by josie
This Tequila Lime Chicken recipe from Robyn Webb’s latest cookbook calls for no salt.
It’s no secret that Americans have a taste for salt. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), nine out of 10 adults in the U.S. consume more sodium than recommended. In fact, some consume up to 3,700 milligrams of salt per day, well above the recommended maximum of 2,300 mg, thus increasing risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
Salt isn’t just dusted on chips and in obvious foods. The biggest source of sodium from a meal out often is the bread. And, as noted in VIV Says, the new book Sugar Salt Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us (Random House, 2013) by Michael Moss, examines how major food companies are using those three ingredients to keep consumers hooked on their products.
Nutritionist Robyn Webb’s own food vice is salt also, so she created an array of recipes for her book You Won’t Believe It’s Salt-Free! 125 Healthy, Low-Sodium and No-Sodium Recipes Using Flavorful Spice Blends (Da Capo Lifelong Press, 2012). As the name implies, Webb utilizes fresh herbs and salt-free herb and spice blends to create flavor in starters, soups, snacks, marinades, main dishes, sides and desserts. Recipes include tandoori snack mix, creamy spinach dip, zesty oven-fried chicken, carrot and date salad, kale salad with currants, Thai shrimp soup, coconut Arborio rice and kaffir lime leaf pudding, lavender biscotti — even popcorn!
Try Webb’s recipe for Tequila Lime Chicken below, which uses her simple blend of Caribbean Citrus seasonings. “This is one of those wonderful fix-and-forget recipes,” Webb says. “In just a few hours, chicken legs are infused with a zesty South of the Border flavor with a kick from the marriage of tequila and Caribbean Citrus seasoning.”
You’ll notice there’s a bit of sodium in this recipe — minuscule amounts from the ingredients, as well as some from the chicken itself. But with only 58 mg of sodium, this tasty recipe is a crowd pleaser without the salt.
Tequila Lime Chicken
Serves 4
½ cup tequila
½ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1 teaspoon for brushing if needed
1 tablespoon salt-free Caribbean Citrus seasoning (see recipe below)
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon fresh lime zest
1 pound chicken legs
1. In a large bowl, combine the tequila, lime juice, olive oil, Caribbean Citrus seasoning, honey, and lime zest and mix well. Add the chicken legs, cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate for 4–5 hours or overnight.
2. Preheat an outdoor grill with the rack set about 6 inches from the heat source. Set the heat to medium high. Coat the grill rack with cooking spray. Or prepare an oven broiler with the rack set 6 inches from the heat source. Cover a broiler tray with aluminum foil and coat the foil with cooking spray.
3. Add the chicken legs and grill or broil for 25–30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through to an internal temperature of 180° F. If the chicken appears dry as it cooks, brush each leg with a little olive oil.
To make the Caribbean Citrus Blend, combine:
1½ tablespoons ground allspice
3 tablespoons minced fresh thyme leaves
1½ teaspoons sweet paprika
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/8 tablespoon ground cloves
1/8 tablespoon nutmeg
NUTRITION SCORE (per serving)
147 calories
Fat 7 g
(1.7 g saturated)
Carbs 2 g
Protein 14 g
Fiber 0.4 g
Calcium 15 mg
Iron 0.8 mg
Sodium 58 mg
From the book You Won’t Believe It’s Salt-Free!, by Robyn Webb. Reprinted by arrangement with Da Capo Lifelong, a member of the Perseus Books Group. Copyright © 2012.
Photo credit: Renee Comet Photography
