Reducing Sodium in Senior Meals: 

Tips and Tricks 

July 14, 2023

Pam Smith

Catherine MacPherson

Sherry Manyak
Grant Disclosure

This project was supported, in part by grant 

number 90PPNU0002, from the Administration for 

Community Living, U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees 

undertaking projects with government sponsorship 

are encouraged to express freely their findings and 

conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, 

therefore, necessarily represent official ACL policy.

2
Our Speakers

Sherry Manyak Catherine MacPherson Pam Smith
A Push to Reduce Sodium

• Reducing sodium intake has the potential

to prevent hundreds of thousands of

premature deaths and illnesses in the

coming years

• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

leads the voluntary strategy to lower the

sodium in foods. These targets align with

the DGA/DRI that OAA Senior Meal

Programs follow.

• Nutrition programs can make small

changes in what they buy and how they

prepare meals to help meet these sodium

goals. Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna43143369
Eating Healthy

Low -Sodium
RiverMills Council on Aging Congregate 

Meal Program

Fresh Meals Prepared Daily Allow Us To:

• Use whole foods

• Use fresh ingredients

• Create low sodium meals

• Create low fat meals
What is sodium?

• Sodium is a mineral found in most foods. Our body needs

sodium to promote normal muscle and nerve functions. It

provides a healthy balance of body fluids. Most table salts

are made from sodium chloride. Salt used when preparing

or flavoring foods usually contains sodium.

• Having too much sodium in your diet is bad for your

health. Consuming high-sodium foods regularly can cause

your body to retain excess water. With the extra body

water, your organs must work harder. This increases your

risk for high blood pressure, which can harm your heart

and kidney function.
Sodium Daily Intake Limits

• 1 to 3 years old 1,200 milligrams per day

• 4 to 8 years old 1,500 milligrams per day

• 9 to 13 years old 1,800 milligrams per day

• 14 years and older 2,300 milligrams per 

day

The typical American diet contains over 3,400 milligrams 

of sodium.

Source: National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine and Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Foods Containing the Most Salt

• Fast foods like pizza, burgers, and fried foods.

• Processed meats such as bacon, sausage, lunch meats and

hotdogs.

• Breads and rolls or grains that include sauces or seasonings

that include salt.

• Canned vegetables, canned soups or frozen dinners.

• Snacks including chips, pretzels and crackers.

• Condiments including salad dressings.
How to Limit Your Intake of Sodium

• Include a variety of fruits and vegetables regularly:

• For frozen products, look for ones without added sauces or sodium.

• If choosing canned vegetables, select low-sodium or no-salt-added

items. You can also rinse and drain canned vegetables to help reduce

the amount of salt.

• Limit your intake of highly processed foods by cooking more

from scratch:

• Choose lower sodium options for protein foods, such as fresh or frozen

lean cuts of meat, chicken, seafood, eggs or dried beans.

• Skip the added salt:

• Instead of adding salt to recipes, experiment with spices, fresh herbs,

lemon juice, lime juice and vinegars.
Your Step-by-Step Guide to Reading Nutrition Labels

Your Step-by-Step Guide to Reading Nutrition Labels

1. Check the serving size

• How many servings are in the container? A serving may be smaller than you think. A package may also appear to only contain a single

serving, but it could contain multiple servings. Try to stick to just one serving. All the nutrition info — including calories — refer to the

amount in one serving.

2. Check the calories in one serving

• 40 calories is low, 100 calories is moderate, and 400 calories or more is high. Remember: If you eat multiple servings, you'll need to

multiply the calories by the number of servings that you eat.

3. Check the % Daily Value

• The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for

general nutrition advice. Low is 5% or less. Aim for low in saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, and added sugars. High is 20% or

more. Aim high in vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber.

4. Check the ingredients

• Ingredients are listed by volume. The higher up on the list an ingredient is, the more of it the product contains. Make sure sugar isn’t one

of the first ingredients listed. Sugar goes by many names, including high-fructose corn syrup, barley malt syrup and dehydrated cane

juice, to name a few.

Source: Mayo Clinic
Low Sodium Cooking Tips

Cook from scratch.

Don’t add any salt to the recipes.

