I was recently put on a low-sodium diet, and, like a lot of people in this thread I was surprised, dismayed, alas even flabbergasted at how difficult it is.
I’m looking for a prepared-meal service that offers low-sodium dishes: something similar to Factor. Factor, unfortunately, doesn’t offer a low-sodium meal plan.
I did Blue Apron in the past (before the low-sodium requirement) but I quickly tired of it taking 60 to 90 minutes to prepare a meal they said should only take 30 to 45 minutes to prepare.
So I would prefer meals that came already prepared, if possible. Does anyone have any recommendations or experience they can share?
If you want prepared food there are two ways to control water activity. That is the amount of water available for mold and other spoilage. One way is with salt, it is the cheapest way, the other way is with sugar. Both will tie up the water so it is not available for spoilage.
If you see low sodium foods, low salt, you can almost guarantee that it is loaded with sugar. Better to make your own food.
Food designers use water activity to formulate shelf-stable food. If a product is kept below a certain water activity, then mold growth is inhibited. This results in a longer shelf life.
Hmm… my partner and I have been eating this powdered food replacement called Huel the last few years, and it’s been wonderful (and much cheaper than “real”-er food like Factor). They have both ready-to-drink bottled shakes and cup-o-noodles like savory options that you add hot water to (or microwave).
If you mix and match the two, you should be able to meet your nutritional needs and still stay under 1500mg/day. But it’s not as tasty or food-like as Factor. More like luxury astronaut meals/backpacking food. On the plus side, they take all the guesswork and annoyance out of meals, and each one only takes from 2 seconds (to open a shake) to 2 minutes (to heat up a cup).
Well, to be clear, the salt is added both for the preservative quality (no arguments) but to generally also offset low, or at least lower quality ingredients.
As it is said: Salt makes mistakes taste great!
A quick review shows several meal services that at least advertise lower sodium options, but they all appear to be at the higher end of the price range.
I think the best question to the OP is how much are you willing to pay per meal which might narrow down the range of options. But most of the lower sodium ones seem to start in the range of $7.99-8.99 US per meal, and go up from there, which would break my budget.
I checked a few of the options, and saw several of the meals were in the 500mg range, but again, you’re paying quite a price.
Having worked the hypothetical, I still think it’s easier if you want to reduce meal prep to find or develop a few meals that meet your requirements that are easily prepared in larger batches and frozen in individual servings. My green chili pork, which uses a lot of chiles, cilantro and lime as an example, is pretty good without much added salt, because I get a similar taste sensation from the citrus.
But tastes vary, and freezer and cooking space may be a no-go for the OP. Different trade offs!
at how difficult it is.