What Foods Are High in Sodium?

• canned foods (vegetables, meats, pasta meals)
• processed foods (meats such as bologna, pepperoni, salami, hot dogs, sausage)
• cheese
• dried pasta and rice mixes
• soups (canned and dried)
• snack foods (chips, popcorn, pretzels, cheese puffs, salted nuts, etc.)
• dips, sauces, and salad dressings

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What Foods Are Low in Sodium?

• plain breads, cereals, rice, and pasta (not dried pasta or rice mixes)
• vegetables and fruits (fresh or frozen)
• meats (fresh cuts; not processed meats)
• milk and yogurt (these tend to be moderate in sodium)
• beverages such as juices, tea, fruit drink/punch, and soda (sports drinks have sodium so these may need to be limited)

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Which Seasonings Are Low in Sodium?

The following are considered low-sodium seasonings and do not require restriction:

• allspice
• bay leaf
• basil
• chili powder
• chives
• cinnamon
• cloves
• curry powder
• dill
• extracts (vanilla)
• vinegar garlic (fresh)
• garlic powder
• ginger
• horseradish sauce
• lemon juice
• lime juice
• mace
• marjoram
• dry mustard
• nutmeg
• Mrs. Dash®
• onion (fresh)
• onion powder
• oregano
• paprika
• pepper
• rosemary
• sage
• tarragon
• thyme
• Tabasco®

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Which Seasonings Are High in Sodium?

The following seasonings are high in sodium, but may be used in limited amounts, in most cases:

Limit the following seasonings to 1 tablespoon per meal:

• barbecue sauce
• cocktail sauce
• ketchup
• mustard
• hot sauce
• low-calorie salad dressing
• steak sauce

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How Can You Help Your Child Reduce Salt Intake?

• Do not use salt in cooking or at the table.
• Cook with herbs and spices or, if permitted by your child’s physician, use salt substitutes such as Mrs. Dash®, NuSalt®, NoSalt®, or Morton’s Lite Salt®.
• Seasonings with “salt” in the name, such as garlic salt, are high in sodium. When seasoning foods, use fresh garlic or garlic powder, use onion powder instead of onion salt, and try celery seed rather that celery salt.
• Eat home-prepared meals, using fresh ingredients, instead of canned, frozen, or packaged meals. When dining out, request dressings and sauces on the side for your child. Ask the chef to hold the salt in food preparation.

Type of Food	Allowed	Avoid
Milk, Yogurt, Cheese	whole, 2 percent, or skim milk cottage cheese, regular hard cheeses, tofu puddings, custards, ice cream	processed cheese cheese spreads
Meat, Fish, Poultry	fresh or frozen meats, poultry, fish low sodium canned tuna or salmon dried beans and peas soybean / vegetable protein peanut butter	salted or canned meats, fish (sardines, herring, anchovies), or poultry lunch meats (bologna, ham, corned beef) cured meats (ham, bacon, sausage) hot dogs, dried beef, jerky commercially frozen entrees Kosher-prepared meats
Fruits	fresh, frozen, or canned fruits, fruit juices	None
Vegetables	fresh, frozen, or low sodium canned	sauerkraut salted or pickled vegetables vegetables cooked w/ salted meats regular vegetable juices
Starches, Breads, Cereals	potatoes, macaroni, spaghetti, noodles, rice unsalted potato chips, low sodium pretzels, unsalted crackers, unsalted popcorn, & nuts whole grain and enriched breads pancakes, muffins, french toast, waffles, biscuits, cookies, cakes whole grain and enriched cooked or commercially prepared dry cereals	potato chips, salted snack foods & pretzels commercially prepared rice and noodle mixes salted breads, rolls and crackers salted popcorn & nuts
Miscellaneous	cocoa, horseradish, herbs and spices such as onion powder, fresh garlic, garlic powder, celery seed flavorings such as vinegar, lemon juice, Tabasco® low sodium condiments and seasonings such as Mrs. Dash®, Nu-Salt®, Morton’s Lite Salt®, NoSalt® catsup, chili sauce, barbecue sauce, mustard, gravy (limit to 1 Tbsp/day) low sodium canned soups, homemade soups	commercially prepared meat sauces monosodium glutamate (MSG) onion salt, garlic slat, celery salt, seasoned salt olives, pickles relish, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce® dehydrated soup or bouillon, canned soups
Fats	butter, margarine, lard, shortening, vegetable oil, mayonnaise salad dressing (limit 1 Tbsp/day)	salt pork, bacon fat, fat back more than 1 Tbsp salad dressing/day