Home Depot Health Challenge | Salt Mini ChallengeHome Depot Health Challenge

Awesome job so far, this week marks the halfway point for this Mini Challenge! How did you do on your sodium last week? If you met your goal, great job! If you found it to be a bit harder than you expected, don’t worry. As we’ve learned, sodium is tricky. Keep pushing this week to get closer to your goal.

Day 16

When you prepare your food at home you have more control over the amount of sodium in your food compared to the ready-to-eat foods you buy in stores or restaurants. Here are some tips for cooking at home:

Combine lower-sodium prepackaged food with regular versions.
Use herbs, spices, and aromatics, like onions and garlic, in place of some or all of the salt to add flavor to foods.
Drain and rinse canned beans (like chickpeas, kidney beans, etc.) and vegetables – this can cut the sodium by up to 40%.
Cook pasta and rice without salt.
Cook by grilling, braising, roasting, searing and sautéing to bring out the natural flavors.
Cook with foods that have potassium, like sweet potatoes, potatoes, greens, tomatoes, lower-sodium tomato sauce, white beans, kidney beans, nonfat yogurt, oranges, bananas and cantaloupe. Potassium helps counter the effects of sodium.
Check out our Healthy Living Cookbooks for some delicious and healthy recipes submitted by your fellow associates.

Action Step:

When cooking at home, begin using these cooking tips.

Action Step:

Write down your Week 3 Total Daily Sodium Goal and don’t forget to track your sodium today. As a reminder, you will need to log any points earned online at hdhealthchallenge.com. Only points logged online will be counted and you will only be able to log points for the current and prior week.

Day 17-21

This week our focus will be everyone’s favorite food: PIZZA!

OK, pizza isn’t exactly known for being a health food but you’re probably thinking the big concerns here are saturated fat and calories. However, did you know that one slice of pizza may have up to 640 mg of sodium? It doesn’t take a lot of math to realize that a few slices can add up and send your daily sodium skyrocketing.

Action Step:

If you normally eat pizza once a week, try topping your slices with more veggies and less cheese and processed meat, and swap in a salad for some of your slices this week.

Action Step:

Continue tracking your sodium intake for the rest of this week and work to reach your Week 3 Total Daily Sodium Goal. As a reminder, you will need to log any points earned online at hdhealthchallenge.com. Only points logged online will be counted and you will only be able to log points for the current and prior week.

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Please consult with your physician prior to starting any kind of diet, exercise or wellness program. This program is not intended to give medical, nutritional or wellness advice.