# Low sodium chili



## kbreit (Dec 19, 2008)

I was looking at allrecipes.com for a chili recipe.  Going through them, I noticed how high sodium everything is.  A serving has anywhere from 1300-2700mg of sodium.  I have no need to keep a low sodium diet, but this seems awfully high.  What is it about chili that makes it so high sodium?


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## jim262 (Dec 19, 2008)

Packaged ingredients are high sodium culprits. A 28 oz can of tomatoes has 1550-2000 mg sodium, a can of kidney beans has up to 1200 mg depending on how well rinsed they are, one cup of low sodium stock or broth has about 600 mg., and that teaspoon of salt has 2350mg.  It can add up very fast. 

The sodium from the tomatoes and the beans can be reduced significantly by seeking out no-salt added tomatoes and cooking the beans yourself.  I can't guarantee that the flavor of the chili will be improved.


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## Maverick2272 (Dec 19, 2008)

That'll do it, processed stuff usually contains lots of sodium. The more ingredients you make from scratch the better. Fresh tomatoes, soak the beans instead of using ones from the can, etc.


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## kbreit (Dec 19, 2008)

I don't have experience with the fresh tomatoes, etc. but I may give that a try.  Are there any instructions how to prepare the tomatoes and the beans to be relatively comparable to the store bought?


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## Maverick2272 (Dec 19, 2008)

The beans just follow the instructions on the package for soaking and cooking them. The only difference between them and the store bought ones after soaking and cooking will be what you cook them in. If you buy "chili beans' from the store they are cooking in chili spices before canning. So, once you cook them in your chili, they will be your own 'chili beans'. As for the tomatoes, I just cut em up and make sure the juice and all go into the pot.
You are going to need a good tomato paste base, so this is where a good food processor comes in handy for making your own tomato paste. Well, OK, mine does anyway. Others may come along that have different recipes where you might not need a paste base. Other than that, just use fresh peppers and good meat (I like a cut up chuck roast for mine).


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