As someone who deals with bad hypertension daily and had preeclampsia with both pregnancies I can tell you it's a total lifestyle change that I am currently in the middle of making. No more fast food or eating out. We plan all our outings around meals so that we aren't caught out and hungry. Caffeine is a no-no. Limit caffeinated drinks to one a day. No more soda. I drink one cup of coffee a day and then no soda. Lots of water. I eat loads of fresh fruits and vegetables. I've really learned how to cook to fit my needs. Apples are good for lowering BP. My rule is if it's processed it's out. I eat before I leave the house and take water with me. And exercise! Walking definitely helps as well as keeping down the stress. It's the diastolic that's the kicker. Make time to rest every day for at least an hour. Go as organic as possible. Baked and grilled, not fried. And eating out is your enemy. Read labels. Know the daily sodium limit and make a plan to stay under. Just overhaul everyone's eating habits. I did that. So far we're getting there.
I have some wonderful recipes for delicious food made with organic ingrediants that even my pickiest eater will eat! Including fresh baby spinach! Still working on squash! LOL
Found what I needed: apples, bananas, avacados, broccoli, fish, grapes, orange juice, water, plenty of vitamines, fish oils, and a low protein diet will help!
Everything Jennie said, as I know you probably know, is right on the money.
There's no easy way around this. And like Jennie, once we learn how to cook super yummy foods with healthy ingredients, what once felt impossible can be straight up joyful.
But it's a big change, and takes a lot of preparation and dedication.
In the meantime, I'm a big fan of Larabars for snacks. It's the only prepackaged item I'll eat anymore. They have them in big boxes at Costco (but only with certain flavors), or they'll have the whole range of flavors at Whole Foods.
My kiddos eat them, too.
Kinda pricey for what they are, but yummy and thus totally worth it, IMO.
We are horrible eaters Im embarassed typing this out.
Stoffers Mac and cheese Hot dogs and beans BBQ chicken with corn and instant potatoes(I suck at homemade) pizza hamburger helper and greened beans spaghetti cheese ravioli Roast with those packet mixes with instant potatoes and carrots and crescents
We are horrible eaters Im embarassed typing this out.
Stoffers Mac and cheese Hot dogs and beans BBQ chicken with corn and instant potatoes(I suck at homemade) pizza hamburger helper and greened beans spaghetti cheese ravioli Roast with those packet mixes with instant potatoes and carrots and crescents
tracy -
if you're willing to cook, doing any of these homemade will still be yummy and SOOOO much lower in sodium.
anything with a "packet" in the box is going to be loaded with sodium.
i will do some searching and see what i can share.
Have you looked at the pioneer womans blog? She does photos of each step and she makes great tasting real food. I have to really cut back the butter and cream with her recipes but they are simple and delicious.
Don't be embarrased about what you cook! I'd say I was around your age when we really stopped using processed foods and discovered cooking for ourselves. So much better!
Have you tried the mac n cheese recipe from the Jessica Seinfeld cookbook? You can easily leave out the squash and it's still delicious.
Homemade tomato sauce is sooo easy and much tastier. For a very fast sauce, I put olive oil in a frying pan (big nonstick) and add a crushed garlic clve (or many). I add a can of nonsalted tomatoes (crushed or diced), some garlic salt (or just garlic powder), some dried basil and oregano, and if the kids aren't eating it, crushed red pepper flakes. I don't like onion but you could do that with the garlic. I cook it for the length of time it takes the spaghetti to boil. If I need it to sit longer (like I forgot to cook the spaghetti), I'll add some wine or chicken stock to keep it from cooking down too much.
We often have a very simple dinner of a meat (steak, chicken, pork chops) done on the broiler or in a frying pan or grilled, rice, and steamed brocolli.
i will throw chicken breasts in marinade early in the day and they are super fast and easy on the grill at dinnertime. (you can throw together marinades yourself if the ones at the store have too much sodium.) we do roasted red potatoes, or steamed veggies with the chicken (or center cut pork chops or sliced london broil) often.
I agree with what everybody said. My only other suggestion is to get onto a website where you can track your intake and that will help you really see what you were/are getting and where you need to be. You can track your sodium (among other things) on myfitnesspal.com
Tracy, does your iTouch work still after the drool incident? One of the apps I have is the Simply Organic app that is filled with recipes that even Colin likes and he is my picky eater! And I was surprised at how cheap I can get organic ingrediants if I avoid the specialty stores and stick with my local grocery store and even Wal-Mart. I also avoid adding salt to recipes too. And DH reminded me of an awesome book we had called Eating Expectantly. I don't remember who wrote it but it had awesome recipes that are so easy to make.
Homemade mashed potatoes were my enemy until DH taught me how. They are so tasty with potatoes fresh from a garden! Gotta love neighbors.
Seriously, I wish I had done this before. I take 3 blood pressure meds a day just to control my BP and there are some days I shoot up way high. When I was being seen for a double ear infection a couple weeks ago it was 195/99. Not to threadjack but I guess the point I am getting at is 136/90 is a bit easier to start to control at then something as high as what I've been seeing. It isn't always easy and there are days I slide but it takes discipline but I have every confidence you can do it!
Seriously not trying to t/j but I have quite the relationship with BP issues.
I paid to have my ipod replaced after the drool incident. Now we have otterbox cases.
Ill look up those apps.
I tried a chicken recipe tonight that had no sodium other than the 35mg in the chicken and it was so bland I wanted to puke. It was apple garlic chicken.
I paid to have my ipod replaced after the drool incident. Now we have otterbox cases.
Ill look up those apps.
I tried a chicken recipe tonight that had no sodium other than the 35mg in the chicken and it was so bland I wanted to puke. It was apple garlic chicken.
Maybe I have to cut back slower.
Herbs and spices(or use Mrs. Dash) for seasoning but I think the most important thing is cutting back on packaged foods.
I paid to have my ipod replaced after the drool incident. Now we have otterbox cases.
Ill look up those apps.
I tried a chicken recipe tonight that had no sodium other than the 35mg in the chicken and it was so bland I wanted to puke. It was apple garlic chicken.
Maybe I have to cut back slower.
honestly, i really think that if you just cut out the packaged foods you will be WAY better off. even if you are still using salt, it is so much better. make your mac and cheese homeade. use a good recipe first. if you like it, you can cut the salt down a tad the next time you make it and see if it is still good.
when looking for recipes, skip anything that uses cream of mushroom soup, or anything like that (or you might be able to use the low sodium kind, but i prefer just to not make stuff that has it in it).
i use allrecipes.com for recipes a lot because i like to be able to read the reviews first.
