Not So Sweet! 10 Foods that Are Surprisingly Salty

Posted by Kelli Arruzzo

Back in March I wrote an article discussing sodium and identifying the right amount to consume daily (about 1,500 to 2,400 milligrams). Knowing how much to consume is half the battle. The other half: knowing what foods contain high amounts of sodium so that we can stay away from them, or at the very least, consume them in moderation.

Below is a list of 10 foods that I found truly shocking. Most of them don't even taste salty!

1. Kellogg's Eggo Pancakes: You might want to Leggo this Eggo. At 580 mgs per 3 pancakes, you're consuming quite a bit of sodium BEFORE you even add syrup!
2. MorningStar Farms Chipotle Black Bean Burger: You would think that choosing a bean burger over a beef one would be healthy, but consume just one of these and you're ingesting over 700 mgs of sodium (or a third of the daily recommended value)!
3. Heinz Ketchup: When I say it's only 190 mgs of sodium that might not seem high. But that's only if you're ingesting 1 measly teaspoon! Think about how much you slather on your meals... it all adds up quickly!
4. V8 Spicy Hot Vegetable Juice: It's vegetable juice, so by nature it's good for you...right? While you might be getting 100% of your daily Vitamin C in an 8 oz. glass, you'll also be consuming 20% of you daily sodium. 480 mgs.
5. Green Giant Canned Mushrooms: Yeesh! ½ cup = 440 mgs. I thought vegetables were supposed to be good for you? Go with fresh or frozen instead!
6. Ken's Steakhouse Lite Italian Dressing: When you think of lite dressing, you might not realize that it's not lite in everything! At 440 mgs per 2 tbsp., slathering your salad in this makes having your greens not so healthy anymore!
7. DiGiorno for One Pepperoni Thin Crispy Crust: I'll let the numbers speak for themselves on this pizza for one. 1 pizza = 1170 mgs. of sodium!
8. Rice-a-Roni Spanish Rice: 1 cup (prepared) = 1250 mgs. Wow.
9. Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Devil's Food Cake: Who knew something so sweet could hold about 15% of your daily sodium (if you eat 1/12th of the cake that is). 380 mgs.
10. Campbell's Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup: ½ cup = 940 mgs. Or 80% of your daily sodium!

So what did we learn? Sodium can be hidden in places we didn't even think of. Make sure to check out the labels before buying processed goods!

What do you think? Are there any other foods you would add to this list?

View a full list of 25 Surprisingly Salty Processed Foods at health.com.