By Katy Wilkens

In these dark winter days, we need something to help us think of sunnier climates! Head south by cooking up some warm and filling Cajun food. Cajun is a style of cooking from the American South, and comes from the name for the French Acadians who were displaced from Canada to the Louisiana territory. Cajun food is a wonderful mix of cultures and woven into the dishes is a rough and rustic cuisine using local ingredients.

My husband loves Cajun food, but it can be high in sodium, which is tough on your body. (One Cajun standby, Tabasco sauce, is actually low in sodium.) After I gave him the recipe below for low-sodium Cajun seasoning, it became his go-to seasoning for everything from oven-blasted Brussels sprouts to baked chicken breasts.

Another hallmark of Cajun cooking is salty sausage, but a flavorful substitute that is much lower in sodium is smoked turkey breast. When you’re ready to spice up a winter dinner, make a dish that uses the four primary flavors of Cajun food – green or red bell peppers, onions, celery and garlic – along with this great salt-free Cajun seasoning.

Salt-free Cajun seasoning


2 teaspoons each: 
oregano
thyme
cayenne pepper
black pepper
garlic powder 
onion powder

Combine all spices together and store in a spice jar for up to 6 months. Be sure you use onion and garlic powders, not onion or garlic salt, which are just flavored salts. Makes ¼ cup. 

Jammin’ jambalaya
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 pounds jumbo shrimp, cooked and tails removed
6 ounces smoked turkey sausage, sliced
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
3 cups collard greens, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1-2 teaspoons if using fresh)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup rice (white or brown)
1 2/3 cups chicken broth.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp, turkey sausage, onion, bell pepper, collards and garlic. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes (35-40 if using brown rice). Makes six servings.

Nutritional information (per serving):
Calories: 200, Carbohydrates: 19 grams, Protein: 16 grams, Dietary fiber: 6 grams, Fat: 2 grams, Sodium: 250 milligrams, Potassium: 314 milligrams, Phosphorus: 170 milligrams


Chicken seafood gumbo

1 tablespoon canola or olive oil
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped
8 ounces lean smoked turkey, sliced
½ cup canola or olive oil
½ cup flour
1 tablespoon salt-free Cajun seasoning
2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
½ pound cooked shrimp
6-ounce can of crab, drained
3 cups frozen, chopped okra

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 4.5-quart or larger pot over medium-high heat. Add celery, onion, bell pepper, chicken and turkey and cook for 10 minutes. Remove mixture from pot and set aside. Reduce heat to medium, add ½ cup oil and stir in ½ cup flour to make a thick paste. Stir in Cajun seasoning and let cook for 1 minute or more depending on how dark you want your gumbo to be. Very slowly stir in chicken broth, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Add in celery, onion, bell pepper and meat mixture. Increase heat to medium high and bring mixture to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes or until it starts to thicken. Makes 10-12 servings.



Nutritional information (per cup): 
Calories: 240, Carbohydrates: 19 grams, Protein: 10 grams, Sodium: 320 milligrams

The information in this column is meant for people who want to keep their kidneys healthy and blood pressure down by following a low-sodium diet. In most cases, except for dialysis patients, a diet high in potassium is thought to help lower high blood pressure. These recipes are not intended for people on dialysis without the supervision of a registered dietitian.  

[Katy G. Wilkens is a registered dietitian and department head at Northwest Kidney Centers. A recipient of the Susan Knapp Excellence in Education Award from the National Kidney Foundation Council on Renal Nutrition, she has a Master of Science degree in nutritional sciences from the University of Washington. See more of her recipes at www.nwkidney.org.]