Salt intake (again)

[Nancy]

Fresh veggies are SO much better than canned or frozen. We had baked beets tonight with a little no salt butter. They are absolutely wonderful tasting. But don't eat them if you're going to have a urinalysis. Turns it bright red. Forgot to tell Joe about that possibility one time. He thought he was going to die, called me to take a look until I reminded him of the beet side effect, LOL.

We also had fiddlehead ferns which are a special spring veggie only available this time of year. These come down to us courtesy of our wonderful neighbor, Canada.

Speaking of Mascarpone cheese, I made some salad dressing, oil, vinegar, oregano, basil, cracked pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, added some tarragon mustard from the Healthy Heart Market and then added a little Mascarpone cheese. Whisked it up and had a beautiful creamy dressing.

 

[ccrawford]

Lee - I really think you need to start using the 2000 mg limits for sodium intake. When I first started trying to limit salt, I found it pretty frustrating too, but like most things, the more you learn, the easier it is. I broke down and got a detailed food content book, my wife and I are now both dedicatied label readers, and I look forward to eating out with a mixed bag of feelings. Sure, its nice to have a change in diet, but try to order something that the chef has not pre-prepared. I.e. Pasta sauces are bad news, regardless of how they taste. Some cities have even started printing a guide to the healthy eating facilities in their area. What a great Idea ! We have found a source of low salt corn chips, and have been using the same source as Nancy and Joe for other foods including no salt pickles. Good Luck. Chris

 

[xtremlee]

Found a good snack at McDonalds.
Apple dippers with low fat caramel dip.
fat 1g
cholesterol 5mg
Sodium 35mg
Thats the only thing I ate while I watched my kids eat quarter pounders.
But it was good.

 

[Gemma]

Just a thought

Just a thought

Lee,
I'm just going to mention this because the title of your thread mentions salt but your previous message talked about sodium. Sodium and salt are not one and the same. It's a lot easier to stick below 2000mg of sodium than 2000mg of salt, as you will find there is less sodium in foods than salt. This may explain the 4000mg of salt limit in your original question.
Gemma.

 

[Abbanabba]

Lee -
You don't need to spend hours in the kitchen to cook fresh produce. I've managed to find plenty of very healthy recipies (low everything, pretty much!) which don't take much time at all. I took all my favourites and put them in a book for easy reference.

I also find that if I spend one day a week doing all my prep work (ie, chopping veges, making stock, preparing a menu, etc), that hour or two saves SOOOOOO much time the rest of the week. I can whip up most of my dishes in under half an hour. Honestly, it's worth that little bit of extra time one day a week!!

You can also add a lot of flavour with things like fresh herbs, garlic, fresh chilli, vinegar (balsamic is great!), lemon juice/zest, cracked pepper, honey, low sodium mustard, etc. I've posted a home-made chicken stock recipe that has no salt. I often make up big batches then freeze it in useable portions so I can just add what I need for extra flavour when I'm cooking. Again, it takes a while to cook, but if you're making a big batch once a month, it's probably worth the effort.

I find a weekly menu really helpful because you only buy what you need, and it saves you having to think about what you're going to cook each night (..and I find my tastebuds "look forward" to whatever is on the menu, which makes it even more enjoyable..).


Nancy -
Love the marscapone dressing idea! I do very similar things with natural yoghurt. Fruit for a sweet treat and herbs and spices for dressings (..which are delicious on jacket baked potatoes!..).

Cheers
Anna : )

 

[Harpoon]

Filthy McNasty's (don't ask where I got this nickname for McDonald's from) has the salads which are pretty decent if it wasn't for the meats... I'll order one of the salads with grilled (not fried) chicken and toss out half of the chicken breast. Also go light on the salad dressing or, if I bring it home to eat, use my own...

The old salad shakers they had were MUCH better and more fun too.... Oh well.

I saw the apple dippers the last time we took our kid to McDonald's for a treat. he likes them, but not with the caramel.

Only "dips" he likes are honey and ketchup...


Low sodium ketchup that is. =)

 

[ccrawford]

Gemma is correct - The chemical symbol for salt is NaCl, meaning that it is half sodium and half chloride. I maintain that you can naturally cut down your consumption over time, just by developing the habit of reading the labels and keeping track of what you consume during the day. After a while, you'll find yourself avoiding a lot of stuff that you used to take for granted. I nibbled on a regular (salted) corn chip last week and about choked on the salt. We buy nothing but the no salt or low salt type. I love nuts as a snack. We buy a mixture of no salt nuts, then add just a little of the low salt cashews to give it a little flavor. Good stuff. Speaking of Mickey Dee's, I went to town for a blood test a couple of months ago (a fasting test) so dropped in McD's afterwards and ordered a big breakfast. After I ate, I noticed that they started printing the nutritional values on the back side of the place mat. I flipped it over and was shocked. I had already consumed well over half my daily diet. I gave up on lunch and had just a small supper. READ THOSE LABELS GUYS !!!

 

[Granbonny]

Fast food

Fast food

Hubby says, where did they get that name? Lines are always long. Our village of Helen, Ga. doesn't allow any in here.. All store, shops, ect. have to be geared to Bavarian style store fronts, ect. No wires anywhere..They have to be buried underground. Harpoon. Took a trip up to a town yesterday..Stopped at Micky D's..or thru drive-in. Too hot, to leave dog in car..and I ordered their new Cobb salad. There were 6 pieces of sliced chicken on top..a few bacon bits, lots of lettuce we coumadin people cannot eat..and a few slices of carrots and a few tomatoes. $4.99 Had to share my little chicken with dog. I was really hungry last night and had some comfort food. Meatloaf, boiled potatoes and Lima Beans....Only salt I used was in Lipton Onion mix I use.. My grandson does not like fast food places...unless they have chicken strips or nuggets. Never seen the child eat a hamburger.. We are having a block party tomorrow in his neighborhood. Will have to have chicken nuggets for him..when all the other food will be hot dogs, hamburgers, salted potato chips (doesn't like them either)..Raised him on good, comfort, Southern food. Loves, steak, baked potatoes, (NO fries).. Veggies, uncooked brocolli.. Soft tacos with ONLY lettuce and cheese...Does love bacon, but pat it very dry with paper towels....Bonnie

 

[ccrawford]

Bonnie - You can have salads. Just don't pig out on them. The key is consistancy. I make it a point to have a salad every night, and especially enjoy a fresh spinach salad with Marzetti dressing, bacon bits, and some sliced mushrooms. The spinach comes straight from my garden.