All of a sudden, I see articles about pie everywhere I look. Just like cupcakes a few years ago, pie is now a culinary adventure many are embarking on. There are several pie restaurants now in Seattle, but homemade is always best!

Most people don’t think of pie as a high-sodium food, but pies can have as much as 400 to 500 mg per slice. Since a good daily salt limit is below 2,000 mg, this is quite a bit. Wonder where all that salt is hiding? The majority of it is in the crust.

The truth is you don’t need a salty pie crust to make your pie delicious. Instead of focusing on the crust, let the wonderful flavors and textures of your filling shine through when making pie.

Easiest Pie Crust
This crust has vegetable oil, so it is lower in saturated fat and very low in sodium.

1-1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Mix ingredients together. Press dough into pie pan or chill, roll, and place in pie pan. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown if baking the crust separately. If baking with pie filling, follow the recipe’s instructions for cooking time. Recipe makes one crust – double for a two-crust pie.

Nutrition information
Calories: 219
Carbohydrates: 21 g
Protein: 2 g
Sodium: 2 mg

Leftover Chicken Pot Pie
2 cups leftover chicken or turkey
1 cup stock or broth (low-sodium or from scratch)
1/2 cup frozen peas or carrots
1/2 cup thin sliced onion
1/2 cup mashed potatoes
2 tablespoons sage and thyme
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup leftover stuffing or dried bread crumbs
Easiest pie crust (see separate recipe)

Make pie crust from recipe. Put everything but bread crumbs in a bowl and mix. Pour into pie crust and top with stuffing. Bake for 30 minutes at 450 degrees. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition information (for filling and crust)
Calories: 360
Carbohydrates: 33 g
Protein: 16 g
Sodium: 205 mg

Katy’s Plum Pie
4 cups fresh or frozen plums or Italian prunes
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons dry tapioca powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon or pie spice
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 can or package marzipan or almond paste
Lemon zest from half a lemon
Two pie crusts using Easiest Pie Crust (see separate recipe)

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Split plums in half and remove seeds. Dice the marzipan. Mix all remaining ingredients in bowl and add the marzipan. Put pie crust in 9-inch pan. Pour filling in. Top with other crust and cover crust edge with aluminum foil. Bake at 425 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes or until filling is bubbling out.

Tips: Put a tray covered with aluminum foil below this pie to keep pie filling from dripping on your oven. If you have a lot of plums, split them in half and remove the pits. Put them in a freezer bag and freeze for use in your next pie.

Nutrition information (for filling and crust)
Calories: 323
Carbohydrates: 47 g
Protein: 1 g
Sodium: 2 mg

Katy G. Wilkens is a registered dietitian and department head at Northwest Kidney Centers. She has a Master of Science degree in nutritional sciences from the University of Washington.