Healthy meals, high sodium

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charkastner
charkastner Posts: 3
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi Everyone,

I am new to MFP and I'm doing my best to eat healthier. However I am finding that everything that is supposed to be healthy is so high in sodium. How can I avoid all this sodium???? I'm supposed to be having lunch with some girlfriends today at Chili's and have already scoped out their "healthier" menu, and again.....sodium is 1740??? In one meal???? Somebody please tell how to avoid this or if this is even possible.

Doing my best, and feeling like I'm failing miserably. Suggestions highly welcomed.

Replies

  • bluebird321
    bluebird321 Posts: 733 Member
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    My way of doing it is to eat as "clean" as possible. No processed stuff.
    There are other ways also.
  • Excellentia
    Excellentia Posts: 182
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    I'm facing the SAME issue! Yesterday I chose what I thought was a healthy vegetable soup only to find over 1300 grams of sodium in it! WHAT GIVES?! I was under my calorie goal, sure, but still...

    I'm curious to know what others say.
  • MrsKillough
    MrsKillough Posts: 30 Member
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    Don't stress too much. If you mostly eat food made of identifiable fresh ingredients, a bit of junk sometimes won't do you any harm.
  • tbellamy1
    tbellamy1 Posts: 353
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    bump
    Im trying to figure this out also. I was told to drink more water on high sodium days but then someone else told me to keep it low. There are days I need more a few hundred calories to reach TDEE and then when I add veggies or something its either not enough calories and to much sodium or to much fat....either way something goes over!
  • EstherRyu
    EstherRyu Posts: 16
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    If you're eating out at a restaurant, it is close to impossible to avoid an overload of sodium. You CAN ask your food to be cooked differently - "NO SALT" on all\ meats and make sure its not pre cooked. Avoid soup, since it almost always salted. Pick and choose from the menu. If an item appears somewhere on the menu, you should be able to get it with whatever entree you want.

    Like I said its close to impossible :( avoiding sodium in our world today is a hard feat. try to stay au natural - no processed
  • Astacia74
    Astacia74 Posts: 166 Member
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    Lookout for things that are labeled "lite" or "fat-free"; to maintain flavor, they usually increase the sodium. Also, processed foods tend to be very high sodium as do deli meats.

    Wow...just looked at Chili's menu/nutritional info - there really isn't much that is below 1000mg of sodium! I suggest finding someplace else to go for lunch.
  • simpson1028
    simpson1028 Posts: 9 Member
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    I have found that the only low-sodium meal at a restaurant is a salad. Then you still have to be careful about the dressing you use. They are loaded with sodium as well. My son works in food prep, and he says if a recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of salt, they are told to add at least another 1 tablespoon. Any recipes I have prepared in the last six months have included NO salt - hard to get used to, because I was always a salt-aholic and never thought I would be able kick the habit. But now, it amazes me how salty things taste with NO salt added, i.e. baby lima beans are loaded with sodium and they taste SO salty to me now.

    Just remember - "healthy meals", mean different things to different people - may be lower calorie or lower fat, but not necessarily lower sodium, etc., etc.

    Anyway - I wish you luck on your quest!
  • purplegoboom
    purplegoboom Posts: 400 Member
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    If you're going to Chili's I reccomend the Margarita Chicken with rice and beans, no tortilla strips.

    You're still going to get quite a bit of sodium, but cutting out the tortilla strips cuts it quite a bit.

    But if you're eating out, expect high sodium and adjust the rest of your day to accommodate that. It's easier to eat less sodium when preparing foods yourself, just go for fresh meats, fruits, and vegetables.
  • tnrown87
    tnrown87 Posts: 134 Member
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    My way of doing it is to eat as "clean" as possible. No processed stuff.
    There are other ways also.

