Sodium Girl's Limitless Low-Sodium Cookbook

I received my copy of Sodium Girl's Limitless Low-Sodium Cookbook today. I was reading it walking home. It was hard to eat my lunch for reading this treasure. My diet needs to be low sodium due to Meniere's Disease which has had me clinging to a building calling someone to come get me, a consequence of severe vertigo. Not wanting to continue having incapacitating vertigo and not able to tolerate the diuretic medication, I reluctantly --- kicking and screaming-- since I am a salt lover, embarked on cooking all my food with a low sodium aim of 500 - 1000 mg of sodium. I continued in a contrary cranky mode until I discovered the Sodium Girl Blog. Her positive enthusiastic delight saved my attitude. I am still learning and adjusting my attitude after 6 months of low sodium cooking, but without this blog I would not have lasted. The book expands on the first thing to change: your perspective. Showing how she did it with specific examples of ways to think about cooking without salt, she comes up with clever metaphors such as "The Little Black Dress Theory." She gives directions for adjusting existing recipes, for dealing with friends, family--dating even, for eating out. This last one is a fun saver. I have swung from not eating out at all to going out and taking my own food, to calling ahead and knowing what to ask for and how to ask for what I want and need thanks to Sodium Girl's sound counsel.Then there are the recipes. The word that comes to mind is sexy food. What about "Balsamic Blueberry steak sauce," "Pad Thai," "Rugosa Butternut Squash Ravioli," "Saffron Lemon Broth." Limitless fun with food is her operating principle. Her chatty, witty writing style also delights and comforts.

I love this recipe book! This is simply a great way to eat. Not only is Jessica's story inspirational (you've got to read this!) the result of her courage and take-charge attitude resulted in a great approach to eating. I've been sensitive to salt my whole life and have learned a thing or two about flavoring low salt cooking. I took another step forward with some of her combinations and suggestions. Some of these things are obvious and bear repeating while many of her suggestions are unique flavor bonanzas. The wonderful thing is that regardless of your culinary skill level this book is worth having.I'm still reading through the whole book (she's a wonderful, funny writer). So far, my favorites are Char Sui Spare Ribs (yum!) and Chicken Wraps with Plum Sauce. I'm intrigued by Pâté Cake, Pâté Cake, (I told you was witty!), and Potatoes Poutine with Mushroom Gravy. These are on my short-list to try soon.The everyday information for a common sense approach to low-sodium eating coupled with unique and satisfying flavor combinations puts this book on my top-ten list!

I first borrowed this from my local library, and tried a few recipes. They were good enough that I ordered my own copy from Amazon. I find many recipes need to be modified due to the large batch sizes, and instructions are sometimes not clear (i.e.: X cups of pasta - it doesn't say whether cooked or raw...and that makes a big difference)Some recipes don't specify a serving size/weight, making the sodium content difficult to calculate, which after all, is the purpose of this cookbook.

I was excited to get this book as I loved rading the author's blog. She definitely is a writer.Unfortunately I'm a bit disappointed so far. I'm an experienced cook and I've started cooking low-sodium meals 2 years ago. I've reached the point where I can now turn a normal recipe into a low-sodium one by omitting the salt, replacing it with vinegar, skip whatever ingredients are too heavy in sodium, and add more flavour using herbs and/or spices.I've only tried 3 recipes so far and have to go on to give the book a chance but I wanted to start leaving a review before updating it.I've tried:- the carrot creme fraîche quiche: a disaster. It's an easy one, right? You make the dough, pre-bake it, fill it and put it back in the oven. I knew while making the recipe that this would be very bland and I was right. The dough was terrible. It's texture was too crumbly and it really tasted too much like pure flour. I ended up removing the crust from the pie to be able to eat it. My husband felt the same. The next day, though, the few elements of flavor in the filling started to develop a bit. But that's way too late for a quiche.- the Bloody Mary made with beets: actually very good. The idea is nice: do not look for the exact taste of a Bloody Mary but replace ingredients by a creative new list. It turned out to be ...a nice cold borsch, except that it lacked sour cream or anything oily to my taste.- the tofunnaise: it worked well in sandwiches we made on a trip. I wouldn't use it as a mayo substitute in a salad but it worked well as a sauce between 2 slices of LS bread and plenty of vegetables and herbs. I feel the recipe in the book is a draft. Now I have to work on the flavors, adding things until I find the right texture and taste.There are a lot of recipes in this book using meat or seafood. If you are a vegetarian like me, or also on a low-protein diet like my husband, it is also a problem.But there are some recipes I want to try.The book is also a good source of tips, on how to eat out, what to bring while traveling, or how to make spending more time in the kitchen not a boredom. Handy if you're just starting a low-sodium diet.In complement to the book, I'd like to recommend:- The No-Salt Cookbook by David and Thomas Anderson. Easy recipes and in general quicker than the Sodium Girl cookbook. Plus the size of the book is small, which is easier to carry on trips or give to friends who want to have you for dinner.- Gazzaniga's Lowest sodium cookbook. Pages and pages of recipes (you won't be bored by your food options!), including breads, pancakes, Italian food... It looks ugly and there is not a single picture but it's been truly helpful and still a source of inspiration.- if you are looking for a way to cook with more herbs and don't mind the fancy ingredients/ live near a place where you an buy them, I'd recommend Ottolenghi Plenty and Plenty More cookbooks. They focus on vegetables which will be helpful if you have to lower your protein intake (which often happens with kidney disease). And they taste amazing. Just be aware it is not a low-sodium cookbook, so use your judgment (replace feta by low-sodium goat cheese, skip salt, skip the recipes asking for capers or olives, replace soy sauce by balsamic glaze...).

The book itself is excellent, but it arrived with a bent cover (looking like it had been shoved in the packaging) with post it notes inside.

As a person with kidney disease, I was looking for a modern cookbook that had low-sodium recipes. This is the one that I desperately needed. It's to the point, it covers a realistic low-sodium diet, and it has a range of recipes ranging from quick to ones that take some time to make. I think this is a must-read for everybody!

While some of the recipes are more time consuming, many of them - esp the whiskey orange pulled pork, and the char sui spare ribs, have become family favourites!

I was very disappointed with this book. The recipes are complex with ingredients I have never heard of. There is also a lot of cream and other fattening ingredients. I wanted a user friendly healthy cookbook focused on low sodium. This is not it.