So, despite having lost weight recently, my blood pressure is still on the high end. Bah.
The doctor said the best thing to do is limit sodium to about 2,000 mg a day. Sounds simple enough, right?
Nope.
There is sodium in everything. I don’t mean just a dash. There’s a ton of sodium in just about anything I eat.
I had finally found a daily lunch that I could easily make and didn’t mind eating over and over. But a few slices of turkey, bread, cheese and a dash of mustard are nearly 1,000 mg of sodium.
Basically, anything processed has a crap-ton of sodium in it. Which means I need to cut waaaaay down on processed foods.
Here’s the problem: I really don’t like cooking. Maybe that sounds like whining. Maybe it is whining. But it’s true.
I’ve really never enjoyed cooking. Nor do I enjoy trying to plan my meals so that I have all the stupid ingredients that the stupid recipes stupidly need. (See a pattern here?)
I know most people just suck it up and deal with it. I’ve never been able to do that for a sustained period of time. Which, I suppose, isn’t all that unusual for any depressive, let alone a bipolar one.
Even with something as simple as slow cooker meals, I find problems. Like knowing what the hell I want to eat 6 hours hence. Yes, hence — deal with it, I’m ranting.
And now, cooking will involve not just what I want to cook/eat. I have to worry about which foods I can eat, sodium-wise. Oh, and what I should eat, calorie-wise. I love italics when I’m ranting.
Did I mention that sodium content seems to have no rhyme or reason?
For example, chicken breasts can contain chicken broth -- upping the sodium content to around 400 mg. Meanwhile, pasta has zero sodium.
Chicken is a good source of lean protein and is one of two kinds of meat I like. (Turkey being the other one.) Meanwhile pasta — much as I love, love, love it — has a massive amount of calories. Especially considering I’m hungry again two or three hours later.
It also messes with my blood sugar. I end up craving more carbs/sweets, leading to blood sugar spikes/crashes, leading to more cravings, and so on and so forth.
Oh, and judging by the fact that some cans of beans have to specify that they’re low sodium, apparently those aren’t great options either.
I have to find out how much sodium qualifies as “low sodium.” Then seriously consider making my own.
Not that making your own beans is all that labor-intensive. But you do have to know that you want them about a day in advance — and you have to store any extra until you want them again. That could be a couple of days or a couple of weeks for me.
Okay, I’ve officially moved into whining, so I’ll stop. And go try to find some good low-sodium, easy-recipe websites. Grumble, grumble.
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
I found out that I'm allergic to dairy. Oh joy and I'm hypoglycemic. I'll grumble with you. I'm sure the cardboard that all the lovely foods come in will be just fine for the both of us.Pout.
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Abigail Reply:
August 27th, 2012 at 11:50 pm
Maybe some Mrs. Dash will help on that cardboard?
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Abigail Reply:
August 27th, 2012 at 11:50 pm
Maybe some Mrs. Dash will help on that cardboard?
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I'm right there with you on the hatred of cooking. I did a post about it awhile back and got a lot of good ideas, but I've noticed that most of the recipes I actually like are less healthy / more fattening than just eating a frozen dinner. I think I'm going to have to train myself to like carrot sticks or something.
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Abigail Reply:
August 27th, 2012 at 11:51 pm
Mmm carrot sticks. But not even any salad dressing… because they have sodium. Sigh.
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Abigail Reply:
August 27th, 2012 at 11:51 pm
Mmm carrot sticks. But not even any salad dressing… because they have sodium. Sigh.
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You should ask your doctor about trying CoQ10. My hubby had the same problem and it took time to tame his taste for salt. In the meantime, he took CoQ10 3 times a day and it helped dramatically with his high blood pressure. Pretty much anything pre-packaged or processed is loaded with sodium. We found that a combination of Italian and French home cooked meals worked for us, lots of flavor, simple, quick, (well, in the case of the French cooking, YOUR actual "working" time anyway), cheap and flavored more with herbs.
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Beth Reply:
August 26th, 2012 at 5:44 pm
Oops! Forgot to mention the beans…I make mine in the crock pot (cook on high for a bit and then turn it off and let them soak overnight) and then freeze whatever I don't use in freezer bags. It works fine for me.
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Abigail Reply:
August 27th, 2012 at 11:52 pm
I'll definitely look into CoQ10. And I do love me some Italian. I'll have to look into it.
