Stupid Sodium!

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crystalmorrison378
crystalmorrison378 Posts: 180 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Why do I struggle with this so much? Ugh! I almost always end up going over my sodium goal and I'm getting g really frustrated with it. I'm trying to get in the extra proteins I need but the sodium always come with it.. any 1 else struggle with their sodium intake?

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  • fr33sia12
    fr33sia12 Posts: 1,258 Member
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    Eggs, tofu, chicken, fish, yogurt all have protein and hardly any sodium.
    I can't see your diary so don't know where your sodium is coming from, but if you eat packet foods, tinned foods etc there's sodium added.
  • crystalmorrison378
    crystalmorrison378 Posts: 180 Member
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    I do eat a lot of packaged food because it's convenient. .. I guess I need to get everything unseasoned or raw and cook it myself. I'm a mom of 4 and I cook meals for my family but now that I'm dieting I don't eat what they eat because of the calories and fat.... I usually have a lean cusine or something like that.
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    edited May 2016
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    To cut sodium (I have to for health reasons) I just switched my condiments for homemade unsalted versions - marinara/bolognese, BBQ, enchilada sauce, ketchup, pickled jalapeños, mayo, salad dressing, hot sauce, jerk paste, etc. I also purchased salt free mustard and a few other low sodium condiments and cut down my cheese intake. Other than that, my foods are mainly protein and vegetables that have trace sodium amounts.
  • cafisher0404
    cafisher0404 Posts: 77 Member
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    I struggle because of sauces and seasonings. For example, I love buffalo sauce on chicken breast but it has tons of sodium. I just try to not have packaged food on days when I have these types of things.
  • ejbronte
    ejbronte Posts: 867 Member
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    Totally agree on the sodium in many packaged/canned food. Bread can have more sodium than you might be happy with, too. I'm lucky in that my cooking education came when I had to take over the kitchen from my mother, who had health issues, including sodium restriction - my father too - so I learned to cook without adding salt to anything. Use other spices; also wine makes a lovely flavoring for meat sauces. If you make your own meals, you end up controlling the amount of - yes! stupid! - sodium daily intake.
  • fr33sia12
    fr33sia12 Posts: 1,258 Member
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    crystalmorrison378 wrote: »
    I do eat a lot of packaged food because it's convenient. .. I guess I need to get everything unseasoned or raw and cook it myself. I'm a mom of 4 and I cook meals for my family but now that I'm dieting I don't eat what they eat because of the calories and fat.... I usually have a lean cusine or something like that.

    Ready meals do have a lot of sodium, I know some can have equivalent of 1 gram of salt in just one meal. Maybe have a smaller portion of whatever you cook your family and add loads of veggies, even if it's just a couple of times a week, you'll be having days with less sodium.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
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    I do not have health issues, so I choose to ignore my sodium value.
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
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    cafisher0404 wrote: »
    I struggle because of sauces and seasonings. For example, I love buffalo sauce on chicken breast but it has tons of sodium. I just try to not have packaged food on days when I have these types of things.

    Have you tried Alex's ugly sauce? It's 10mg sodium per 5ml compared to frank's 190mg or you can make it http://www.food.com/recipe/copycat-franks-red-hot-sauce-494182 and omit the salt or use no-salt.
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
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    Can you batch cook and freeze portions? That way you can have your convenience and still keep an eye on your sodium intake. Do you have a medical reason for lowering it? Unless you do, you probably don't need to worry that much about it.
  • flaminica
    flaminica Posts: 304 Member
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    Really, don't stress over it. The danger of sodium is overstated in the media. Unless you're among the minority of people with specific sodium-sensitive health issues, you can eat way more sodium than the conventional wisdom allows. I've lost 90lbs and I go over on sodium almost daily.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
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    flaminica wrote: »
    Really, don't stress over it. The danger of sodium is overstated in the media. Unless you're among the minority of people with specific sodium-sensitive health issues, you can eat way more sodium than the conventional wisdom allows. I've lost 90lbs and I go over on sodium almost daily.

    But this really is not the point. I don;t have health issues and I certainly do not want any in the future that may be stemed from sodium. Plus my body blows up from consuming a bunch of sodium.

    I do watch my sodium but I also do not buy frozen meals any more. I do buy deli meat (it has a lot in it), cheese, but have to limit this.

    I cook everything in my house homemade except the sandwich I eat for lunch which is deli meat and cheese.

    I buy every single thing I can find low sodium from Soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, steak and marinade sauces, ketchup, mustard, low sodium canned everything, low sodium broths, etc..

    OP can you batch cook or even grill you up a bunch of chicken say on Sunday's and eat that during the week like green leafy salad with chicken, chicken salad (sandwiches), grilled chicken sandwiches, etc..

    How about batch cooking you something for week using the crockpot? Chilis, soups, and you control the sodium

    There is always a way to do this almost sodium free as convenience meals do come with a cost.

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