Use low sodium bases (The Minor brand is good).

Use low sodium sauces. We make a lot of our own.

Use unsalted butter. 

Use fresh herbs (we grow and dry our own herbs and grind them).

Mashed potato tip: If you cook the potatoes with garlic cloves it will add flavor 

to the potatoes without having to add salt.

We have salt and pepper on the tables for the seniors to use themselves.
Chicken Thigh Bone-in Recipe

• Chicken thighs, bone-in.

• Chicken is seasoned with pepper, basil,

rosemary and garlic.

• It is topped with a simple sauce that is used

from the drippings and corn starch to thicken

slightly.

• The rice is a blend of white rice and wild

rice. We added pepper and a small amount of

butter.

• The carrots are steamed and left plain.
Chicken Cacciatore 

Chicken thigh baked with pepper, basil, 

garlic topped with roasted peppers and 

onions and a tomato sauce. Penne pasta 

with tomato sauce. Parsley to garnish. 

This was served with a side salad.
Salmon

The salmon is seasoned 

with pepper, dill and 

basil. Lemon slices on 

top with a light cream 

sauce. Sides of rice pilaf 

and steamed peas.
Mexican Chicken Salad

• Romaine and iceberg mixed,

topped with a salsa of black bean,

corn, tomato, peppers, mango,

lime, orange juice, and cilantro.

Dressing is shallots, honey, extra

virgin olive oil and pepper. Topped

with a chicken breast that is

cooked with garlic and pepper.
July 2023

HOME DELIVERED 

NUTRITION & CONTROLLING 

SODIUM

Mom’s Meals®, A PurFoods® Company

MomsMeals.com | 1.866.716.3257 Confidential and Proprietary
MISSION

18 | Confidential and Proprietary

Mom’s Meals Improving life through better nutrition at home
LEADING NUTRITION SOLUTIONS COMPANY

• Founded in 1999, headquartered in

Ankeny, Iowa

• National Provider of home delivered meal

programs

• 2,200+ employees, senior management

with deep food and healthcare industry

experience

• 60+M meals delivered annually

19 | Confidential and Proprietary
IMPORTANCE OF NUTRITION ACROSS POPULATIONS

• Long Term Care Support

• Post-Discharge

• Hospital at Home

• Chronic Condition

Management

• Maternal Health

• Child Health

• Food Insecurity

• Medicaid LTSS/HCBS

Waivers

• Medicaid Managed Care

• Medicare Advantage

• CBOs/AAAs

Program Types: 1,000+ Contracts Nationwide to Provide Meals for:

• Hospitals, Health

Systems

• Other Government

Funded

• Self-Pay

Current partners include all major national and regional health plans:

20 | Confidential and Proprietary
Crafted by chefs and registered dietitians, our meals taste great and nutritionally support 

most common chronic conditions.

REFRIGERATED MEDICALLY TAILORED MEALS

21 | Confidential and Proprietary
CONTROLLING SODIUM ONE MEAL AT A TIME

Side: Applesauce (10 mg)

Entree: BBQ Chicken Patty 

with Potato Medley and 

Green Beans (543 mg)

22 Confidential and Proprietary
Momsmeals.com

23 Confidential and Proprietary
CIA’s Healthy Menus R&D Collaborative

Tasting Success with Cutting Salt

Pamela Smith, RDN www.pamsmith.com 
Healthy Menus R&D Collaborative
Operator Member Companies

The Genesis of Healthy Menus R&D Collaborative

January 2010: Small Group Dinner 

Would this work? Would major 

competitors be willing to collaborate?

December 2010: 1st Meeting 

• Determine need for Charter: Purpose,

Vision, Mission

• Identify SODIUM REDUCTION and

INCREASING USE OF PRODUCE as top

priorities.

