1. Fresh Fruits

There’s so much you can do with fresh and seasonal fruits. Fruit salads, smoothies, and frozen fruit sorbets delight children and adults alike. Fruits are natural low sodium foods that are rich in natural sugars, antioxidants, fiber, vitamins and minerals that your body needs. You can go wild while experimenting with them.

2. Nuts

Nuts can safely be included in a low sodium diet and they are protein and mineral-rich as well. Buy unsalted nuts and nut butter with zero food additives and use them to make creamy marinades, sauces spreads and dips. You can then serve these with idlis, millet dosas, ragi snacks or over salads or use in pasta as a vegan sauce.

3. Vegetables

Almost all vegetables can be considered as low sodium foods; however, green beans, cucumbers, peas and broccoli top the list. Green leafy vegetables do have naturally occurring sodium, so including these with other veggies might not need you to add too much table salt. Season vegetables with the right spices and herbs to bring out their natural flavors. You can then flavor up your dals and pulaos without needing to add much salt. Serving tossed veggies with a millet dosa or adding a soup with oat and ragi snacks will ensure that you and your family are having a low sodium diet. 

4. Millets

Of all the grains, millets contain the least sodium and of the millets, ragi or finger millet is said to have very low sodium levels. Ragi is rich in iron, calcium, and fiber too, and pretty versatile. You can whip up mixed ragi and millet dosas, ragi snacks, porridges, and bhakris or rotlas. Millets are also relatively unprocessed, so you can get most of all that complex carbohydrate goodness.

5. Lean Meat and Eggs

It is possible to cook lean meats and eggs with less salt as these foods are healthy and naturally sodium-rich. We tend to over season our meats which dominate the taste and flavor of the natural oils in them.  Baking or grilling the meats with veggies and herbs will not need excess salt. These cooking processes are healthier too.

 Tips to ensure you’re having low salt foods:

1) Avoid eating packaged, canned and fried foods. These foods invariably have food additives with high salt content. Go for fresh food.

2) We tend to eat pickles, ketchup, dips and salad dressings that are high sodium foods and are full of food additives like preservatives. Make these at home with a low amount of rock salt or black salt instead.