Making Cereal Lower Sodium

One of the hardest parts of a heart healthy diet that may lower blood pressure naturally is avoiding excessive amounts of sodium. Salt is a huge part of our prepared foods industry. Try walking down a breakfast cereal aisle in the supermarket and reading the nutritional labels. Almost all the cereals many Americans (myself included) enjoyed as children are loaded with added salt. Even the supposed healthier cereals have a ton of added salt too! Why? The reasons are abundant but 2 that come to mind are: 1) salt helps to preserve foods and 2) salt makes food taste good!

Well that’s annoying; I don’t want to cut out cereal all together. I love cereal! My favorite treat as a child was a giant bowl of Frosted Flakes enjoyed with some cold milk. I used to eat straight from a box of HoneyNut Cheerios as a snack!

I know, I know. I’m an adult now, and I care about my heart health, so I should always make healthier breakfasts like hardboiled eggs, fresh fruit, and oatmeal. Well, I certainly enjoy cooking healthy meals often, but sometimes I’m just in a rush and want something quick and easy.

Are you ready for the super easy tips to make your favorite cereal lower sodium?! Okay, here it is!

1. Pour half the usual amount of your favorite cereal into a bowl.
2. Add some plain, unsweetened, unsalted puffed wheat, puffed millet, or puffed rice to the bowl.
3. Enjoy with your favorite milk!

The concept is simple. You still get to enjoy the cereal you love, but now there is half as much sodium as you usually consume! Is it a perfect system? Definitely not! However, it is a quick and easy way to cut some extra salt out of your breakfast! Plus, puffed wheat, puffed millet, and puffed rice have their own additional nutritious benefits! Also, they add some extra bulk and help you feel full enough.

I usually buy my puffed wheat, millet or rice from Whole Foods Market. It’s plain and does not have any other additives. I’ll include some links to the products below:

Here are some links to the puffed wheat, millet and rice that I buy:

• Puffed wheat
• Puffed millet
• Puffed rice

To be honest, they are probably not very exciting to eat on their own, because they are plain! No salt, no flavoring, no sugar. You will get some flavor from the half portion of the favorite cereal in your bowl. It’s about efficiency and compromise. I hope you found this small tip to be helpful! Have a great day and wishing you great health!

The only ingredient is: Wheat Puffs! Add this to a smaller portion of your usual cereal to lower the amount of salt!