This is Part 2 of our series on how to use a beloved favorite, tater tots, in a balanced meal. As we talked about in Part 1: Extend with Leafy and Tender Veggies (with CARE recipe: Tater Tot Hash, Therapeutic White Veggie Skillet), the goal of a therapeutic lifestyle is not to avoid favorite foods. The goal is to learn how to use them modestly, to know “where they fit” on your plate. In CARE, we do this with cheese, sugar, and now tater tots.

Be sure to check out Part 1: Extend with Leafy and Tender Veggies (with CARE recipe: Tater Tot Hash (Therapeutic White Veggie Skillet) and Part 3: Keep and Eye on Nibbling (with CARE recipe: Tater Tot Hash Egg Bake).

The second CARE recipe, Sausage Tater Tot Hash with Avocado, uses leftover Tater Tot Hash to make a lightening fast warm salad for lunch using lean chicken sausage and a bed of greens.

When using packaged foods (like tater tots) and processed meats (like sausage), stay aware of total sodium. Like teaching you how to use sugar and cheese modestly in CARE, this type of meal idea teaches you how to identify all sources of sodium and to plan accordingly.

This is a meal higher in sodium (888mg) than average CARE meals (<600mg) (the goal is <2300mg/day or <1500 if you have heart disease). This meal is OK occasionally, but do be aware of balance and use this as education for watching all sources of sodium in meals.

If having this for lunch, plan for breakfast and dinner to be more modest in sodium (<500-600 mg). Ensuring you eat this meal idea with the bed of greens (lettuce and broccoli slaw) also provides close to 600mg of potassium which helps regulate the ratio of sodium:potassium in the blood (good for blood pressure regulation). So don’t skip the green part – they play a very purposeful role here.