Give Packaged Foods a Fresh Boost

Suggested Servings

Tips for dressing up unflavored snacks and side dishes.

• Cereal: Did you know that the raisins added to many commercial bran flake cereals are coated in a combination of sugar and modified palm oil? Instead of buying cereals covered in sugared fruits and frosting, buy plain shredded wheat or plain bran flakes, then add dried or fresh fruit. (Hint: Plain bran cereal is also a great baking ingredient when you want to add more fiber to your homemade muffins, cookies and squares.)
• Rice and Pasta: Kick the high salt, packaged side-dishes in favor of lightly seasoned plain rice and pasta. Brown, jasmine or white rice and whole wheat noodles garnished with green onions, basil or other fresh herbs, a touch of butter, cracked pepper and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese make wonderfully light, yet flavorful side dishes for meats, chicken, fish and tofu. Blackened sesame or poppy seeds add a bit of texture and depth to pasta as well.
• Crunchy Snacks: Do your fingers turn orange after eating a bag of nacho chips? (This can't be good. Is all that food coloring necessary?) Make low fat yogurt dips and chick-pea spreads to dress up unsalted crackers or whole grain chips.
• Ice Cream: You may not be ready to give up your ice cream, but you might want to get rid of novelty ice creams with chocolate, caramel and other flavored swirls laced through them. Have you ever noticed that these swirls never freeze solid? What on earth do they put in the ice cream to keep the swirls from freezing? Choose plain vanilla ice cream, or old fashioned chocolate if you like, and then sprinkle your ice cream with diced fruit, chopped nuts, homemade jam, chocolate shavings, honey or real maple syrup. You might even want to try grinding some cracked black pepper over your ice cream. You'd be surprised at how good it tastes.
• Keep lemons on hand to squeeze over meats, fish, pasta, rice and vegetables. It's a tangy alternative to sprinkling table salt all over your food.
• Buy unsalted butter. Sure, it's a small step, but if you're counting your sodium milligrams and trying to reduce your salt intake, every little bit adds up. After awhile, you won't miss the salt.
• Don't be fooled by fruit juices and vegetable cocktails that brag about having 2-3 servings of fruits or vegetables in them. These drinks are loaded with salt and fructose and you don't get the same amount of fiber that you would if you ate 2 whole pieces of fruit. You're better off drinking water all day and snacking on fresh fruits and vegetables. You'll get more fibre and you'll satisfy your hunger for longer.
• If you want to splurge and have a processed comfort food (my weakness is Kraft Dinner), why not try making the macaroni with three-quarters or even half the cheese powder.? Then add parsley, tarragon, basil or cumin for a light uplift. Fold up the remainder of the cheese packet and use it another night as a light sprinkle on homemade chilli. Again, it's a small move, but if you can cut back on your sodium gram by gram, your body will thank you.