Low sodium, heart healthy?!

Teran0612

So the hubby's BP was 168/100.. Needless to say we are having a diet revamp in this house!!! So any low sodium, heart healthy recipes out there? quick and easy, long and detailed.. Snack foods.. desserts.. I need them all!!! :-) Thanks in advance!

kiwibrenda

Hi there
this is my first ever post so hope its helpful ....... Sorry its quite long!

We had a similar incidence in our household a year ago. Basically we removed "added" salt from everything - hard to do if you are used to lots of salt, but there are other ways of flavouring your food. Here are my suggestions - take or leave but they might help :-)
There is plenty of natural salt in most of the foods we eat so its really important not to add salt to anything you are cooking. It can take awhile to "acclimatise" your taste buds but you will adjust.

- Don't add salt to anything you cook. If you can't cope with the (lack of?) flavour once prepared, add a small amount to the finished product. This means if you do have to add salt, you haven't already pre-loaded the meal.
- Alternatively try pepper instead, as this is also a flavour enhancer
I think there are other salt replacements out there but have no idea of their benefits or otherwise.
- look for low salt sauces and flavour sachets, and use these with no added salt - they should be sufficient to add flavour without overdosing the salt.
- Unfortunately most processed and pre-prepared items contain huge amounts of salt even if they are low fat.
We have to do low fat, low sugar and low salt meals and it is almost impossible to get anything pre-prepared or processed that complies. Sadly that means almost everything needs to be cooked from scratch (hard in a busy household where everyone is out and about regularly).
- try making your own "flavour sauces" - an example is: combine a smalll amount of cornflour, any kind of herbs appropriate to your dish, a few dashes of low salt soya or similar sauce, crushed garlic and or ginger, and the water from steamed or boiled vegetables.
I use this almost monotonously for casseroles and one pot meals with variations such as chillies or some other spice flavourings. Together with canned tomatoes (with no added salt) this makes a brilliant beef casserole - family loves it and no-one now adds salt.

- choose foods - particularly vegetables that have quite strong flavours, so you won't feel the need to add salt (which is meant after all to be a flavour enhancer).
- If you love potatoes, again don't add salt while cooking, but use (small amounts of!) salted butter with a few herbs (parsley or chives are yummy) to flavour
- Note - most breakfast cereals are terrifying full of salt and sugar and should be avoided! the best options are a wheat biscuit style of breakfast, oats or muesli's (although these can also be high in salt and sugar - best to find a good recipe and make your own without adding salt /sugar!)

Since making changes like these, we have on a few occasions tried to treat outselves to something like a small portion of hot potato chips (for example) and found ourselves (including the teenage boys!) unable to eat them due to the enormous amounts of salt that we are no longer used to! Go figure.......
Hope this helps

Teran0612

Sorry for the delayed reply.. But thank you!! My husband is quickly learning the amount of salt already in foods.. Many of the things he has been eating or snacking on, is more than his daily limit now!!! (Albeit, his portion sizes have been 2-4 times what they should have been) We love frozen corn with salt and butter.. And we thought that would be the hardest thing to let go of.. But luckily the hubby was quite surprised as to how sweet the natural flavor of the corn was!! I really don't think his blood pressure will ever be controlled through diet alone.. But hopefully if he curbs a lot of the salt,.. It will be a life change for his diet.. Even if it only helps him realize the amount of portions he is taking in!!

katy_trail

I've read that eating lentils, even if it's just once a week, can lower cholesterol and or lower bp.
so how about making lentil 'meat'balls. if your guy is like mine, you could make them with a mix of the lentil recipe and ground turkey. there are several really great recipes out there, play around with it, if it works for ya, you'll be able to freeze them and have them ready to go for meatball subs, soup, spaghetti, they are even yummy with maple syrup

also flax,but you guys are probably already eating that regularly.

katy_trail

for adding flavor my go to condiments:
chipotle- make your own by roasting jalapenos
salsa verde- the best versions of this use tomatillos, is also made with green tomatoes
salt and pepper in grinders, using these is a huge flavor difference compared to powdered versions.
honey mustard- I use it in place of salad dressing and on all my sandwiches
and my new fav. pickled red onions. dirt cheap to make and super simple. .

penguinattackstudios

So the hubby's BP was 168/100.. Needless to say we are having a diet revamp in this house!!! So any low sodium, heart healthy recipes out there? quick and easy, long and detailed.. Snack foods.. desserts.. I need them all!!! :-) Thanks in advance!

Ouch! Sounds like my Hubby; there's a group on here that's called Hypertension Kick Punch (people with high blood pressure); they're wonderful people and have LOTS of advice and some recipes too.

tashiaberman

I have been on a sodium restricted diet for the past 13 years due to a heart incident.

It is nearly impossible to get low-sodium foods that are prepackaged. You almost have to cook from raw food, which is the most healthy way anyway. If you cook fresh or frozen vegetables and fresh meats, use lots of garlic, parsley, salt-substitute, pepper, oregano, basil for flavoring, you'll never even miss the salt. Also, avoid foods that you traditionally feel like you must salt heavily, like potatoes.

Beware of barbeque and prepared sauces, seasoning mixes and take-out food. All will have too much sodium. Also, beware of prepared casseroles, etc.

My suggestion would be to invest in a crock pot for beef and pork roasts with lots of vegetables. Also, baking bags like you use for a turkey can help keep chickens, roasts, turkeys, etc. flavorful. Look up some recipes for some of the more interesting vegetables you find in the stores.

(Be aware t;hat WalMart and some other retailers sell beef that is already full of sodium, used as a preservative, at the time you buy the raw meat. I had a real problem with this, so read, read, read labels, even on fresh meats, and don't be afraid to ask.)

Keep away from canned goods as much as possible, even these have too much sodium. Start shopping in the produce isle. I was always told the healthy foods are around the outside perimeter of the store and everything in the middle is bad for you.

Here are some vegetable ideas:

Roasted Butternut Squash Cubes, seasoned with olive oil, cinnamon and brown sugar.
Oven Roasted Asparagus Spears or Green Beans, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with garlic.
Mashed Cauliflower, as a substitute for potatoes.
Baked sweet potatoe (microwave 5-6 minutes in the skin).
Quinoa with chopped bell pepper, onion and mushrooms.
Sliced Beets.