Wellness

[Sooner]

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@TeezNu wrote:

A squeeze of fresh lemon can often brighten/punch up the flavor of a dish.

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@TeezNu LEMON! We use it on a lot of things now.  Especially on salads.  Lemons and Limes--buy organic and use the zest too.

[maximillian]

Last summer my PCP was amazed (not in a good way) at my weight and blood pressure.  So, I definitely had to try to revise my eating habits.  Many suggestions other posters have given are valid.

I never did over use salt, but I did cook with it and use it on certain foods.  So, I switched to using pepper instead.  I have really started to prefer pepper as a flavoring rather than salt. 

Other posters often mention preparing meals with fresh foods and consuming a lot of fruits and vegetables too.  I have been doing that too. 

Also, as others mention, reading labels is important.  I find it surprising that so many condiments are just loaded with sodium.  Who knew? Check on soy sauce-it's one ofthe worst offenders. 

Good luck with finding healthier, tasty foods and recipes. 

By the way, I have lost 40 pounds since mid June.  I am on blood pressure medication.  With the help of the meds and some changes in my eating selections, my BP is coming down.  It takes a while though, PATIENCE is a virtue!

[Bhvbum]

Read the labels and stay away from prepared foods. I bought a tiny can of baked beans and didn't bother to look until I got home and this little can with a serving of one had over 1100 mg of salt.  The Bagels I have bought on QVC are great, but one has about 600 mg of salt. Mrs. Dash spices are a wonderful addition. And they have lots of different ones, you may even check on amazon.com just to see all the variety.

I also stretch food that has a lot of sodium with vegetables, with no salt added. 

[ciao_bella]

Costco has a very tasty no salt seasoning.  

[conlt]

I do not know what salt restriction that you are on but read the food labels for sodium content. One thing that is fairly high in sodium is bread. We often do not think about things like that. 

[Trailrun23]

Have been on a low sodium diet for decades; grew up without a salt shaker on the table. Basic info:

1.Packaged food are high in sodium in most cases.

2.Read labels; you will be amazed! Things that don't taste salty can still be high in sodium.

Frozen veggies are almost always lower in sodium than canned ones. Some brands sell  veggies that will say "no added salt" etc, but that doesn't mean zero sodium, so once again, check the labels.

Biggest culprits are canned soups and broth. Even "lower sodium" can mean lots of it.

Use Coconut Island Coconut Aminos instead of soy sauce; we love that stuff and I use it for stir fries, etc. Extra Yum. i buy it in a big bottle at Costco. Asian food seems to be thousands of mg of sodium, mainly from the soy sauce. If you eat any ramen, throw out the flavor packet and add your own seasoning.

Only thing I add dash of salt to is eggs. i just can't eat them without any!

I just can't stand the Mrs Dash seasonings...everything starts tasting the same after awhile.

[ID2]

40 years ago when I was pregnant with my first I developed hbp. I learned then to eat with no salt. I kept at it and still eat with no salt. I cook without any salt. My kids grew up with no salt. We don't need it. I grow my own herbs and dry them to make delicious homemade meals. If I'm cooking from a recipe that calls for sodium, I just don't add it. Cooking without sodium is very easy.

[fairydogmother]

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@conlt wrote:

I do not know what salt restriction that you are on but read the food labels for sodium content. One thing that is fairly high in sodium is bread. We often do not think about things like that. 

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that's correct. So I've already switched from regular white bread to whole grain. It has a low NA content, about half that of my white bread. Tastes good too

[shoesnbags]

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@kate2357 wrote:

@fairydogmother 

Have you looked into salt substitutes? Last summer we were told my dh needed to be on a lower sodium diet. Yikes....I found it very hard to make meals he would eat. A friend suggest a salt sub, and we tried the one below. Had to play around a bit, but eventually I figured out how to use correctly.

We do eat primarily fresh items, canned and processed items have a lot of sodium. You will be astonished when you start reading labels.

Good luck on your journey to better health.

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This is the brand I use as well.  Tastes more like real salt to me than the others I've tried.

[CherryHugs]

My Dad had high blood pressure when I was growing up. We all stopped adding salt to food and didnt cook with it anymore. It took a long time to get used to but over time we did.   I still dont add salt or have any salt in the house. The foods that I missed worst of all was salt on tomatoes and eggs. But still I dont use salt.