Foods that have a lot of Sodium (salt)

I always find this an interesting topic because so many people use salt to flavor their foods, especially when eating healthy.

BUT, have you ever paid any attention to what naturally contains a lot of salt and you DEF shouldn't be adding more to?

Here are some examples of foods that are high in sodium and you probably didn't even know it!

• Frozen Dinners (they are processed anyway, just stay away!)
• Some brands of ready-to-eat cereal (pay attention to your labels, there are also a lot that are sodium/salt free)
• Vegetable juices (yep, you thought you were making a wise choice, didn't you? Next time look for the low-sodium version)
• Canned Vegetables (fresh is better anyway!)
• Packaged deli meat (if you're going to it, at least get it from the guy that cuts it while you're there and just beware of the label-they do have packaging that you can look at behind the counter!)
• Soups, especially canned (I'm going to say it again-Read your labels! Also, making soup from scratch can be lots of fun!)
• Marinades and flavorings such as soy sauce and Teriyaki sauce (it's easier to just stay away-or look for a low sodium substitute)
• Spaghetti Sauce (check out my recipe for homemade sauce and is not even close in the amount of sodium to the pre-made jars you can buy)
• Spices (look at the ingredients and see if there is salt. An example of one really high in sodium is Season All. You can get some pretty amazing seasonings that don't contain salt.)
• Nuts! (even though we eat nuts pretty frequently within a clean eating lifestyle, there are so many nuts that come with salt on them. Guess what? Read your labels!)
• Pre-packaged foods, like Ramen
• Condiments!

When reading your labels to see if it contains salt/sodium, here is a handy list to follow. All of these are "code words" for salt!

•  sodium alginate
• sodium ascorbate
• sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)
• sodium benzoate
• sodium caseinate
• sodium chloride
• sodium citrate
• sodium hydroxide
• sodium saccharin
• sodium stearoyl lactylate
• sodium sulfite
• disodium phosphate
• monosodium glutamate (MSG)
• trisodium phosphate
• Na 

Now that I have overwhelmed you, are you wondering how much sodium you CAN have? After all, it is in SO MANY things in our world that it is almost impossible to avoid (and you shouldn't avoid it, just don't overdo it!)

Answer: You should limit yourself to 1,500 milligrams of sodium (if not less) each day! Did you know that the average American gets over 3,400 milligrams of sodium each day? CARAZY!