Spices and Low Salt Cooking to Lower Blood Pressure

If you eat out a lot, you’ll notice that a lot of food is drenched in sauce. What’s in the sauce? Ummm.. I’m not sure but more than likely, there is tons of added salt in it. By now you’ve probably already heard that you need to cut your salt intake to lower blood pressure. How can you flavor food without using that salt shaker? How can you make food taste interesting and good with less salt? When I started changing the way I cook at home, it was both a frustrating and rewarding journey to figure out what what are some other ways to season food.

The good news is: there are definitely spice blends out there that have no added salt. How do you know if there is salt added to the blend? I definitely advise getting into the habit of reading the nutrition label. I simply look at the list of ingredients to see if I can find the word “salt”. Also, just as a personal preference, I like spice blends that don’t have other chemicals/additives/salt substitutes.

Here are the ingredients for the 2 spice blends that you see above. I use thes 2 quite a bit when I season chicken, fish or tofu when sautéing! Yum!

The one on the left is the Simply Organic Five Spice Powder. It doesn’t take much to add a kick of unique flavor; often goes well with more Asian cuisine themed meals. I sprinkled some on roasted chicken breast and served it with some steamed bokchoy and white rice. I bought it on Amazon but since the price there can fluctuate a lot, you can also check their main company site here!

The one on the right is the Penzeys Spices Bangkok Blend. I love mixing a small amount with some no salt added Penzeys Hot Curry Powder and blend in some olive oil and minced garlic. Use it to season chickpeas or garbanzo beans and then serve over brown rice for a delicious, high fiber, heart healthy meal! It can take time to find a blend that you adore but Penzeys has some great stuff!

P.S. Yeah I know, these spice blends can be a bit pricey. I will say it doesn’t take much to add flavor and you can definitely combine it with other ingredients such as low sodium chicken or veggie broth to create sauces.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy cooking! Have you found some interesting, no salt added spice blends?

Hello and Welcome!

Thanks for stopping by my page! As I described here, I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and am excited to share what I’ve learned and am learning every day! There is a lot of technical medical stuff out there already. This website aims to give you more of a personal, easy-to-understand approach to my experience managing high blood pressure. Today I wanted to talk a bit about how I put my meals together.

When I was diagnosed with high blood pressure, I wanted to know: How can I eat a lower salt diet? What can I eat with high blood pressure? There are many ways that food and drink can affect blood pressure. Let’s get started with a few tips today. I promise to post a lot more on this topic!

3 Tips on How to Start Eating a Heart Healthy Diet

1. Cook at home when possible: It allows you to control what you put into your food. Even when it comes to adding some store bought BBQ sauce; you can easily cut down on the amount to start decreasing your intake of salt. Also, when you prepare meals, take the time to double the ingredients and plan for leftovers. Not so ideal food decisions are often made when you’re hungry! If there’s already a health healthy leftover meal waiting in the fridge for you when you come home from work; it’s less likely that you’ll swing by that fast food drive-through on the way home!
2. Don’t try to change everything at the same time: Hey! You’re human. So you’ve been told you need to eat a lower salt diet. Unless your doctor says you need to drop below a certain amount of salt right away, I would ease into it to help your tongue and your mind adjust to your new lifestyle. Instead of that salty bagel for breakfast (they can have 500mg of sodium in just one! YIKES!), try a bowl of quick cooking steel cut oats with a sprinkle of raisins and brown sugar, and a splash of milk! Just like that, you’ve reduced your breakfast sodium amount quite a bit! Celebrate your small but important wins! WOOHOO!
3. Eat whole foods when possible: Okay I think that term “whole foods” means different things to different people. When I say “whole foods”, I mean something that is as close to their natural state as possible. I’m not saying: Hey go eat that uncooked sweet potato for dinner (Hmm I don’t think you’re supposed to eat sweet potatoes raw anyway). I’m saying if you steam or bake that sweet potato and serve with a small sprinkle of cinnamon; you’ll be able to enjoy a healthy yet delicious meal without a lot of hard to predict additives that may come in a can of soup. Then, add some kale sautéed in minced garlic and a piece of grilled fish. Be sure to double those ingredients so you have leftovers. Leftovers are everything when it comes to sticking to your healthier diet!

That picture up top is what I made for dinner today!

So I definitely made enough for 2 days so that I can eat this again tomorrow.

• Salad greens, topped with diced radish and carrots, light Thousand Island dressing (read the label to see how much sodium so you stay within your goals!).
• Mushrooms sautéed in avocado oil on top of turkey patties. I bought ground turkey (95% lean) and added some garlic powder and a splash of Worcheshire sauce and simply cooked it in a pan. Turkey patty and mushrooms served on hamburger buns. Yep, I tried to choose the buns with lowest sodium content in the supermarket, but I’m not going for perfection here.
• Strawberries and apple on the side for some added fiber and vitamins!

I hope that’s a helpful start! To be fair. There’s lots more to come in this blog! Just wanted to get started and say hello! Thanks again for being here! Come back soon!