    It may be a hard pill to swallow, but that is truth. Prepare all your meals yourself and you can avoid the heavy sodium. As far as going out for food, that's how they get ya! Food is low in calories or fat, but high in sodium. Good luck!
  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
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    You have to cook at home, or end up dealing with excess sodium. Excess sodium can lead to high blood pressure, water retention, and excess use of punctuation.
  • 1960HikerDude
    1960HikerDude Posts: 215 Member
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    I am limiting my sodium intake to reduce my blood pressure. As others have stated, avoid processed food. Another way to think of it is to shop the permitter of the supermarket where the refrigerated (not frozen) items are. The bad stuff tends to be in the middle aisles. Also, avoid the deli counter.

    I've had good luck finding low sodium food at Trader Joe's. But, even there, you have to be super careful and READ THOSE LABELS!

    I think you're best bet at Chili's or any other restaurant is to order a salad without dressing. Bring a small container of your own low-sodium dressing from home.
  • jcstanton
    jcstanton Posts: 1,849 Member
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    The only way to avoid it completely is to make everything from fresh ingredients and avoid the salt shaker. Nothing canned (unless it specifically says "no salt added" or "low sodium"), nothing processed, and nothing frozen (frozen veggies aren't terrible on sodium, but the prepackaged frozen meals are AWFUL). Preparing fresh meals takes some getting used to, but it can be done and it doesn't have to be terribly time consuming. However, when eating out, you have very little control over how the food is prepared, so I'd suggest not doing it more than once a week. When you do eat out, probably the best you can do is order a salad without anything on it except fresh veggies, and order a light vinagrette dressing on the side. Garden salads aren't very satisfying, though. So, what I usually do is eat as little sodium as possible the rest of the day and drink TONS of water. Then, when I order my meal, I ask for a to go box as well, so that I can immediately put half of my meal in the box to eat for lunch or dinner the next day. Usually, restaurant portions are far more than any one person needs to eat in a single meal anyway. By doing this, I'm not only cutting my sodium intake for the day, but I'm not overdoing it on calories, either.

    Edited to add: ALWAYS read the nutritional information, even if the label says "light", "low fat", "__% lower in fat/sodium", "good source of fiber", etc... Terminology like this can be misleading. Remember, food companies are in the business of making money, and they'll do it any way they can...even if it means using shady advertising. NEVER, EVER buy a product because of what the front of the label claims. ALWAYS look at the nutrition information and the ingredients list. You'd be surprised at how much sugar, sodium, calories, and fat you can avoid by doing this.
  • EnchantedEvening
    EnchantedEvening Posts: 671 Member
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    If you're going to Chili's I reccomend the Margarita Chicken with rice and beans, no tortilla strips.

    You're still going to get quite a bit of sodium, but cutting out the tortilla strips cuts it quite a bit.

    I LOVE that dish. It's only 550 calories, probably less if you don't eat the tortilla strips (and, yes, that would cut the sodium). I've been craving it all week. It's so good!
  • 1960HikerDude
    1960HikerDude Posts: 215 Member
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    You have to cook at home, or end up dealing with excess sodium. Excess sodium can lead to high blood pressure, water retention, and excess use of punctuation.

    Exactly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • skcornett
    skcornett Posts: 169 Member
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    I read an article a few months back that says Chili's is the worst offender for salt. In a perfect world, we'd all prepare our own food and control what goes in at prep time, but.....a girl's gotta get out and lunch with her friends.

    So, I recommend looking at all of the menu choices and look for the lowest sodium/fat content and pick from there. The Lunch Break Grilled Chicken Salad isn't bad (but as another person posted, be mindful of the salad dressing). If you select the "Custom Combinations", you can get the salmon for less than 600 mg of sodium. Add the margarita grilled chicken for the second selection and it's 550 mg of sodium. Then you'll have a nice lunch and leftovers!
  • Excellentia
    Excellentia Posts: 182
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    You have to cook at home, or end up dealing with excess sodium. Excess sodium can lead to high blood pressure, water retention, and excess use of punctuation.

    Excess use of punctuation? :noway:

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