Let’s Eat! | Healthy Meal Ideas Packed with Flavor, Not Salt
Courtney Carter
/ Categories: WELLNESS, 2024

Let’s Eat! | Healthy Meal Ideas Packed with Flavor, Not Salt

Cutting down on salt is one of the kindest things we can do for our health. From reducing blood pressure and the risk of a heart attack to helping with liver and kidney health, a low-salt diet simply does a body good.

Fortunately, there are plenty of recipes that make it easy to skimp on salt but not flavor. Here are just two options to slip into your menu rotation. My guess is everyone will be too busy enjoying their meal to even notice the lack of salt.

 

Southwest Turkey Burger

Serves 4   

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound ground turkey breast

  • 1/2 cup no-salt-added canned black beans, rinsed and drained

  • 3 scallions, green part only, finely chopped

  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

  • 3/4 teaspoon chili powder

  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

  • 1 serrano or jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped (optional)

  • Cooking spray

  • 4 burger or other type of sandwich rolls

  • 1-2 cups lettuce, chopped 

  • 4 tomato slices

  • 1 avocado, peeled and sliced

  • 1/4 medium onion, red or white, sliced

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 450°F.

  2. In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, black beans, scallions, garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder, black pepper, and serrano or jalapeno pepper until blended. Form into 4 patties.

  3. Lightly coat a medium frying pan with cooking spray. Cook burger patties, covered, until they reach 165°F, roughly 4 minutes per side.

  4. Serve cooked patties on buns, topping lettuce, tomato, avocado, and onion. 

 

Air Fryer Crispy Chicken

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup all-purpose, gluten-free, or whole wheat flour  

  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, or, 2 teaspoons dried parsley, crumbled

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground oregano

  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper

  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional), or 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

  • 1/2 to 1 cup low-fat buttermilk

  • 1/2 tablespoon red hot-pepper sauce, or to taste (optional)

  • 1/3 cup Panko breadcrumbs

  • 1/3 cup shredded or grated Parmesan cheese

  • 1 pound chicken tenders or boneless skinless breasts pounded to ¼”

  • Cooking spray

Directions:

  1. Preheat the air fryer to 390°F.

  2. In a shallow dish or pie pan, whisk together the flour, parsley, oregano, pepper and cayenne.

  3. In a separate shallow dish, whisk together the buttermilk and hot sauce. In a third shallow dish or pie pan, stir together the crispbread crumbs and Parmesan. Set the dishes and a large plate in a row, assembly-line fashion.

  4. Pat chicken pieces dry then dip in the flour mixture, turn to coat evenly. Shake lightly to remove excess. Then dip in the buttermilk mixture, again turning and shaking lightly when done. Next, place the chicken in the breadcrumbs and gently press the mixture on the chicken so that it sticks.

  5. Arrange chicken pieces in a single layer in the air fryer basket, leaving space between each piece. You may need to cook in batches. Cook for 5-7 minutes on each side  , or until the chicken reaches 165°F and the coating is golden brown. Serve with no- or low-salt dipping sauces such as barbecue, honey mustard, or chipotle mayonnaise.

 

For more low-salt recipes, visit the USDA’s MyPlate website.

Kristin Irace, RD, LDN, is a registered dietitian in in-patient, renal dialysis, oncology, and cardiac rehab services at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center.

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SVMC Creates Virtual Waiting Room to Encourage Distancing

BENNINGTON, VT—May 29, 2020—Starting Monday, many people who need in-person appointments at Southwestern Vermont Health Care's (SVHC) hospital and clinics will no longer need to use traditional waiting rooms. A virtual system created by the hospital allows patients to call 802-447-5000 when they arrive in the parking lot and receive a text message when their provider is ready to see them.

SVMC's outpatient and inpatient surgeries and diagnostic services, like those for imaging and laboratory work, have resumed with enhanced safety protocols per the directive of Governor Phil Scott. The health system's emergency department, ExpressCare, emergency surgical services, and most of its primary and specialty practices remained open during the pandemic.

"SVHC has provided safe, high-quality care throughout the pandemic." Said Thomas A. Dee, FACHE, Southwestern Vermont Health Care’s (SVHC) president and CEO. "Innovation has been an important part of providing care during these extraordinary times and this new program decreases the number of people in our waiting rooms and allows them to stay the recommended 6 feet apart or more."

In order to use the virtual waiting room, patients must be able to wait in their vehicle and have a charged cell phone with them. They will receive the virtual waiting room telephone number during their appointment-reminder telephone call. Signs outside the building and at the respiratory check-in stations inside the main hospital and medical office building entrances will also include the number to call.

Patients simply call the number when they arrive in the parking lot and wait in their cars. When the provider is ready to see them, they will receive a text message alert to indicate that they should come in.

"We love that we can use the same technology that most people carry with them to help people stay socially distanced," said Gail Balch, RN, who directs information technology at SVMC. "It's through innovations like this one that we are able to resume services safely and ensure patients receive the care they need."

Hospital and clinic staff anticipate that the new program will allow greater distance between people who must use traditional waiting rooms, including those who walked or took public transportation to their appointment and those who do not have a cell phone.

Additional safety protocols indicate that all patients should arrive to the hospital or clinic with their own cloth face covering. Face coverings must be worn over the mouth and nose for the entire duration of patients' visits. Patients should also come alone, unless they absolutely need assistance from a loved one.

For questions about how to resume or initiate elective care, call your primary care provider or the specialist directly. For a list of providers, visit svhealthcare.org/physician-directory.

Patients with cough or shortness of breath or any two of the following—fever, chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, or new loss of taste or smell—should contact their primary care provider or the COVID-19 Informational Hotline at 802-440-8844 before arriving to either their provider’s office or the hospital. For a detailed list of safety protocols, frequently asked questions, visitor guidelines, and COVID-19 information, visit svhealthcare.org.

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