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.