A lovely fall afternoon, a couple of fabulous bands Exit Ramp and NightShift playing well loved rock tunes and a socially distanced picnic, thanks to the Darien Parks and Recreation and the Darien Arts Center.  What more could a girl want?

Well, how about a low sodium cheese tray with some cool crisp Pinot Grigio? Since it was in that odd time between lunch and dinner, we decided to make it a late “snacky” lunch. Now who doesn’t love a good cheese tray? With some minor tweaks it can be low sodium. Trick is to avoid the processed dips, regular crackers and to pay attention to the cheeses you buy. Here’s what we had on hand so we just went with it:

Unsalted Toasted almonds

Calabro mozzarella – I have to say this is by far one of the better mozzarellas I’ve tried and low in sodium too (50mg sodium per oz)!

Thin sliced low sodium Swiss from the local Stop and Shop – Swiss cheese in general is a low sodium cheese but feel free to shop around based on sodium levels.

Grapes and thin sliced pears to serve as “crackers” along with Trader Joe’s three seed beet crackers (17 crackers have only 50mg of sodium!!)

We had a fun time singing along to old favorites as we enjoyed wine and cheese! You can experiment with your own version of the cheese tray with whatever you find locally. Feel free to send pictures and comments on what worked well for you. Just please please please – read the nutrition labels. Oh and let’s not forget the wine. A glass of wine will only cost you 5-7mg of sodium – so drink up!!