Most of your favorite breakfast meals are rich in sodium even when it’s not smothered in gravy.
Common breakfast foods such as pastries and muffins, contain high levels of “hidden” salt. Make these four simple changes to lower your sodium intake.
1. Sandwiches. Most sandwiches contain salty ingredients (bread, cheese, pickles, cold cuts, and cured meats.
Smart swaps: Load up your sandwich with veggies such as tomato, cucumber, and lettuce. Skip the cheese and add avocado. Or make a fruit toast by spreading your favorite nut butter onto the toasted bread slices. Then, garnish it with fresh berries or bananas.
2. Kaya butter toast set. Bread itself isn’t exceptionally high in sodium but a slice of bread spread with butter contains 200 mg of sodium. Seasoning your soft boiled eggs with soy sauce will add more sodium to your breakfast.
Smart swaps: Check the sodium content and choose a bread with less sodium. Use unsalted butter or olive oil instead of salted spreads. Go easy on the soy sauce or choose lower sodium alternatives whenever possible to savor your soft-boiled eggs.
3. Soups. Many noodle soups are high in sodium. A bowl of Lor mee can have more than 2,500mg of sodium while fish ball noodle soup exceeds 3,000mg of sodium.
Smart swaps: Choose sliced fish instead of high sodium processed foods such as fish balls, fish cakes, luncheon meat, salted vegetables that add more sodium to the soups. Or make your own homemade vegetable broth with a little salt added.
4. Eggs and omelets. Most Big’s Breakfast served the egg with cheese and ham on an English muffin. Omelets are also often full of cheese, bacon, and ham.
Smart swaps: Make your own poached or soft-cooked eggs. For a healthier breakfast choice, eat unflavored eggs paired with corn on the cob or steamed sweet potatoes.