• Align on HMC Strategic Process
Strategic process
HEALTHY MENUS R&D COLLABORATIVE 

TIMELINE
Finely Chopped Mushrooms Look, Act, Taste

and Perform like Ground Meat,,,

Could allow for healthier 

versions of iconic American 

foods with:

• Better flavor & texture,

with less salt

• Better nutrition benefits

• Better sustainability

• Favorable cost implications
Using Mushrooms to Improve the Nutrition 

Properties and Consumer Appeal of Popular 

Meat-based Dishes

Principal Investigators

Jean-Xavier Guinard, PhD, 

University of California, Davis

Amy Myrdal Miller, MS, RDN, FAND

Research Funders

Mushroom Council and Australian 

Mushroom Growers Association
“A 50-50 mixture of two 

nucleotide compounds can 

produce eight times as 

much flavor as either one 

of the compounds alone!”

MUSHROOMS:

THE ULTIMATE

FLAVOR LIFTER!

Mushrooms: the 

ultimate flavor

lifer
REAL WORLD IMPACT

• In 2013 Pizza Hut “silently” rolled out an improved handtossed crust with 35% less sodium.

• In November 2015 Pizza Hut successfully completed another

“stealth” sodium reduction, rolling out Thin ‘N Crispy crust

with 38% less sodium and cheese with 30% less sodium.

• In 2015 Pizza Hut developed a new meatball with

mushrooms that is nutritionally superior to its traditional

beef topping—38% fewer calories, 53% less sodium, and

60% less saturated fat!

SODIUM REDUCTION STRATEGIES

8%

29%

46%

54%

54%

58%

63%

67%

67%

96%

Sodium chloride enhancers

Salt replacement products

New salt products with modified crystal density, shape and/or size

Portion sizes

Different salt varieties

Manufacturers/ suppliers selection

Ethnic cuisines/ profiles

Preparation techniques

Vegetable and fruit ingredients

Flavor development that does not rely on sodium

Source: 2012 HMC Sodium Study, conducted by Datassential
Achieving Balance
IT’S ABOUT WHAT FOOD HAS, 

...NOT WHAT IT DOESN’T HAVE
Flavor Model

Quality 

Ingredients 

Sweet & Sour 

Balance 

Spice & 

Aromatics

Technique & 

Texture

Coax out 

Umami

Strategic 

Salting
Pantry Flavor Building 

• Front Line Ingredients

• Spices, Herbs, Onion, Garlic, Celery

• Mushrooms

• Heat / Peppers /Smoked

• Tomato/Tomato Powders

• Citrus/Vinegars

• Dairy, particulary aged/fermented

• Sweet Brown Spices

• Toasted Nuts and Seeds

• Fermented, Smoked, Roasted, Grilled
ANOTHER SODIUM SUCCESS STORY
Simple Tomato Sauce 

Total sodium: 305 mg per qt.; 38 mg per 1⁄2 cup

In heavy bottom pot, sweat on medium high 

heat 10-15 minutes till translucent & soft:

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 cup onion, fine dice

1/4 cup celery, fine dice

Add/Stir for 30 seconds:

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon dried Italian Herb seasoning 

Add:

28 oz. Cento San Marzano Tomatoes, 

pulsed/diced (40 mg sodium per 1/2 cup)

Let simmer, covered for 15 minutes
Tasting Samples

Sodium in 1⁄2 cup (4 oz.)

1. Commercial: Rao’s, Bertolli, Newmans) 470-520 mg

2. Simple Marinara + 1.5 tsp. DC Kosher Salt

3. Same DC + 5 grams Buffered Potassium Salt

249 mg

249 mg

4. Same DC + 9 g Yeast Extract (30 mg sodium/gm) 280 mg

5. Same DC + 4 g MSG (100 mg sodium/gm) 298 mg

6. Same DC + 3 Tbs. Mushroom Powder Blend 249 mg

7. Same DC + 4 oz. roasted, ground mushrooms 257 mg

8. Same DC + 1.5 Tbs. Ponzu, 1 Tbs. Pom Conc. 298 mg
Simple Marinara Sauce vs. Commercial 

Tasting Samples Sodium in 1⁄2 cup

Commercial: Rao’s, Bertolli, Newmans) > 470-520 mg

Simple Marinara:

PLUS Flavor Boosts < 300 mg

< Provides a 36% reduction in sodium – or more! >
HEALTHY MENUS WEBSITE
Thank you!

Pam Smith, RDN

 Shaping America’s Plate

 www.pamsmith.com pam@pamsmith.com 407.492.1771
Questions?
Sodium Content in White Bread