Get the Salt Out (60 page)

Pick over the chestnuts and discard any that are soft or wormy. Cut an X on the rounded side of each chestnut. Place them with the cut side up on a nonstick baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the baking sheet in the oven and roast for 1 hour, or until done. Sprinkle with a few tablespoons of water every 15 or 20 minutes during cooking. The chestnuts will burst open when ready. Remove the outer shells and inner skins before eating.
Makes ½ pound roasted chestnuts.

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If you like to give food gift packs to friends for the holidays,
carefully select the assortment of foods you send and diplomatically let others know that you would appreciate the same courtesy. There’s nothing nicer than giving foods to celebrate the season, but foods often found in gift baskets include salted roasted nuts, summer sausage, smoked meats, smoked cheese, and processed cheese spreads. All of these are high
sources of sodium—an overlooked fact that does not convey your wishes for a healthy and happy holiday season very well. Instead of sending baskets with these items, start a health-promoting holiday tradition by giving gift parcels that contain unsalted roasted nuts, small amounts of natural cheese, and plenty of fresh fruit.

I
have stressed throughout this book that if you eat natural foods, you will consume less sodium. Desserts are no exception to this rule. If you buy processed desserts (the kind that are designed to sit on grocery shelves for months), you’re much more likely to consume more sodium than you should. Surprisingly, many of them are laced with salt. For example, instant pudding is alarmingly high in sodium, with more than 400 milligrams per half-cup. On the other hand, our most natural dessert—fresh fruit—is essentially sodium-free. In between these two extremes are many low-sodium desserts, but almost all desserts found in traditional supermarkets, whether low-sodium or not, should be avoided because they contain refined salt (as well as refined sugar, harmful fats, and chemicals).

Although you probably don’t think of desserts like cookies and cakes as being sources of excess sodium, they are. When you consider that baking powder has 300 to 450 milligrams of sodium per teaspoon, that baking soda has 1,368 milligrams of sodium per teaspoon, and that salt contains 2,000 milligrams of sodium per teaspoon, its easy to see how the sodium content of baked goods can add up quickly. In addition, commercial baked goods are made with potassium-depleted refined white
flour instead of whole grain flour, so they almost always contain more sodium than potassium. As I mentioned in the Preface, our bodies are designed to thrive on foods that are low in sodium and high in potassium. The tips in this chapter will show you how to create healthy desserts that are rich in potassium, low in sodium,
and
low in sugar.

Admittedly, many desserts are not high in sodium. (More often, they’re simply loaded with unhealthy sugar.) The following tips, however, should help you understand that even when you eat the sweetest of desserts, you still need to be aware of the sodium you consume.

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Treat yourself to fresh fruit.
Whether eaten plain as a snack or artfully presented with garnishes in crystal goblets, succulent fresh fruit is a dessert that’s special in its own right. It’s also rich in nutrients such as vitamin C, potassium, and carotenoids, which most of us are lacking, and it’s always low in sodium. For all of these reasons, fresh fruit is our best dessert, the kind we should eat as a treat most often.

BONUS TIP:
It’s important to understand that fruit is a source of sugar, even though it’s a natural source. Too much sugar, no matter what its source, can cause weight gain and other health problems, so don’t go overboard: be sure to limit yourself to two or three portions of fruit each day. See my book
Get the Sugar Out
for further information on how to maintain a healthy intake of sugar.

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Bake fruit and add flavorful, low-sodium ingredients
to create an elegant dessert. The following recipe does exactly that. It is one of my all-time favorites.
One Salt Shaker.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the apples and apple juice in the baking dish. Fill the centers of the apples with a mixture of chopped walnuts, raisins, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cover and bake for 45 minutes.
Serves 4.