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Beth Reply:
August 26th, 2012 at 5:44 pm
Oops! Forgot to mention the beans…I make mine in the crock pot (cook on high for a bit and then turn it off and let them soak overnight) and then freeze whatever I don't use in freezer bags. It works fine for me.
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Abigail Reply:
August 27th, 2012 at 11:52 pm
I'll definitely look into CoQ10. And I do love me some Italian. I'll have to look into it.
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Abigail,
this is a really long comment — it is a list that I made up for my dad in 2009. I was in a study for weight loss and reducing sodium intake. I don't cook much, so there are a lot of convenience foods — some may be outdated, but many should still be there.
Elizabeth
Lower Sodium foods (numbers are milligrams of sodium per serving; I try to stay under 1500 mg for the whole day or 500 per meal. There are even more frozen dinners in the 500-550 mg range but I needed a place to start.)
Mrs. Dash makes a line of sodium free marinades that are really good with chicken, etc. There’s lime garlic and a mesquite that you can use for barbeque sauce. The most important thing is to check your frozen chicken to make sure that it hasn’t been given a sodium solution that raises the sodium content unacceptably.
Big Lots has Heinz no salt ketchup. After you get used to it, it’s a decent substitute.
http://www.lowsaltfoods.com/food_center/lsfoods/d…
http://healthyheartmarket.com/
Snacks:
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/snacks/low…
Glenny's Soy Crisps, Salt and Pepper Flavor
The Lowdown: (about 1/2 bag) 70 calories, 1 g fat, 190 mg sodium
Anytime we can eat a half a bag of something without guilt, we're happy. When we also get 20 percent of the 25 grams of soy protein recommended per day to lower cholesterol, we're ecstatic. Try Cheddar, Barbecue, and even Fancy Fudge flavors as well.
Pumpkin Seeds in Shell, Dry-Roasted with a Dash of Table Salt
The Lowdown: (1/4 cup) 71 calories, 3 g fat, 247 mg sodium
Save some after carving out your jack-o'-lantern or just buy 'em from the store — either way, they're packed with protein, iron, and magnesium, which aids calcium absorption.
Guiltless Gourmet Spicy Black Bean Tortilla Chips
The Lowdown: (13, with 2 tablespoons salsa) 88 calories, 1.3 g fat, 342 mg sodium
Bored with regular baked tortilla chips? Scoop your salsa (full of cancer-fighting lycopene) with something a little more flavorful.
Edamame
The Lowdown: (1/2 cup in shell with a dash of coarse salt) 90 calories, 4 g fat, 168 mg sodium
Whole green soybeans eaten out of the pod are a great source of cholesterol-lowering soy protein. A half-cup serving provides three grams of fiber and seven and a half grams of protein, plus a little calcium, iron, and vitamin C.
Reduced-Fat Triscuits
The Lowdown: (6) 98 calories, 2 g fat, 135 mg sodium
These whole-grain crackers offer a bonus three grams of fiber to keep you feeling full until dinner. (And you'll never detect the difference between the regular and reduced-fat versions.)
McCain 5-Minute Fries
The Lowdown: (19, with 1 tablespoon ketchup) 99 calories, 3 g fat, 310 mg sodium
Trans fat-free and made-to-order in your oven, these beat droopy fast-food fries any day.
Pringles 100-Calorie Pack Potato Crisps
The Lowdown: (1 package) 100 calories, 6 g fat, 110 mg sodium
Everyone knows: Once you pop, you can't stop. So grab a preportioned 100-calorie container instead of the standard, full-size tube for built-in binge prevention.
Snyder's of Hanover Sourdough Hard Pretzels
The Lowdown: (1 ounce) 100 calories, 0 g fat, 240 mg sodium
Okay, so they don't count toward your daily whole-grain servings, but they're naturally fat-free and they'll satisfy even the worst case of stress-induced munchies.
Pop Secret Light Butter Premium Microwave Popcorn
The Lowdown: (5 cups) 100 calories, 4 g fat, 242 mg sodium
It's got more flavor than the 94 percent fat-free kind, and you can still scarf down nearly half of a 12-cup bag! You'll also get three grams of heart-healthy fiber
(Orville Reddenbacher has Smart Pop pop corn with less sodium than this)
Triscuit Hint of Salt
Aldi’s Fit & Active Caramel Rice Snacks
Caramel Rice Cakes
Lightly Salted Rice Cakes
Grandessa Hummus; Roasted Red Pepper or Tahini (spread on Rice Cakes, Wasa Sourdough Rye Crispbread from Big Lots, or dip carrots in)
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Part 2:
Other good snacks are cereals if you check the sodium content. Typically, the frosted mini wheats that come in different flavors are low in sodium. If you like hot cereal then try the plain oatmeal or a mix of Quaker’s Take Heart and the plain kind.
