Low Salt Carrot and Coriander Soup

Another recipe for leftovers. I made this with some carrots which were looking a bit tired in the bottom of the fridge, and some droopy coriander left over from a curry I made last week. Use olive oil/yoghurt instead of butter/cream to make it a bit healthier.

I made some croutons to go with this with some stale bread (it goes off quickly with no salt in it) by cutting it into cubes, drizzling in olive oil and putting it in a hot oven for 8 minutes (turn halfway through, and season with black pepper at the end).

Serves 2

Ingredients
25g unsalted butter
4 carrots, peeled and diced
400ml low sodium chicken stock (from a stock cube, or ideally home made)
1 large handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped
Red chilli to taste (I used about 1tsp from one of those jars of pre-prepared stuff)
110ml double cream
black pepper

Method
1. Sauté the carrot for 5-6 minutes in the butter to soften.
2. Slowly add the stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 10-12 minutes.
3. Add the coriander, chilli and cream and season to taste.
4. Blend the soup with a hand blender until smooth.
5. Return the soup to the saucepan and over a low heat stir to heat through.
6. Season and serve

Low Salt Corn Chowder

We've just been given a kitchen bin from the Council for recycling kitchen scraps, and I have been shocked at the amount of food we throw away, so I'm trying to get into the habit of using up odds and ends instead of throwing them away. I had almost a whole tin of sweetcorn left over from doing something for the kids today, so quickly knocked up one portion of this soup with it and put it in the freezer. The spices mean you don't notice the lack of salt. It's adapted from a Lesley Waters recipe - for a healthier version you can use olive oil and yoghurt instead of butter and cream.

Serves 2

Ingredients
Half an onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
25g butter
12 baby sweetcorn, chopped, or 2 small tins of sweetcorn, rinsed of salt
4 cherry tomatoes, halved
300ml low sodium vegetable stock
Half a baking-sized potato, diced
Splash white wine
1 tsp cumin
Seeds from 2 cardamom pods
1 tsp turmeric
150ml cream

Method
1. In a large saucepan sauté the onion and garlic in the butter (adding the garlic for the last minute only)
2. Add the corn and potato and cook for 1 minute
3. Add the spices and stir
4. Add the wine and stock and cook for 5 minutes
5. Add the cream and cook for a further 5 minutes, adding the tomatoes
6. Whizz up with a hand blender, leaving plenty of chunks
7. Season to taste with black pepper

Low Salt Soup Recipes

Thanks to cap10xb1s for the pic

It's alarmingly early in the year for my thoughts to be turning to soup, but what with the miserable weather and a bit of a cold coming on, here I am.

The high levels of sodium in soup come largely from the stock that's used to make it. I'm going to look into levels in shop-bought soup in the next few weeks to try to find some low sodium options, but wanted to be good and look into making some myself this weekend.

So here are my top tips for making low sodium soup at home:

- Use low salt stock cubes (or of course, always best, home made stock)

- Go for something with a bit of a kick to it so you won't notice the lack of salt, like this spicy parsnip soup, or corn chowder.

- I've been surprised to find that there are plenty of recipes which don't call for stock. Here's a small selection:
roasted tomato soup
fish soup
Oriental soup with crab dumplings
spiced split pea soup

My favourite quick soup recipe has always been pea soup (frozen peas, a bit of potato, veg stock, mint, simmer and then zap with a hand blender). However my first effort is going to be this Delia recipe for french onion soup - with low salt beef stock cubes, and emmental instead of gruyere.

Well, it's either that or put the central heating on...

Eat

I found this great site today too - the Sandwich Guide which has reviews of high street sandwiches, and also the British Sandwich Association who, on their home page, helpfully provide a definition of a sandwich for us (burgers do not count as sandwiches, apparently). Who would have thought there would have been so much information out there on the humble sandwich?

Anyway, here are some sodium levels for the sandwiches and soups at Eat. All figures are g of sodium per pack/portion. bear in mind that the government recommended daily intake for an adult is 2.4 g - some of these options come very close to giving you that in one part of one meal. In summary - avoid the baguettes and soups, and go for the chicken sandwiches instead.

Sandwiches...
Lowest:
Cajun Spiced Chicken 0.4g
Thai Citrus Chicken 0.4g
Chicken Salad 0.4g
Herb Cream Cheese and Roast Vegetables 0.42g

Highest:
Hot Smoked Salmon and Cucumber 1g
Chilli Crayfish 1.1g
Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato 1.2g
Prawns with Garlic Mayonnaise Wheat Free 1.2g
Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Wheat Free 1.2g
Tuna and Cheddar Melt 1.21g
Chorizo and Peppers Baguette 1.27g
EAT Club 1.43g
Roast Ham, Brie and Cranberry Baguette 1.8g
Ham and Jarlsberg Baguette 1.97g

Soups...
Lowest:
New England Clam Chowder 0.4g

Highest:
Hungarian Goulash 1.1g
French Onion 1.13g
Corn Chowder 1.18g
Cream of Corn 1.5g

Pret a Manger

Pret a Manger is somewhere I often buy my lunch. They show their sodium contents on their website as g of sodium per pack, here. I've used these same figures below, because it's a good way of doing it, and saves me doing any division. It seems baguettes are the best option, and the hot wraps best avoided. Government guidance is to have no more than 2.4g of sodium a day.

Sandwiches (not including Slim Pret, and weekly specials)
Lowest: Devonshire Red Chicken and Rocket 0.61g
Highest: Summer Ham Salad 1.31g

Baguettes & Salad Wraps
Lowest: Brie, Tomato and Whole-leaf Baguette 0.38g
Next Best: Dry-cured Ham & Greve Baguette, and Dolphin-friendly Tuna Baguette, both 0.5g
Highest: Hoisin Duck Wrap 1.1g

Breakfast Baguettes
Lowest: Free Range Egg Mayo and Roasted Tomato 0.12g
Highest: Smoked Salmon, Free-range Egg Mayo and Cress 0.43g

Hot Wraps
Lowest: Jalapeno Chicken 1.08g
Highest: Spicy Falafel Melt 1.53g

Salads
Lowest: Chicken Avocado Salad 0.4g
Highest: Smoked Salmon, Wild Crayfish & Dijon Dressing Salad 1.29g

Soup
Lowest: Lentil, Tomato and Turmeric Soup 0.35g
Highest: Italian Meatball Soup 1.23g

Sushi
Lowest: Salmon Nigiri 1.8g
Highest: Deluxe Sushi 2g

Bakery
Highest: Egg & Bacon Croissant 0.98g
Lowest: Almond Croissant 0.0003g