In part 2 of her Heart Healthy series, Hopedale Wellness Center dietitian Amy Sammis discusses tacos.

If you love tacos as much as I do, then you will be happy to know that you don’t have to sacrifice this food that you love! It’s true that traditional tacos are very high in sodium! Some restaurant tacos can be 600-1,000 mg of sodium in just 2 small beef tacos. However, if we make tacos at home, we can adjust the recipe in subtle and easy ways to make them just as flavorful without the salt! Check out these 4 simple changes:

4 Ways to Improve Sodium and Boost the Nutrition in Tacos

1. Use a “no-added sodium” or a “low-sodium” taco seasoning. It easy and super-tasty to make your own taco seasoning at home. Try my talented husband’s signature recipe in the second photo!

Or if you prefer the convenience or a “dump and go” seasoning, Mrs. Dash offers a “no-added sodium” taco seasoning and McCormick offers a 30% Less Sodium option”.

2. Cut Back on Cheese: Just adding a pinch of cheese on top of your taco can help you save big on sodium!

3. Choose a Crunchy Corn Shell instead of a Soft Tortilla: Soft tortilla shells run about 370-425 mg of sodium per shell! You can get 3 crunchy corn shells for only 190 mg for all three. That’s a huge savings!

4. Load up the veggie toppings: take the opportunity to get your veggies in! Dice up some corn, onion, tomato, avocado, lettuce/spinach, jalepeño or bell peppers.

With the leftovers, you can pile it all together and have an instant taco salad ready to roll!