Seasonings and Sodium

by Kathryn Schleich

Seasonings, both dry and liquid, can be a hidden source of large amounts of sodium (and in many cases calories too). This list is by no means comprehensive, but serves as a guide to get you reading labels and making good choices to lower your sodium intake. 

Dry Seasonings
Located in the spice or bakery isle, dry seasonings and spices often don’t have any sodium. Flavorful seasonings with little or no sodium certainly make cooking so much easier and tasty! Seasonings are a good place to start keeping track of your sodium intake. Serving size for all seasonings: ¼ Tsp.

Mrs. Dash (all 12 Varieties) 0 milligrams Sodium
McCormack Pizza Seasoning Blend “
McCormick Minced Garlic “
Chef Paul Pruhomme’s Pizza and Pasta Magic “
Garlic Powder “ Onion Powder “
Chili Powder “
Herbs and Spices: Oregano, Basil, thyme, Rosemary, Dill, Dry Mustard, Pepper, Paprika, Marjoram, Cloves, Mace, Savory, Curry, Bay Leaf, Sage, etc.

All the seasonings above have no sodium. Two that you want to avoid are Garlic and Onion Salt. One that you want to watch: Accent Flavor Enhancer (also has some MSG) at 80 mg Sodium. Two others you may want to avoid: Lawry’s Seasoned Salt with 380 mg sodium and Emeril’s Steak Rub at 210 mg. Also look for lite seasonings such as Morton’s Lite Salt which has 290 mg of Sodium versus 600 mg for the same size serving.

Marinades/Liquid Seasonings
Serving size for all liquid seasonings 1 Tsp.

Maple Grove Farms Raspberry Vinaigrette 0 milligrams Sodium
Lemon or Lime Juice “
Lite House Sesame Ginger Dressing “
Herb Ox Very Low Sodium Chicken Bouillon 5 mg Sodium
LaChoy Plum Sauce 8 mg Sodium
LaChoy Tangy Plum Sauce 10 mg Sodium
Consorzio 10 Minute Marinade -Tropical Grill 10 mg Sodium
LeeAnn Chin Sweet & Sour Dipping Sauce 10 mg Sodium
Hunt’s Tomato Sauce No Salt Added 15 mg Sodium
Tabasco Pepper Sauce 30 mg Sodium
LeeAnn Chin Lemon Sauce (& Salad Dressing) 35 mg Sodium
V-8 No Salt Added 45 mg Sodium
Kikkoman Sweet & Sour Sauce 50 mg Sodium
Heinz Worchester Sauce 60 mg Sodium
LaChoy Hot & Spicy Sauce 70 mg Sodium
Maple Grove Farms Fat Free Poppy seed Dressing 80 mg Sodium
Famous Dave’s Cranberry Citrus Marinade 80 mg Sodium
Hunts Kansas City BBQ Sauce 85 mg Sodium
Stubb’s Pork Marinade 210 mg Sodium
Stubb’s Chicken Marinade 95 mg Sodium
Consorzio 10 Minute Marinade 50-100 mg Sodium
Knorr Sauce Mix, Au Jus (made with water) 160 mg Sodium

Condiments
Serving Size: 1 Tsp* unless otherwise noted
Note: Some of the previous liquid seasonings could also be used as condiments.
Woeber’s Cranberry Horseradish Sauce 0 mg Sodium
Silver Springs Cranberry Horseradish 0 mg Sodium
Silver Springs Apricot-Pineapple Horseradish 0 mg Sodium
Hunts Ketchup No Salt Added 0 mg Sodium
Honey 0 mg Sodium
I Can’t Believe its Not Butter Spray 5 mg Sodium
Jelly/Jam/Preserves All Fruit (Most varieties) 5-10 mg Sodium
Maple Grove Farms Mint Jelly 10 mg Sodium
Beaver Cream Stile Horseradish 25 mg Sodium
Desert Pepper Peach Mango Salsa 25 mg Sodium
Boar’s Head Honey Mustard 25 mg Sodium
Inglehoffer Sweet Honey Mustard 45 mg Sodium
Knotts Boysenberry Syrup 50 mg Sodium
Heinz Tomato Ketchup 190 mg Sodium (1 Tbsp)
French's Classic Yellow Mustard 55 mg Sodium (1 Tsp)

These three other sauces you may want to avoid:
Ortega Taco Sauce 120 mg Sodium
Sweet Pepper Jalapeno Jam 130 mg Sodium
Guiltless Gourmet Southwestern Grill Salsa 150 mg Sodium

An avid believer in exercise and healthy eating, Kathryn Schleich experienced a serious heart attack in 2009 at the age of 51. Through that experience she has made it her mission to educate heart attack survivors, stroke survivors, and those wishing to maintain or lose weight. Schleich is also a nationally published author and can be contacted at kathrynschlei777@yahoo.com. You may also visit her web site at: www.women-write.com.     

Kathryn Schleich © 2010 
10220 Country Club Curve
Woodbury, MN 55129
kathrynschlei777@yahoo.com