New Adventures in Low Sodium Living: Orechiette with Cannelini Beans & Spinach

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Orechiette with Cannelini Beans & Spinach

We had a busy week, so this week's new recipe was from one of our cook books. We did not make any substantial changes other than to omit the salt and use organic low sodium vegetable broth, which has much less sodium than the usual kind. I could not find no-salt-added cannelini beans, so I bought the normal kind and rinsed them thoroughly to remove as much sodium as possible. Since this is NOT an original recipe, I will simply cite the source and tell you it was very tasty. We'll definitely make this again.

Gourmet Meals in Minutes by The Culinary Institute of America, Lebhar-Friedman Books, NY, 2004, page 264. ISBN 0-86730-904-0

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So, what do you have against sodium?

Nothing! In fact, I love sodium, but it does not love me. I was diagnosed with Meniere's Disease in June 2011. The symptoms are not much fun: tinnitus, hearing loss, a strange feeling of fullness in the affected ear, plus dizziness and/or vertigo with nausea. Mild attacks are merely uncomfortable and annoying. Severe attacks are debilitating.

There is no cure, but the first line of defense against the symptoms of Meniere's is a very low sodium diet (less than 2000mg per day, which is just under one teaspoon of salt). Talk about difficult! It isn't just avoiding the salt shaker, but avoiding foods that are naturally (or unnaturally) high in sodium. Once I started reading nutritional labels, it was pretty shocking how high the sodium content of nearly all my dearest and most loved foods are.

This blog follows the story of how I adjust to the new restrictions, find creative new ways to prepare my favorite foods, maybe discover some new foods to love, and once in a while just a space to bitch and moan about not getting to eat that BLT or bacon double cheeseburger with extra large fries.