Low sodium grilled pork chop pita sandwich

This is a great meal to make when you have lots of fresh herbs on hand. That's thyme, dill, and mint for us right now. Make the pita bread and the yogurt sauce the day before to save some time and to let the yogurt develop more flavor. The grilled pork chop needs just a few hours to marinate, but you can also let it sit overnight.

This recipe and the sodium count is just for the grilled pork. Find the yogurt dip recipe here (mine is heavy on the dill, without any cucumbers), and the pita bread recipe here (I made the whole wheat version this time.) The pita bread is hands down the most work here, so if you have a little room for more sodium, consider getting store bought bread or substituting with corn tortillas which are usually very low in sodium. The yogurt is really easy to whip up and the pork doesn't take much effort either, so those are worth making low sodium at home.

Servings: 4

Sodium: 65 mg for a 4 ounce serving

Time: About 45 minutes active, plus time for marinating (a few hours to overnight)

Ingredients: 1 pound boneless pork loin chops

6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce substitute (or whatever you use in place of soy sauce)

1 tablespoon thyme, chopped fine

fresh ground black pepper to taste

1) Tenderize the pork chops by pounding them with the flat side of a meat mallet until it's about 1/4 inch thick. I put the pork chops in a plastic bag so it's not as messy.

2) In a large bowl, combine the pounded pork chops with all the remaining ingredients. If you don't have my soy sauce substitute on hand, use whatever you can eat in place of soy sauce like Worcestershire sauce, coconut aminos, low sodium soy sauce, etc. My soy sauce substitute has just 5 mg of sodium per tablespoon so I can easily use an entire tablespoon. Use less if you're limited by the sodium in your sauce.

Let the meat marinate for at least 3-4 hours or as long as overnight.

3) Grill the meat on a stovetop grill pan or on an outdoor grill. On my grill, it takes just 3-4 minutes on one side, and a minute on the second side. I let my grill get really hot, spray the grates with oil, then cook undisturbed on low heat, covered. If you're using a very lean pork it will cook really fast so keep on eye on it or it will dry out quickly.

Let the pork rest for 10 minutes, slice thin, and serve with pita bread, yogurt sauce, fresh vegetables like onions, tomatoes, and cucumbers, and other fresh herbs like mint. I also like to add a touch of hot sauce.