I’m going to start a post about low-sodium eating with a crazy statement: I love salt. No, really. I LOVE SALT. So when I met my friend Jessica Goldman Foung (a.k.a. Sodium Girl) many moons ago, I have to be honest that low-sodium eating was something I had never even thought about. Then I heard Jessica’s story. In 2004 she was diagnosed with Lupus and learned that the autoimmune disease had attacked her kidneys and brain. As a result of all the craziness, she had to adjust her diet, including eating no sodium. This pretty much blew my mind. No sodium? How is that even possible? After following Jessica and her culinary adventures all these years she has proven to me that a life without sodium can be a rich and delicious one indeed. She is quite the inspiration.

The American Heart Association recently asked if I would help spread the word about their new Sodium Breakup campaign. I was more than happy to so that people like me (a salt lover who could definitely improve her diet to help her heart) and people like Jessica (someone who had to give up salt to save her life) could both learn all about low-sodium eating. I was honored to be given the opportunity to write the kick-off post for the campaign on AHA’s website, which you can read by clicking here! Over the next few months you can keep checking in with the AHA to get all kinds of great low-sodium information, tips and more. The AHA is bound and determined to make your breakup with sodium a breakup you are happy about!

And I have even more low-sodium goodness for you today: a book, a recipe and a giveaway!

First, the book. Low-So Good is a beautiful resource written by my friend Jessica. The book has 70 mouthwatering recipes (hello, Jerk-ish Fish Tacos with Sauce, Slaw and Salsa, I need you in my life), but it is also a complete guide to low-sodium eating. Low-sodium novices and experts alike can benefit from what Jessica has to offer, and I love the guest articles peppered throughout the book from other food experts. The photography is gorgeous, the book is well organized and easy to read, and, best of all, Jessica’s infectiously happy personality shines through. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to cut some (or even all!) sodium from their diet…or really to anyone at all! Click here to buy Jessica’s book!

Second, the recipe. A really helpful part of Jessica’s book is advice for eating in restaurants when you’re trying to go low-so. One of my favorite recipes in the entire book is MacGyver Vinaigrette. It’s more of a formula than a recipe, providing the guidance you need to make a salad dressing on the fly with ingredients you can find at restaurants. It’s awesome. So today I’m sharing one of my MacGyver no-sodium vinaigrette creations, which is sweet and zesty! The recipe is below and sized for one serving.

Lastly, the giveaway! One of you lucky, randomly-selected people will win a copy of Jessica’s book Low-So Good. Here is how to enter! (All comments must be posted before Midnight PT Wednesday 11/2/16. Prize must be shipped to an address in the U.S.)

• Leave a comment on this post! Easy peasy!
• Bonus entry: Follow This Week for Dinner on Facebook (leave a separate comment indicating you follow)
• Bonus entry: Follow Sodium Girl on Facebook (leave a separate comment indicating you follow)
• Bonus entry: Follow American Heart Association on Facebook (leave a separate comment indicating you follow)

And now for a no-sodium salad that will make your taste buds super happy! And good luck with your sodium breakup adventures!

Sweet & Zesty MacGyver No-Sodium Vinaigrette

 

Print

Prep time

2 mins

Total time

2 mins

 

Inspired by "Low-So Good" by Jessica Goldman Foung. If you're trying to eat low-sodium, this on-the-fly dressing can be thrown together at a restaurant! (Or at home. Because it's good no matter where you eat it.)

Author: Jane Maynard

Serves: 1 serving

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons lime juice (about 4 lime slices)
• 1 teaspoon honey
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Generous pinch black pepper

Instructions

1. In a small bowl or in a small mason jar, add all of the ingredients. Whisk with a fork or shake well.
2. Serve over salad!

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I am SUPER excited about today’s post. First off, I get to brag about one of my very lovely food blogging friends. Second, I get to share an AMAZING recipe with you. Third, I get to do a giveaway. So much goodness in one place!

Aimée Wimbush-Bourque is a friend I met through blogging that I am beyond grateful to know. She is lovely and talented and I am lucky to have her as one of my people. Her blog Simple Bites is wonderful and she is truly an inspiration to me. The woman pretty much makes everything from scratch. When you grow up on a homestead AND you’re a professional chef you tend to do that sort of thing. I know I will never be an “Aimée” myself, but one can always dream…and at least I try!

Aimée just published Brown Eggs and Jam Jars and I am so happy to share this beautiful cookbook with you today! (Congratulations, Aimée!) My friend Allison came over this morning and we made a couple of Aimée’s recipes from the book. It was such a lovely morning, spending time with a friend making recipes written by another friend. I’m feeling all aglow with cheesy friend-i-ness!

Today I get to share Aimée’s recipe for Crispy Rosemary Roast Potatoes with you. Holy HANNAH, people. So good. Allison and I basically ate the entire batch. (We won’t talk about how many potatoes that was!) The technique for cooking the potatoes coupled with a cornmeal coating made for truly perfect roast potatoes. Perfect and dangerous. I wasn’t kidding when I said Allison and I ate an ENTIRE BATCH. At 10:30 in the morning, mind you. SO GOOD.

Anyway, Aimée’s book is filled with similarly wonderful recipes and I highly recommend you buy the book immediately! Right after you enter today’s giveaway, of course!

We are giving away a copy of Aimée’s beautiful book to one lucky, randomly-selected winner! Simply leave a comment telling us your favorite thing to make from scratch and you’re entered! Aimée is all about going homemade, so I think chatting about our favorite from-scratch recipes is the perfect way to celebrate her book launch! So, to recap, to enter the giveaway please leave a comment telling us your favorite thing to cook/make/bake from scratch by Midnight PT on Wednesday 3/11/15.  Prize needs to be shipped to a U.S. or Canadian address.

