The Salt Experiment

We have heard many times that Americans have too much salt in their diet.  Though approximately 1500 mg is needed each day for bodily function, too much of a good thing can cause other problems.  I never paid much attention to all the talk because I think I eat less salt than most people since I rarely use or consume processed foods and never eat canned vegetables.  Salt is likely used by food manufacturers not to make you unhealthy but rather to extend food shelf life.  If you look back to days of crossing the Atlantic in sail boats, the trip was long and in order to extend the shelf life of meat and fish, it was dried and salted.
Hearing the news of the recent reduction in the daily recommended needed, I got wondering exactly how much salt do I eat? And more importantly, how much am I feeding my family.
So I am setting out to do an experiment.  I will assume that 3/4 tsp a day is about what we should each eat.  I cook and salt our food with kosher salt.  I will place 3/4 tsp for each of us in separate bowls.  I am going to label the bowls.  If we want to salt our food, we will use our individual bowls.  When I cook something the 3 of us will eat, I will take 1/3 from each bowl.   If we are eating something that has salt listed on the label, I will record that as well.  I am very curious to find out how this works out.
Here is an interesting fact.  On my package of Morton Course Kosher Salt, I found a 1/4 tsp of Salt has 480mg of sodium.  I wanted to find out if all salts were created equally and in researching Table Salt, found 1/4 tsp has 600mg of sodium.  Making a change to Kosher Salt can reduce your intake right off the bat.
When cooking, try salting your food after it's cooked.  We all want to taste salt, so if it is salted to hit your tongue first, you'll need less.
As a test, I salted very lightly, the bottom slice of bread for a turkey breast and tomato sandwich so it would hit my tongue rather than the roof of my mouth and what a difference.  I tasted the salt first.
If you are on a low salt diet it doesn't mean a no-flavor diet.  Try flavoring with non salt flavorings like spices, herbs, ginger, garlic,and pepper to name a few.

I am finding that we eat very little salt.  I decided to continue this process for a 7 day period.  This way I can better account for weekends vs. week days when we are home for more meals.

I am proud to say that after a week, we each consumed under 3/4 tsp of Kosher Salt per person for the entire week.  I didn't bake which I normally do, that would be about 1 tsp for a recipe and then of course that is divided by 3.  Therefore, the main source of sodium we are getting is coming from things like Wheat Bread, Cheese, Ketchup and Mustard, Salty Chips or Store bought Cookies that are in our diet.  I drink Hot Chocolate in my coffee and surprisingly there is sodium in it.  I am getting approximately 1/3 (based on 1500mg sodium a day) of the daily allowance there.  So I would say we are in very good shape as far as sodium is concerned.
From March through October we have extremely high temperatures and all sweat quite a bit.  We all drink gatorade which contains sodium but on the other hand our daily requirement would be increased as well.
I am confident we are not in the group of Americans consuming too much sodium, if anything, we are under the daily requirement.
You should switch to Kosher Salt to reduce your intake.  Another suggestion is to use salt in pinches to "finish" your food rather than salting it while it is cooking.  If you begin to read labels you will begin to feel offended by the sodium content and will automatically avoid high sodium products, big culprit, Kraft Mac and Cheese.
If you are concerned, conduct your own experiment with your family.  Teaching your kids these good habits will be good for everyone's health!  Please feel free to post a comment as to your findings.

Crawfish in Wonton Wrapper Cups- Are You Ready For A Little Football Food?

I apologize this picture isn't quite as good as the recipe but you get the idea. I made this a 2nd time as a leftover and stretched the filling. You should fill the cups 3/4 of the way.  The 2nd go around, I cut the corners off the wontons.  They originally were folded under but they opened up and were sharp and too crunchy. 

I made up this cool hors d'oeurve after seeing something like this made using wonton wrappers as a shell.  I don't even recall what the filling was, I just liked the wonton idea.  These can be time consuming to put together so if your game day schedule is busy, make the filling a day ahead.

Get the prep ready first so the dish can go together quickly.  Thinly slice 2 - 3 Shallots.  Get 1 Garlic Clove ready to press.  If you have leftover crawfish from a boil, peel enough for 1 lb of tail meat, but if not buy 1 lb Louisiana Frozen Crawfish Tails.  They are more expensive but taste better than the flavorless ones from China.  Rinse the crawfish tails.  Use 1 package of Wonton Wrappers.   Using a sharp knife, cut off the corners of 1 stack at a time.  Keep under a damp cloth while working.  Melt 3 Tbl Unsalted Butter over low heat.  Brush a mini muffin pan with butter.  Add a wrapper and brush the inside of the wrapper with butter.

Heat a skillet thoroughly over medium heat.  Add 3 Tbl UnSalted Butter. Saute Shallots (If adding Dice Red Pepper do it in this step) for a few minutes till soft.  Press the Garlic into skillet and while stirring, heat for 1 minute.  Add 2 Tbl Flour and stir for the next 2-3 minutes.  Add 1/2 Cup Chicken Broth stirring all the while.  Add 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream.  Cook for about 3-4 minutes, til it comes to a gentle boil and continue cooking for a minute, then remove from heat.  Let mixture cool for a few minutes while stirring.  Add 1 Egg Yolk and 1 tsp Stone Ground Mustard. Add Crawfish Tails (if adding Scallion do it in this step).  Add 1 Tbl Barbeque Shrimp Seasoning.  If needed, add more to taste.  Add Salt and White Pepper to taste.  

