Heart Healthy in a Hurricane?

While I can hardly call my diet during Hurricane Sandy a healthy one, it struck me just how hard it is to find low-sodium foods that last and don’t require refrigeration.

Part of me thinks, well, it’s okay, because it’s just for a few days (in best-case scenarios) and besides, portion control is more effective when your available food gets limited. The other part of me just wants a frickin’ can of soup in my cupboard.

What’s a sodium-conscious person to do? Ramen, Campbell’s, Lipton – even Progresso’s so-called heart healthy/low sodium line has more sodium than I’d put in my body in one sitting if I had my head on straight. (Given that I ate a chocolate bar for dinner last night, it seems unfair to declare I have it on straight now.)

Since we have a potentially worrisome nor’easter blowing in this week, I’m trying to decide how to handle this. Buy no-sodium bullion and commit to a thin broth for a week? Load up on rice and pray the gas keeps working? At least it’s autumn in the northeast, so there are plenty of apples and long-lasting root vegetables easily accessed.

But it does make me wish there were more (legitimately) low salt options I could keep aside for emergencies.