TheSnackHound

This post brought to you by Sunkist S’alternative. All opinions are 100% mine.

Salt will kill you. Okay, now that we've got that out of the way…

I'm serious. Just watch Man vs Wild or ask a pirate. If you are stranded in the middle of the ocean, you must collect rain water or harvest condensation to drink. Drinking salty sea water will rapidly dehydrate you and cause your demise. If even outlaw sea pirates know this, why doesn't it register with us landlubbers? No, the answer is NOT to drink a bottle of rum.

A little sodium is fine. We need our electrolytes, but excessive sodium bloats us and dehydrates us. Eight glasses of water a day? If you drink an excessive amount of sodium, make that nine or ten, kids to offset it. But sodium makes things just taste better.

Don't think you have a salty mouth? Take the Sunkist Sodium Quiz, and see where you stand.

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I rate as a "Mover, Not a Salt Shaker." I can't help you cheat! Is this better than being a "Salt Smarty?" Or is this one rung down? I can't help you cheat. Several years ago, I eliminated salt. Of course, you can't eliminate it all, but limiting packaged and canned foods to items with less than 100 mg of sodium per serving is a daunting challenge, but it can be done. You will adjust! The largest way to eliminate processed foods. Choose grilled or broiled instead of processed lunch meat ham, chicken, and turkey.

Sunkist throws down the gauntlet to all of us. The Sunkist S’alternative is to add lemon to recipes instead of salt. Your tastebuds won't be hurting for flavor, and your kidneys, liver, pancreas and heart will thank you.

Here's a fancy high-falutin' recipe to get you started. If you don't have saffron and refuse to buy it because you are afraid of trying something new, add a bit more garlic to taste.

Sunkist® Lemon Seafood Paella -

Ingredients: (Makes 8 servings)
*1- 32 oz can low sodium vegetable broth
*1 cup dry white wine
*1 teaspoon saffron threads
*1lb. of firm, fresh pieces of whitefish such as tilapia, bass, halibut and swordfish, cut into 16-21 pieces
*1lb. or 16-21 mussels, cleaned and de-bearded
*1lb. or 16-21 medium sized clams, rinsed
*cup chopped fresh parsley
*3 Sunkist® lemons, zest and juice
*3 Tbsp. olive oil
*1 _ cups minced onion
*3 cloves garlic, minced
*teaspoon crushed red pepper
*3 cups uncooked short-grain rice such as Valencian, Arborio, or Calrose
*1 cup frozen green peas
*1- 8oz jar of sliced, roasted red peppers

Instructions:
• To prepare broth, combine all the ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer (do not boil). Keep warm over low heat.

• To prepare paella, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large paella pan or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish pieces to pan and sauté 1 minute. Remove fish from pan, reserve and keep warm. Add onion to pan and sauté 5 minutes. Add the lemon zest, garlic and crushed red pepper and cook 5 minutes. Add rice and cook 1 minute longer, stirring constantly. Stir in broth, bring to a low boil and cook 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

• Stir in the peas and red pepper slices. Add mussels and clams to pan, nestling them into rice mixture. Cook 5 minutes or until shells open; discard any unopened shells. Stir in the reserved fish and chopped parsley and cook 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in lemon juice and check for seasoning. Cover with a towel and let stand 10 minutes before stirring

This post brought to you by Sunkist S’alternative. All opinions are 100% mine.

Salt will kill you. Okay, now that we've got that out of the way…

I'm serious. Just watch Man vs Wild or ask a pirate. If you are stranded in the middle of the ocean, you must collect rain water or harvest condensation to drink. Drinking salty sea water will rapidly dehydrate you and cause your demise. If even outlaw sea pirates know this, why doesn't it register with us landlubbers? No, the answer is NOT to drink a bottle of rum.

A little sodium is fine. We need our electrolytes, but excessive sodium bloats us and dehydrates us. Eight glasses of water a day? If you drink an excessive amount of sodium, make that nine or ten, kids to offset it. But sodium makes things just taste better.

Don't think you have a salty mouth? Take the Sunkist Sodium Quiz, and see where you stand.

I rate as a "Mover, Not a Salt Shaker." I can't help you cheat! Is this better than being a "Salt Smarty?" Or is this one rung down? I can't help you cheat. Several years ago, I eliminated salt. Of course, you can't eliminate it all, but limiting packaged and canned foods to items with less than 100 mg of sodium per serving is a daunting challenge, but it can be done. You will adjust! The largest way to eliminate processed foods. Choose grilled or broiled instead of processed lunch meat ham, chicken, and turkey.

Sunkist throws down the gauntlet to all of us. The Sunkist S’alternative is to add lemon to recipes instead of salt. Your tastebuds won't be hurting for flavor, and your kidneys, liver, pancreas and heart will thank you.

Here's a fancy high-falutin' recipe to get you started. If you don't have saffron and refuse to buy it because you are afraid of trying something new, add a bit more garlic to taste.

Sunkist® Lemon Seafood Paella -

Ingredients: (Makes 8 servings)
*1- 32 oz can low sodium vegetable broth
*1 cup dry white wine
*1 teaspoon saffron threads
*1lb. of firm, fresh pieces of whitefish such as tilapia, bass, halibut and swordfish, cut into 16-21 pieces
*1lb. or 16-21 mussels, cleaned and de-bearded
*1lb. or 16-21 medium sized clams, rinsed
*cup chopped fresh parsley
*3 Sunkist® lemons, zest and juice
*3 Tbsp. olive oil
*1 _ cups minced onion
*3 cloves garlic, minced
*teaspoon crushed red pepper
*3 cups uncooked short-grain rice such as Valencian, Arborio, or Calrose
*1 cup frozen green peas
*1- 8oz jar of sliced, roasted red peppers

Instructions:
• To prepare broth, combine all the ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer (do not boil). Keep warm over low heat.

• To prepare paella, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large paella pan or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish pieces to pan and sauté 1 minute. Remove fish from pan, reserve and keep warm. Add onion to pan and sauté 5 minutes. Add the lemon zest, garlic and crushed red pepper and cook 5 minutes. Add rice and cook 1 minute longer, stirring constantly. Stir in broth, bring to a low boil and cook 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

• Stir in the peas and red pepper slices. Add mussels and clams to pan, nestling them into rice mixture. Cook 5 minutes or until shells open; discard any unopened shells. Stir in the reserved fish and chopped parsley and cook 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in lemon juice and check for seasoning. Cover with a towel and let stand 10 minutes before stirring