Preheat oven to 375. Fill each wonton with mixture and top with a Sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until wonton is a deep golden brown.  Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

For some variations, you can add diced Red Pepper when you saute the shallots ~OR~ add finely sliced Scallions when stirring in the crawfish.  I get tired of bell peppers in everything because it is over powering, so I opted not to add it this time but I like the idea of the scallions best.

Drunken Chicken

This is a simple and fun recipe.  It cooks quickly, is moist on the inside, and the skin is crispy all the way around.  Great dinner even if cooking for 1 cause you'll have leftovers and wonderful tasty chicken for sandwiches.  The coolest part is you can cook 2 at once without any additional time.  Just make certain the birds aren't touching each other.  There is a stand for the beer that helps keep the chicken upright and I own 2 of them.  They are an odd shape for storing and they are somewhere but I couldn't find them so I went with just the beer can.  The chicken can also be cooked over a grill with the lid shut.  In winter, I like to cook mine in the oven
Move rack to the lower 1/3 of the oven.  Preheat oven to 400.  Rinse a small Whole Roasting Chicken (mine was just under $7) and S&P the cavity of the chicken as well as the outside.  Open a 12 oz Can of Beer.  Drink a few sips and add a few Garlic Cloves and any Herbs that interest you.  Put can of beer in a roasting pan.  Place chicken over the can, legs facing downward and use the legs for stability.  Carefully place in oven.  After 15 minutes, reduce temperature to 350.  Cook for another 1 1/4 hours.  Let rest before carving.  Carefully remove chicken from can without tipping it over.  A quick au jus and be made from the drippings.  Cut apart the legs, wings, and thighs in order to slice the breasts.  Another option is to serve all parts cut up.  To do this, remove legs, wings and thighs.  The back can be removed from the thighs and discarded after any useful meat is removed.   The breasts can be separated at the top netting 8 pieces.  Serve with mashed potatoes and a fresh vegetable....oh, and beer.

How to Feed a Family of 4 for Around $100 (The Menu Week 3)

This is a general menu and the days are interchangeable based on your schedule.  I like to cook when the evening is less hectic and when I am pressed for time due to scheduling, I tend to serve leftovers.  In the 2 previous menus, I have indicated the leftover buffet on day 7 but in this week due to the fact the chicken is roasted on Monday, it needs to be eaten by Friday.  If you decide to move the leftover night later in the week, cook the chicken later in the week as well.

This menu is based on the fact that you are getting carry over on some staples from Week 2 groceries.  If this is the first time you are using a week long menu, cross check what you have in your pantry with what is needed.

I would also like to note that further savings can be realized if shopping sales, using coupons or buying store brand items.

The purpose of these menus is to demonstrate that good food can be served to your family when you find yourself on a tight budget if you do a small amount of planning and are willing to make a few simple recipes from scratch.  Try to avoid fillers, junk food and soda, making the most of all the foods you serve.

Monday
B- Cereal with Sliced 1/2 Banana / Juice & Milk
D- Roasted Chicken / Mashed Potatoes / Corn / Milk
Tuesday
B- Yogurt / Peanut Butter Toast / Juice & Milk
D- Spaghetti with Marinara/ Zucchini Bread / Ice Cream / Milk
Wednesday
B- Scrambled Eggs / Toasted Zucchini Bread / Juice & Milk
D- Pork Chops / Rice / Carrots / Milk
Thursday
B- French Toast / Sliced Bananas / Juice & Milk
D- Hot Dogs on Wheat Buns / Baked Beans / Milk
Friday
B- Cereal with Strawberries / Juice & Milk
D- Dinner Buffet using all leftovers / Milk
Saturday
B- Fried Eggs / Toast / Juice & Milk
D- Spaghetti with Meatballs / Salad / Garlic Bread / Milk
Sunday
B- Buttermilk Pancakes with Fresh Strawberries / Juice & Milk
D- Grilled Provolone Sandwiches with Sliced Tomato / Home Fries / Fresh Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies / Milk

How to Feed a Family of 4 for Around $100 (The Grocery List Week 3)

8 Pork Chops $8
All Beef Hot Dogs $4
1 1/2 Pounds Ground Beef $4
1 Roasting Chicken $6
3 Gallon Milk $10.50
2 Dozen Eggs $4
Provolone Cheese $3
Real Orange Juice (Calcium Enriched) $3
4 Yogurts $2
1/2 Gallon Ice Cream $4
Frozen Corn $2
2 Loaves Nature's Own or Simililar Bread $5
1 Fresh Italian Bread $1
Wheat Hot Dog Buns $3
Baked Beans $2
2 lbs Angel Hair Spaghetti $3
1 Apple Juice $3
2 Boxes Cereal $5
Grape Jelly $3
Peanut Butter $2
5 lbs All Purpose Flour $2.75
Nestles Chocolate Chips $3
Brown Sugar $1
2 Hunts Pasta Sauce $2
1 Onion $.40
1 Garlic Bulb $.25
5 lbs. Russet Potatoes $3
1 Large Bag Carrots $1.75
4 Bananas $2
1 Quart Strawberries $3
Zucchini $1.50
2 Tomatoes $1
1 Lemon $.50