Aldi’s Fit & Active Turkey Burgers (frozen) have only 130 cals and 85 mg sodium. They are good with Herlocker’s mustard and Giant Eagle Bread and Butter no sodium pickles. But the Fit & Active Turkey meatballs have a large amount of sodium – it’s better sodium wise to get the Mama Cozzi Italian meatballs and just bake them to take away some fat.
Healthy Choice (meals have side dish & dessert included in total calories & sodium)
General Tso’s Spicy Chicken Steamer 500
Sweet & Spicy Orange Zest Steamer 480
Sweet Sesame Chicken Steamer 400
Lemon Pepper Fish meal 440
Beef Pot Roast meal 450
Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo 450
Grilled Chicken BBQ meal 430
Hearty Beef Stroganoff meal 500
Honey Balsamic Chicken meal 410
Sweet and Sour Chicken meal 500
Mediterranean Pasta 410
Chicken Alfredo Florentine 470
Honey Ginger Chicken 310 (I found this to be very “gingery”)
Slow Roasted Turkey Medallions 460
Weight Watchers Smart Ones
Cranberry Turkey Medallions 460
Honey Mango Barbeque Chicken 490
Picante Chicken and Pasta 480
Lean Cuisine http://www.leancuisine.com/HealthCareProfessional…
Penne Pasta with Tomato Basil Sauce 220
Spinach and Mushroom Pizza 430
Roasted Vegetable Pizza 430
Steak Tips Portabello 460
Chicken with Basil Cream Sauce 470
Glazed Chicken 500
Kashi (frozen dinners)
Black Bean Mango 430
Chicken Pasta Pomodoro 470
Mayan Harvest Bake 380
Red Curry Chicken 470
Sweet and Sour Chicken 380
Amy’s http://www.amyskitchen.com/special_diets/sodium.p…
Light in Sodium Rice and Vegetables Bowl 250
“ Black Bean & Vegetable Enchilada 190
“ Vegetable Lasagna 340
“Veggie Loaf Whole Meal 340
Canned: (Each has less than 340 mg per serving) Light in Sodium Lentil Soup, Light in Sodium Split Pea Soup, Amy’s Light in Sodium Refried Black Beans, Amy’s Light in Sodium Refried Traditional Beans, Amy’s Light in Sodium Spicy Chili, Amy’s Light in Sodium Medium Chili, Light in Sodium Butternut Squash, Light in Sodium Cream of Tomato, Light in Sodium Lentil Vegetable, Light in Sodium Minestrone,
Light in Sodium Chunky Tomato Bisque
Trader Joe’s http://www.traderjoes.com/Attachments/LowSodium.p…
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Abigail Reply:
August 27th, 2012 at 11:53 pm
Elizabeth: All I can say is bless you (and thank you!)
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Elizabeth Reply:
August 28th, 2012 at 1:01 pm
No problem. I was sick enough to loose about 15 lbs during each pregnancy, and the midwives encouraged me to use convenience foods but look for the shortest or most understandable ingredient list. There will come a time when you can slow down and prepare your own meals from basic ingredients, but if you are not feeling great and need to watch the sodium, it's better to have some tempting convenient healthy food on hand than to think that you should cook from scratch but not be able to do it.
Good luck!
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Elizabeth Reply:
August 28th, 2012 at 1:01 pm
No problem. I was sick enough to loose about 15 lbs during each pregnancy, and the midwives encouraged me to use convenience foods but look for the shortest or most understandable ingredient list. There will come a time when you can slow down and prepare your own meals from basic ingredients, but if you are not feeling great and need to watch the sodium, it's better to have some tempting convenient healthy food on hand than to think that you should cook from scratch but not be able to do it.
Good luck!
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Abigail Reply:
August 27th, 2012 at 11:53 pm
Elizabeth: All I can say is bless you (and thank you!)
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The numbers beside some of the frozen foods indicate the sodium content, not the calories.
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Just throw the beans in the crock pot. Its easy! Then freeze in small containers.
And there are now low sodium turkey and chicken at the deli counter at the supermarket.
