Nutritional Analysis

Each with:
5 g water; 274 calories (49% from fat, 5% from protein, 46% from carb); 4 g protein; 15 g total fat; 8 g saturated fat; 5 g monounsaturated fat; 1 g polyunsaturated fat; 32 g carb; 1 g fiber; 20 g sugar; 42 mg calcium; 1 mg iron;
20 mg sodium
; 131 mg potassium; 304 IU vitamin A; 0 mg vitamin C; 39 mg cholesterol