Flavoring with Lemon Instead of Salt

Special thanks to Sunkist for sponsoring today’s post.

The summer months are huge for entertaining here. I suspect this may be the case for you too. What could be better than kicking back with friends and family and enjoying some laughs and a good meal? But sometimes we need to be careful about those meals. As a marathoner, I’m usually thinking of ways to get more salt when I’m training in heat, but for most Americans, including some of my family members, that is so not the case.

Because my dad and one of my brothers struggles with high blood pressure, I always make sure I have low-sodium options available for them when they visit. Turns out, flavoring with fresh lemon is a perfect, natural substitute for salt.

So I accepted the challenge from Sunkist and created a meal using lemon instead of salt to see just how flavorful it could be without all the sodium.

I found these beautifully fragrant, organic Sunkist lemons at a local grocery store. Then I headed to my garden for inspiration. It’s been a challenging year with cool temps, too much rain and nightly raids by the deer.

But the basil screamed “pick me! pick me!”, so I’m going with Grilled Lemon-Basil Chicken with Lemon-Herb Quinoa. We’re pretty much grilling every night here lately. Is there any better way to cook in summer?

Grilled Lemon-Basil Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1t lemon zest
1/4C fresh lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
2T olive oil
1/2C loosely packed fresh basil leaves

Lightly pound chicken until it’s about 3/4″ thick and pat dry with paper towel. Combine all remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse until a marinade is formed. Pour marinade over the chicken, seal in a bowl or bag and refrigerate for up to 15 hours.

Preheat grill to about 400 degrees. Remove chicken from marinade (discard marinade) and cook 4-6 minutes per side, turning once, until cooked through.

For the quinoa side dish, I used onion and zucchini because that’s what was ready in my garden. But any veggie you like would work just fine. Be adventurous!

Lemon-Herb Quinoa

1-1/2C water or low-sodium chicken broth
3/4C quinoa
1/2C chopped onion
1/2C diced zucchini
1t lemon zest
2T fresh lemon juice
1/4t garlic powder
1/4t ground marjoram or oregano
1T olive or grapeseed oil

Bring the water or broth and quinoa to a boil and simmer, covered until tender, about 20 minutes.
In a separate pan, saute the zucchini and onion in the oil until tender. When quinoa is ready and all liquid is absorbed, add sauteed veggies, lemon zest and juice, garlic, marjoram and it’s ready to serve. Serves 4.

More great recipes to try that cut the salt:

• Grilled Lemon-Spiced Tilapia Tacos with Mango Pico de Gallo
• Moroccan Salad
• Broiled Swordfish
• Sunkist Lemon Marinade
• Lemon Seafood Paella
• Roast Salmon with Potatoes, Asparagus and Lemon-Caper-Dill Drizzle
• Mixed Greens with Roasted Peppers, White Beans Red Onion and Feta

 

The verdict? This meal was absolutely delicious. Nobody missed the salt one bit! The fact of the matter is, the bulk of the excess salt we take in is hiding in heavily processed foods, rather than salt added while cooking or from the salt shaker at the table. Be sure to check out the Sunkist S’alternative page for a whole bunch of great recipes, information about how to reduce the sodium in your diet and other s’alternatives.

Do you watch your sodium intake? Have you cooked with lemon? What’s your favorite food to grill right now?