And with that I give you Aimée’s recipe for some of the best potatoes you’ll ever eat. Enjoy!

Crispy Rosemary Roast Potatoes

 

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This recipe is from the book "Brown Eggs and Jam Jars" by Aimée Wimbush-Bourque and makes some of the best roast potatoes this side of anywhere!

Author: Aimée Wimbush-Bourque

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 2 pounds red potatoes (about 6-7 medium), peeled (Please note that I totally did NOT peel the potatoes, whoops! Sorry, Aimée! They still came out perfectly)
• 2 teaspoons salt, divided
• 2 tablespoons cornmeal
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ¾ cup olive oil
• Leaves from 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, minced, plus more chopped for garnish (I also forgot to mince the rosemary leaves...can you tell Allison and I were chatting while making the recipe? Again, everything tasted great.)
• 8 fresh garlic cloves, peeled

Instructions

1. Position a rack on the lowest level of the oven and preheat oven to 425ºF (220ºC).
2. Cut each potato in half, then in half again, until you have 4 evenly sized chunks per potato. Place in a medium pot with 1 teaspoon of the salt, cover with cold water and set over high heat. Bring potatoes to a boil, then reduce heat slightly and boil for 2 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, mix together cornmeal, remaining 1 teaspoon salt and pepper. Drain potatoes, then transfer to the bowl with cornmeal and toss gently to coat.
4. In a 12-inch cast-iron pan or heavy skillet, heat olive oil over high heat. When small bubbles begin to rise (but before oil is smoking) and oil is very hot, add rosemary and garlic. Stir carefully with tongs for a minute to infuse the oil.
5. Carefully add the cornmeal-crusted potatoes all at once to the hot oil and arrange them with your tongs so that they are evenly distributed around the pan. Place the skillet in the oven and roast for 15 minutes. Carefully remove pan from oven and turn each potato so the crispy side faces up. Roast for another 20-25 minutes or until golden all over.
6. Using a slotted spoon, transfer potatoes to a serving platter. Sprinkle with chopped fresh rosemary and a sprinkling of sea slat if desired. Serve at once.

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OTHER RECIPES YOU MAY LIKE:

• Leftover Boiled Potato Problem Solved
• Roasted Garlic and Fingerling Potatoes
• Roasted Japanese Sweet Potatoes

EQUIPMENT I USED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE:

• Wusthof Classic Chef’s Knife
• Olive Oil Cruet
• Cuisinart Classic Stainless Saucepan
• OXO Good Grips Mixing Bowl Set with Handles
• Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron Skillet

This morning as I was unpacking the last of the moving boxes, I found stacks and stacks of business cards. It was fun to thumb through them and see names of people that I have since gotten to know much better and, in some cases, formed great friendships with. One of those cards was from Kathy Strahs of Panini Happy and Cooking on the Side. Kathy and I have done a good job of keeping in touch over the years and, in the last 8 months or so, have gotten to know each other very well because we now live near one another! I love Kathy to pieces – she is kind, thoughtful, accomplished and super smart. I love how strategic and savvy she is with everything she does and I always learn so much when I am with her. Kathy is the best!

I am beyond thrilled to share Kathy’s big news with you – her first book The Ultimate Panini Press Cookbook is officially on sale today! I received my copy last week and it is beautiful, clear, informative, creative and just plain delicious! (Okay, the book isn’t delicious, but the food you can make with it certainly is!) Kathy’s book starts with a great primer about what to look for in a panini press and what tools and ingredients you need to make the perfect panini. And, of course, the rest of the book is chock-full of recipes!

If you have a panini press, you have to get this book. It is an invaluable resource. If you do not have a panini press, you should still get this book and a panini press while you’re at it! (Kathy is giving one away today if you’d like to try your hand at a free Breville panini press!)

My favorite part of the book (and Kathy’s blog in general) is how she illustrates the versatility of the panini press. She cooks all kinds of things on her press, from breakfast items to ice cream cones to spatchcocked game hens! The book captures this talent of Kathy’s beautifully and it is a great inspiration in the kitchen!

I thought it would be fun to create “The Ultimate Panini Press Weekly Menu” based on Kathy’s book! Here goes!

MONDAY:
– Pulled BBQ Chicken Panini (p. 18) with caramelized onions (p. 19) with coleslaw and chips

TUESDAY:
– Chicken Teriyaki (p. 63) with rice and broccoli

WEDNESDAY:
– Grilled Flank Steak Fajitas (p. 148) with chips and Grilled Tomatillo Guacamole (p. 237)

THURSDAY:
– Crab Melt Panini (p. 170) with Bacon (p. 114) and side salad

FRIDAY:
– Breakfast for Dinner: Grilled French Toast (p. 293) with fresh fruit

SATURDAY:
– Turkey Apple Panini with Fig and Gruyere (p. 50)

SUNDAY:
– Spatchcocked Game Hen (p. 68) with salad and rolls

Pretty impressive, eh? I could have planned a year’s worth of weekly menus based on this book!

If you want to get your hand on Kathy’s book so you can make all these recipes, go buy her book on Amazon!

The giveaway is now closed. Thank you! I also have the opportunity to give away one signed copy of The Ultimate Panini Press Cookbook. To enter, please leave a comment on this post before midnight PT on Monday, 9/16. 

Congratulations, Kathy! All of your hard work has paid off – your book is wonderful! Mwah!