Americans eat an unhealthy amount of sodium and don't think this doesn't apply to you since you no longer keep a salt shaker on the table. 80% of your daily sodium intake may be coming from manufacturers and restaurants so it is hard to realize all the hidden sodium you are getting.  We are generally lazy about trying other seasonings but experimenting often leads to wonderful and healthy surprises.  I find that if I have easy-to-grow herbs like dill, basil, rosemary or cilantro handy I am much more likely to use them. For convenient spices, try Mrs. Dash products.  If you feel a recipe really requires salt, be sure and try a lesser amount than called for and see what you think. As we get used to less sodium in our diet, food taste saltier with less and less sodium. Also, Kosher salt is a larger grain and has less sodium per teaspoon. Sea salt has slightly less sodium than regular salt partially because other minerals are present so there is less sodium per teaspoon.  Don't worry about not using iodized salt. You get iodine in milk, cheese, yogurt, other dairy products, kale, watercress and seafood.  Not to mention all the manufactured products you eat such as bread which is made with iodized salt, and all the restaurant food made with iodized salt.  Here is a recipe for a dip which calls for Kosher salt and is very flavorful.  Ingredients: Half of one 10 oz package of frozen choppen spinach, thawed and drained dry; One 7 oz container of FAGE 0% fat plain Greek yogurt; 1/4 cup pesto.  Add all to a bowl plus 1/4 t each Kosher salt and black pepper. Serve with unsalted chips or cut-up vegetables

Monday's Kaizen Healthy Lifestyle class involved everyone in reviewing common food choices and identifying at least one nutritionally superior alternate.  The alternate had to be similar and tasty...no sense pretending you would just as soon eat cottage cheese as vanilla ice cream.  Many pairs were discussed - one item to Choose, one item to Lose.  For example, when looking at sugar content, their is no contest between orange Crystal Lite (choose) and carton orange juice (lose).  Significantly lower in sugar and calories are Emerald's Cocoa Roasted Almonds vs. peanut M & Ms.   Lose a lot of saturated fat by choosing olive oil over butter. Lose a ton of sodium by choosing low-sodium chicken broth over bouillion cubes.  Add fiber and a healthier carb by choosing rolled oats instead of bread crumbs in your recipes calling for filler.   You may have seen the book series 'Eat This - Not That', which is the same concept.  The problem with those books is they are NOT presenting a truly healthy choice with each 'Eat This' recommendation. They are simply saying one of the pair is better than the other... but it is often the lesser of two evils.  The Kaizen Healthy Lifestlye class is much more discerning.  Handouts from the 'Choose It-Lose It' class will be free to visitors at the upcoming Love Your Life Health Expo March 26 at Kaizen Total Wellness center in Lakewood Ranch.

Kaizen Total Wellness nutritionist Annette Shuchert was a featured speaker at the open house Thursday evening at Che Bella.

Annette showed how spending just a little more time reading the nutrition information on food labels can help us make important distinctions and much healthier choices.  For example, the healthiest looking skin is the most hydrated skin.  So in addition to drinking at least eight bottles of water each day, spaced throughout the day, we should pay attention to counter-hydration ingredients like sodium.  Even diet coke and yogurt have sodium we don't think about!