How to reduce sodium in processed foods?

I have heard that adding a potato to a cooking pot will absorb some of the sodium from processed foods such as canned foods and rice/pasta mixes.  Anyone know if that works?  I need to reduce sodium to lower blood pressure and cannot find any easy-to-fix foods without huge amounts added.  So far--doing a lot of cooking from scratch.

One trick I used to reduce the amount of sodium in ham, is to boil it for a few mins and then drain the liquids before frying it in cooking spray. This is good on the weekends when we have ham and eggs for breakfast.

Another thing could be if you boiled a few chicken breasts on the weekend, once they are cooked drain the water, and chop or shred the chicken, freeze into individual portions, great for making chicken salad, or for a sandwich or salad topping, no salt added.

Always rinse any canned veggies before cooking them. With a little prep work one day a week one can eliminate alot of the sodium that comes with * convinience foods*

Adding a potato does work tho !

Cooking from scratch is much healthier than packets... and it tastes better too!

I've never tried the potato in the processed foods, but I have used it in ham and beans when I was a new bride.  It seemed to work.  Now I'm an old bride and have learned not to add any salt!

When I buy canned tuna, salmon, beans, veggies I put it in a strainer and rinse under water then drain it completely. It removes some of the sodium, not all. I also stopped salting my foods. I have not used salt in over a year and am use to it now. When shopping I read labels. Some of the same kinds of food can vary greatly in the amount of sodium.

Giving up salt was the hardest thing I've ever had to do.  Doctor's orders are not to go above 1800 mgs a day.  I've come to realize that there is no way to get the salt out of processed foods, so I don't eat them anymore.

I do a few things to make my life easier.  Nearly every week I make a pot of home made soup and freeze it in 8 oz portions.  I usually have a good variety in the freezer ready to be heated up.

I do the same with beans and grains.  Right now I have, portioned in 1/2 cup servings in freezer bags, chickpeas, black beans and pinto beans.  This week I'm doing some lentils.  There's brown rice, quinoa, wheat berries and some basmati rice too. 

I chop celery, onions and green pepper and freeze it for fast sautes.  I have an old ice cube tray and I use it to freeze sauces, then I store the frozen cubes in labeled freezer bags.

 I use frozen steamer bags of vegetables all the time, buying them on sale

Things that don't freeze well - potatoes, carrots, cabbage and other greens (they disintegrate when thawed). This way I can put together a fast meal using the microwave.

Clairelaine!  I thought I was the freezer queen!   I guess I'll have to work a bit harder at it to catch up with you!  I haven't bought a frozen dinner in ages!  In fact, I just made 4 meals of Clam fettuccini to freeze.  The only salt around here is what goes on the icy side walks in the winter.  If I stay on top of it and shovel off the snow as it comes then I don't even have to use it there!   I just remembered a pound of beans waiting to take a stew in the crock-pot tonight.

I think, sadly, once salt's in a food it's almost impossible to get it out.  You can rinse the contents of a can but that's about it.   There are lots of meals you can quickly put together that don't rely on cans and packets.  With practice and with a few dodges such as making portions and freezing them you can cut the time spent down a lot.   When it comes to health, a few extra minutes over a chopping board is better than a lifetime on BP medication.

Getting salt out of a product with a potato is a fallacy.

I buy lower-salt processed foods. Some soups are find are to my taste as-is, but for others I put in a shake or two of Morton salt substitute. Just make sure if you are ever offered a blood pressure pill, to make sure your doctor knows you are taking a potassium-containing salt substitute.

Eat more high potassium foods to counteract the sodium and put a limit on the number of processed foods you eat in a day.