Lots of low sodium items now. Go for it. Or make your own soup. There is low sodium chicken
broth to make it with, then you will know whats in it. I know you don't like to plan but you could just do it one day a week. Make a pot of beans, make a soup, make a turkey. Slice it up and freeze in portions. Or just buy a pound at the deli of chix and turkey and that would get you through the week…..
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Abigail Reply:
August 27th, 2012 at 11:54 pm
Laura, I will definitely consider those options. And it's good to know that beans freeze. A few of you folks mentioned that. Now I just need to get some tupperware that we don't lose. (But we have a lot of lids!)
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Abigail Reply:
August 27th, 2012 at 11:54 pm
Laura, I will definitely consider those options. And it's good to know that beans freeze. A few of you folks mentioned that. Now I just need to get some tupperware that we don't lose. (But we have a lot of lids!)
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Push fresh fruits and veggies too. Lots of fiber will fill you up and you'll feel much better right away. Also, switching to whole wheat pasta will help with satiety without screwing up your blood sugar so much.
Have you thought of trying a south beach style eating plan? You may have a hard time the first week, but if you could kick your sugar cravings it would make a world of difference for how you'd feel.
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Gosh. It's too bad you don't want to learn to cook. It's kind of fun (okay, okay…for that to be true, you DO have to make the husband clean up the mess) and it sure is healthier than ersatz prepared food and restaurant food (which is also highly processed).
Processed foods are awash in salt and sugar. After you've become accustomed to eating real food, processed "convenience" foods taste awful — they're too salty or too sicky-sweet.
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I have noticed reading your blog that you do eat a lot of convection salty foods (doritos, nachos etc). You don't have to be a gourmet cook, but if you learn to cook some basics, it ends up being cheaper and healthier. Make chicken soup from scratch with a chicken. Use the broth for soup, the boiled chicken for sandwiches. Become proficient roasting a chicken. Again, you can eat the meat for a few days and save the bones to make a chicken stock. Pick up some burrito wrappers and make your own burritos at home, you can cook the beans and rice yourself, add a little salsa, etc. Quick east meal. Get some corn tortilla and cut them into wedges, heat up in the toaster oven/oven and you have your own corn chips.
You can do a quick stir fry with some chicken and cut up veggies. I use chicken thighs, they are cheaper than chicken breast. A couple basic marinades is all you need and you can vary the stir fry with beef, chicken, shrimp, and a variety of veggies.
Basic grains (quinoa, etc) are pretty easy to cook and can be stretched out with some veg. I will second Funny about Money, processed convenience foods will taste awful to you after a while. AND make friends with your freezer, cook up a double batch and then put the other portion in the freezer for another meal. Sometimes you have to eat what you have in the house instead of giving into the craving of Oh I want something else for dinner tonight….
Not only will you eat better, but will save some $$ but not having over priced over processed food.
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Abigail Reply:
September 5th, 2012 at 2:14 pm
Sara: Actually, I just wrote about a nasty Doritos craving. I don't think I've had the suckers in nearly a year. Similarly, I have avoided nachos for quite awhile.
That said, I do eat way too much processed food.
And, yes, I do know that there are plenty of easy meals out there. (Though I don't think cutting up chicken breasts, chopping up veggies and then stir frying them in a sauce is "easy" so much as easier than some other recipes out there.)
Chicken stock isn't particularly hard to make, nor is roasted chicken — which I *am* going to work on — but it's mainly a matter of feeling capable of doing anything.
I'm a depressive with chronic fatigue who works a full-time job, (tries to) keep up on her blog and has to do a token bit of cleaning. That's a lot for me. Hell, it's a lot of a healthy gal. And so even easy cooking seems often seems untenable.
I'm going to try to work my way up to cooking, but for now Elizabeth's idea of finding low sodium foods that are ready-made is probably the most realistic of the suggestions.
I'd rather take tiny little steps and succeed, which will spur me on to try more, than try to take too many big ones and fail That leads to a guilt spiral that just sucks up even more of my energy.
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Abigail Reply:
September 5th, 2012 at 2:14 pm
Sara: Actually, I just wrote about a nasty Doritos craving. I don't think I've had the suckers in nearly a year. Similarly, I have avoided nachos for quite awhile.
That said, I do eat way too much processed food.
And, yes, I do know that there are plenty of easy meals out there. (Though I don't think cutting up chicken breasts, chopping up veggies and then stir frying them in a sauce is "easy" so much as easier than some other recipes out there.)
