Low Sodium

Options
Delikatz
Delikatz Posts: 16
in Recipes
Hi everyone !! New girl here, Just want to say i LOVE this site, I am already so inspired !!! Hoping some of you have some suggestions on low sodium recipies, to go with all my other issues I also have high blood pressure, so have to watch my salt intake along with everything else. Any and all suggestions welcome !! Thanks ! :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • sparkles321
    sparkles321 Posts: 107
    Options
    The best thing you can do is watch your food diary. Set your limit to 2500mg a day (the max anyone should be eating) and look over your diary at the end of the day for the biggest offenders. Start cutting down, revamping, cooking your own versions (instead of from a box), cutting out, etc.
  • mram81
    mram81 Posts: 15
    Options
    There are a lot of salt substitutes out there. I don't know the names off hand, but I am sure someone here knows. Watch out though, 1 or 2 of them leave a bitter aftertaste. However, the one my dad uses tastes just like salt with 0 sodium. Best of luck!
  • dawnna76
    dawnna76 Posts: 987 Member
    Options
    Mrs. Dash makes lots of great seasonings to use instead of salt. find low sodium version of ingrediants you use in recipes and this is a great cookbook
    http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312291647/ref=nosim/?tag=megahearcomsbook
  • rjadams
    rjadams Posts: 4,060 Member
    Options
    all I can say is track your sodium and you will see what you need to avoid. you should get no less than 1500mg per day and not over 2300mg. I set my goal at 2000. if you do go over drink lots of water so your kidneys can help process it thru your system quickly. avoid processed chesses and cured meats and lunch meats. other serious culprits are restaurants and fast food joints. you can do well if you track it. feel free to check out my diary if you want to get some ideas.
  • Yurippe
    Yurippe Posts: 850 Member
    Options
    Since you have high blood pressure already did you doctor recommend 1500 mg of sodium a day? Best advise I can give you is to prepair all your own food. Nothing processed so stay around the outer perimeter of the grocery store. Never eat out if you can help it. :noway:

    It's ridiculously hard to stay under 1500, I have problems most days staying under 2300. You can take a look at my diary from yesterday to see what a 1233 mg day looks like. Just don't look at today or the 6 days before yesterday because I'm well over 2300 mg on all of those days. Main reason is eatting out.
  • Yurippe
    Yurippe Posts: 850 Member
    Options
    all I can say is track your sodium and you will see what you need to avoid. you should get no less than 1500mg per day and not over 2300mg. I set my goal at 2000. if you do go over drink lots of water so your kidneys can help process it thru your system quickly. avoid processed chesses and cured meats and lunch meats. other serious culprits are restaurants and fast food joints. you can do well if you track it. feel free to check out my diary if you want to get some ideas.

    I've read that you should bet no less than 1000, and that those with high blood pressure should try to stay under 1500. No one should go over 2300. The best opinion you can get is from your doctor.
  • weaklink109
    weaklink109 Posts: 2,831 Member
    Options
    The best thing you can do is watch your food diary. Set your limit to 2500mg a day (the max anyone should be eating) and look over your diary at the end of the day for the biggest offenders. Start cutting down, revamping, cooking your own versions (instead of from a box), cutting out, etc.

    I have to disagree with the above. The original poster has high BP, so 2500 mg of sodium per day is definitely TOO MUCH. That is more than MFP even sets as a default. A more realistic number would be 2000mg. On average, the body needs a minimum of 1500 mg of sodium per day, so this will put you in a good neighborhood.

    A lot of people will immediately tell you "don't eat anything prepared/frozen...etc" I believe in facing reality. Most people don't have time to cook every shred of food they eat from scratch, so instead of falling into the trap of the "unreal don'ts", I say BECOME A LABEL READER, and be sure sodium is one of the things you are tracking in your food diary.

    I USED TO take BP meds, but thanks to a modification of diet, increase in exercise, and the loss of almost 55 lbs., I am off of them as of March. I try to eat lots of veggies and lean protein, but I often my schedule is such that a frozen entree serves as a meal. I am very particular about what I choose. There are many options under 600 mg of sodium, and quite a few under 500, and even a couple I have run across that were under 400 mg of sodium.

    When it comes to veggies, avoid canned veggies and if you can't do fresh, buy frozen, but READ the label. Just because the package has vegetables in it, doesn't make it the right choice. Avoid the packages with "sauces" that are laden with fat and sodium, and descriptions like "Asian style" which = high sodium.

    Be careful, also, of deli meats. Processed meats can be "lean" and may be relatively low calorie, but most are notoriously high in sodium, and nitrates are also a good thing to avoid. There are some processed chicken sausage brands out there that are very tasty, all natural, no nitrates, low in fat and calories, BUT the sodium is still a factor. The brand I am thinking of has about 400 mg per sausage/serving.

    For me, the biggest challenge in "sodium avoidance" mode is restaurant eating. I am not shy about requesting no salt in preparation. I actually had someone come out and tell me the stir fried veggies and chicken ordered would be "no good" without salt. I laughed and told him I would be glad to take that chance. They were delicious, and I have ordered the same way at that location and had delicious food every time. If you go somewhere new, ASK about preparation if the menu doesn't have details. You are paying for it, so YOU get to decide how your meal should be prepared.

    You CAN control your sodium, eat well, and not spend 24 hours a day in the kitchen. Logging your food ahead of time for the day is a good way to make sure your choices won't leave you in sodium overload. Unfortunately, even if you ignore your sodium intake, the scale will be happy to tell you when you have overdone it!! It may be water weight, but it still shows up on the scale!!

    Another thing I do, if my sodium is up for the day is drink a couple of extra glasses of water to help flush it out of my system.

    EDIT: Wow, you guys got busy posting while I was composing,:bigsmile: so some of what I have said is redundant, but I think you can see most agree that 2500 mg of sodium is too high.

Categories