Get the Salt Out (57 page)

Blend all the ingredients in a blender until finely chopped.
Makes 4 cups.

359
Use the rich flavor of unsalted nut butters
to create tasty dips. Sesame seed butter, known as tahini, is the most popular nut butter used in dips. It’s a standard in Middle Eastern hummus (a chickpea bean dip with garlic, olive oil, and lemon) and Greek babaghanoush (eggplant pâté with garlic, olive oil, and lemon). Other nut butters such as almond butter also can be used creatively. In the following recipe, nutritionist Melissa Diane Smith combines unsalted peanut butter with yogurt, ginger, garlic, onion, and aromatic sweet spices to create an exotic Thai Peanut Dip.
One Salt Shaker.

Sauté the onion in the oil a few minutes until soft. Add the garlic and ginger to the onion and cook for another minute. Mix in the spices and the yogurt and cook over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until the mixture thickens and most of the liquid is absorbed. Combine the cooked yogurt mixture, peanut butter, and lemon juice in a blender or food processor and blend until the dip is medium-thick in consistency. Add a few drops of water or lemon juice if the mixture is too thick, then blend again. Sprinkle chopped parsley on top before serving. Spread thinly on low-salt, whole grain tortilla or pita wedges or serve with vegetable sticks.
Serves 6 to 8.

360
Transform low-salt entrées into low-salt appetizers
by changing the way you present them. For example, make cocktail meatballs out of the Herbed Hamburgers recipe in tip 231 or the Mexican Turkey Burgers recipe in tip 232. Bake the meatballs in a 350-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes until done, then serve them on a festive warmed plate.
One Salt Shaker.

361
Miniature-style casual foods also make great hors d’oeuvres
. Double or triple the Turkey Sausage Pizza recipe in either tip 301 or 302, and after baking, cut into bite-size squares.
Two to Three Salt Shakers.

362
Or make cocktail burritos
instead of the Bean Burros in tip 305. Cut whole wheat tortillas in quarters or sixths, add a dollop of refried beans to each portion, and wrap into mini-burritos. Hold each one together with a frilly cocktail toothpick if necessary.
Two Salt Shakers.

363
Mini-shish kebabs are versatile crowd pleasers.
They can be made with chicken, turkey, lamb, beef, shrimp, scallops, or even a firm fish like swordfish. To make them, marinate the pieces in a low-sodium salad dressing like herbal vinaigrette or a combination of lemon juice, herbed olive oil, garlic, and Italian seasonings. Skewer the marinated pieces on wooden sticks that have been soaked in water for at least 30 minutes, then broil. Add a few dashes of herbal salt if desired.
One to Two Salt Shakers.

364
Make festive broiled vegetable brochettes
to go alongside the meat kebabs. Colorful vegetables to arrange on skewers are zucchini and yellow squash rounds, bell pepper and onion chunks, and whole mushrooms and cherry tomatoes.
One Salt Shaker.

365
Dress up chicken drumsticks
by brushing with any Mr. Spice sauce before baking. (See tip 289.)
One Salt Shaker.