The biggest key we have found is planning our menus. As my husband is required to eat at restaurants for his job, our planning is key to helping him be successful. His standard order - a steak cooked plain, a plain side salad (no croutons), steamed veggies (again - be sure they are plain) and rice-pilaf (after checking prep) or a baked potato with sour cream and pepper only. Asking how everything is prepared is most important.
We raise our own beef, lamb and chicken, so we tend to rely on these meats. Out of venison this time of year (pheasant too - I think we have a meal or two worth of duck and fish left in the freezer). Here is the menu for my husband's week (nights he eats out are usually take out for the kids or a higher sodium meal that the kids like - last week it was Papa Murphy's 5 meat stuffed pizza (1/12th slice has 1260 mg sodium), this week it is either frozen pizza one night and other tacos with the full salt refried beans and store bought shells - we are getting them used up).
He is at 1200 mg per sodium per day as a goal. If we eat all home-cooked meals - it is pretty easy to stay in the 600 mg per day range - very little thought these days.
This week (snacks are usually some oatmeal cookies I have made 5 mg sodium each or a fiber bar and fruit and/or homemade bread):
Sunday
Breakfast - oatmeal with raisins, apples, brown sugar, cinnamon and 2 tbsp cream. Ran out of walnuts, so no walnuts this morning.
Lunch - meatball marinara subs with fresh fruit and brussel sprouts. I love that Aldi's fit and active is only 25mg sodium per serving. This greatly speeds up the cooking process - yes, we do purchase it by the case. Having it on hand means I can come up with a 25 mg dinner if needed (pasta plus 1/2 cup sauce). One jar and 24 meatballs serves 6-8 people.
Snack - homemade bread (I bake every day - just like most others) or a fiber bar (store bought 85 mg per bar) and maybe an ounce of low sodium cheese. Sometimes nuts, sometimes peanut butter and no salt crackers or veggies, it depends on the day. My goal is two snacks per day, though he usually combines all into a single snack.
Dinner - Roasted leg of lamb with onions, carrots and potatoes, biscuits and a berry cobbler for dessert.
Monday
Breakfast - oatmeal (pretty standard breakfast around here)
Lunch - leftover roast beef, carrots and garlic potatoes from Saturday night
Dinner - kids choice as husband eats out tonight
Tuesday
Breakfast - oatmeal
Lunch - leftover spaghetti and garlic bread
Dinner - kids choice
Wednesday
Breakfast - eggs/toast/fresh fruit and 1-2 slices of low sodium bacon. Bacon is something that after a month, my husband really still misses. We only had it on occasion, so we are trying out the Great Value brand of lower sodium bacon (173 mg for two slices). We used to just split a serving between the two of us, but will see if he wants both. :). Consumer Reports had this listed as one of the better tasting lower sodium bacons. Compared to the other brand of low sodium they offered, this one is over 100 mg lower in sodium per serving size. Here is hoping it is good.
Lunch - leftover meatball marinara subs
Dinner - Beef barley stew (beef from leftovers from roast cooked on Saturday) The bone will be used to make beef broth.
Thursday
Breakfast - oatmeal
Lunch - leftover beef barley stew
Dinner - Lamb pot pie with jello (leftovers from Sunday dinner)
Friday
Breakfast - oatmeal
lunch - leftover lamb pot pie
Dinner - pizza with homemade sausage, low sodium cheddar and a serving of lower sodium bacon if it is good on Wednesday with the grease used in the crust for more flavor. If it turns out that it doesn't taste good, we have outdoor animals whose coats will benefit from the fat content. Though nice here - we still have several feet of snow on the ground and drifts over 10 feet tall.
Saturday
Breakfast - pancakes, fruit
Lunch - hambergers, baked beans (from scratch), fresh carrots with mustard dipping sauce
Dinner - Crock pot chicken, oven potatoes, sauteed cabbage/veggie mix, brownies, biscuts
I also keep oatmeal raisin cookies on hand - 5 mg per cookie (approximately - as anyone with Meneire's knows - every flour is different - but I do really like the no salt baking powder). Two other items that tend to fit without much issue - some vanilla ice cream or sherbert. We don't forgo treats in order to eat right. Just revamp where needed so they fit into a low salt/no added salt plan of eating.
No comments:
Post a Comment