Chicken stock isn't particularly hard to make, nor is roasted chicken — which I *am* going to work on — but it's mainly a matter of feeling capable of doing anything.
I'm a depressive with chronic fatigue who works a full-time job, (tries to) keep up on her blog and has to do a token bit of cleaning. That's a lot for me. Hell, it's a lot of a healthy gal. And so even easy cooking seems often seems untenable.
I'm going to try to work my way up to cooking, but for now Elizabeth's idea of finding low sodium foods that are ready-made is probably the most realistic of the suggestions.
I'd rather take tiny little steps and succeed, which will spur me on to try more, than try to take too many big ones and fail That leads to a guilt spiral that just sucks up even more of my energy.
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For pasta that fills you up and has a low glycemic index try Dreamfield's. It tastes normal, but it has few digestable carbs (5) and it doesn't spike blood sugar. I have a similar problem, but I love pasta for an easy dinner.
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I know you say you don't like to cook, but if you choose to, there are some ways that can be really simple, and cut out a lot of sodium. The big thing I suggest? Find some time, and patience, and commit to eating homemade food for 3 weeks. It may take a lot of planning, but one thing you're working against right now is your sense of taste. 99.9% of Americans use WAY too much salt, even when they're applying it for themselves. By committing to home cooked food, and by making an effort to cut back on the salt… Funny as it sounds, your taste will dramatically change. You may find that foods you couldn't stand are tastier than you expected, and that you'll find yourself less likely to go out for fast food. Being someone with a chronic illness who has a severely ADHD guy… I can tell you that he would never get sick of fast food for the first two years we were together. Now, he will actually eat different foods, and can even enjoy vegetables that haven't been drowned in butter.
As for cooking… My big suggestion would be to minimize your cooking by maximizing what you cook. You say you like turkey… Well, grab a couple of turkey breasts, a roasting pan, and dust your oven. By adding some water with spices (or even low sodium chicken broth) to the bottom, you can get moist, flavorful turkey that you can cut up for lunches. Do two or three (depending on your oven) and you can freeze what you won't use that week. Freeze it in daily portions, and just toss one in the fridge before you go to bed each night. Look at different cheeses to find one that will lighten your sodium, and do the same with your mustard. You can even find lower sodium breads. You said you try to avoid pastas, but you could check out something like Barilla Plus- which contains whole grain (great for your blood sugar, and will keep you full a lot longer). Boil some up, combine with low sodium sauce, maybe a little ground turkey, and some low sodium mozzarella (go low fat- again, great protein, great for filling you up), and toss into some loaf pans (cheap aluminum from Wally World works perfectly here), then wrap in tin foil, and freeze. The loaf pans will hold two generous portions- just pop into the oven for an hour. If you get bigger loaf pans, you even have leftovers for lunch the next day. Low sodium snack attack? Cut whole wheat pita into eighths, split, hit with olive oil spray and a no salt seasoning blend. Bake at 425 until crispy. Really really fast, and one dishwasher safe pan to clean.
Personally, I love to cook, but I'm nuts. Even with that. I maximize my cooking. Making huge pots of soup or stew, double batches of baked pastas, and two chickens at a time mean that I'm not relying on a slow cooker every night (a place notorious for disgusing how much salt something has), or that I'm stopping for convenience foods when I'm exhausted. I look at it as a savings thing, or even an emergency plan. If my disease flares up, I know I can eat off the stockpile I have in my fridge for at least two weeks- usually closer to a month. Labeling and dating mean I rotate through, and don't waste. Finally, when I was starting out, I incentivized. Every time one of those frozen meals meant I didn't spend extra money… I took the cash, and split it. Half went into my savings (better for me, and padded my savings- double the virtue), half went to my latest splurge account- which added up to an iPad in a little over a year.
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Abigail Reply:
March 6th, 2013 at 12:51 pm
Kat: Unfortunately 3 weeks of homecooked meals just isn’t tenable. I don’t think even one week is likely, since right now, I’m still not up to cooking at all. I do agree that resetting taste buds is a wonderful idea and probably hugely important to the process. When I feel a bit more capable, I’ll see what can be done.
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Abigail Reply:
March 6th, 2013 at 12:51 pm
Kat: Unfortunately 3 weeks of homecooked meals just isn’t tenable. I don’t think even one week is likely, since right now, I’m still not up to cooking at all. I do agree that resetting taste buds is a wonderful idea and probably hugely important to the process. When I feel a bit more capable, I’ll see what can be done.
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