diabetes/hypertension recipes?

[snowball22]

Help. I need to change my habits of eating. My blood pressure is starting to inch up and the doctor wants to monitor it more closely. I have relatives with blood pressure on both sides of the family and relatives with heart disease. Does anyone live daily with these problems and what do you eat each day to stay healthy?

 

[pumba]

are usually high in sodium........We very seldom buy processed meats in the deli.....except turkey sliced.....but usually we dont' make sandwiches.....I do not cook with salt.....but seasoning can be done later if it is really needed.....My husband uses a product called no salt ....it is a good substitute and he likes it.....I use it now.....I also cook my meals with herbs and spices.....I dont use garlic salt I use less but garlic powder...........just look at the foods that are already made and all you do is pop them in the oven.....those are the bad ones.....look at the sodium content.....as far as diabetes.......my mil is a diabetic and she uses insulin....the main thing there is she can eat what everyone else eats.....but lays off starches cause they turn into carbs that turn into sugars...I remember thininking I was doing a good thing by having peas and carrots often.......well they both are high in sugar......they are good once in a while but not at the same meal......a weight watches diet ( look up their web site) is a good healthy diet for anyone ....including diabetics and people with hypertension......good luck and remember it doesn't mean you cant have things once in a while.......

 

[piratesmate]

We stopped cooking with salt years ago. . . but I do remember that I had to reduce the salt slowly to give our taste buds time to adjust. (We didn't have a medical reason to stop - just thought it would be healthier.) We found that the hardest things to get used to without salt we spaghetti & potatoes. It seems that you can never add enough after. In our mashed potatoes I add garlic powder & we don't miss it now.

In the beginning I used no salt seasonings like Mrs. Dash's in place of salt - but after a while we got tired of it & didn't miss the salt anymore. We are lucky in that we have a spice store nearby & can get all kinds of things w/o salt - garlic powder, ground celery seed to replace celery salt & even seasoned salt w/o the salt! Cheese is also high in sodium.

I'm an insulin-dependent diabetic & find that the biggest problem I have when eating at a friend's house or family gatherings is vegetables. I eat a lot of raw carrots - they have a high glycemic index, but I can compensate with insulin. In addition to the peas, a number of other vegetables are very starchy. On the old ADA diet, they were equated with a slice of bread. These include all seed beans such as limas, kidneys, great northerns, etc. This does NOT apply to green beans or wax beans. Corn also falls into this category. Tomatoes are okay when they aren't prepared - but ketchup, cocktail sauce, spaghetti sauce & the like are usually high in sugar.

The main thing is to watch the combinations of what you are serving. If you are having rice or breaded meat, you don't want to have a starchy veg and rolls in the same meal.

Fat content is another issue for diabetics. Casseroles can be really difficult to manage.

d

 

[mamajoan]

Hi, Like Piratesmate I am also an Insulin dependent diabetic. Diabetics watch their carb intake closely to maintain good glucose blood levels. This means breads, pastas, potatoes, veggies like peas, corn, dry beans ie, kidney, pinto, navy etc. are all carbs. They all can be eaten but in limited amounts or eaten in larger amounts with increased insulin dosages.
Diabetics usually watch their fat intake also. Decreasing the cholesteral in the diet seems to help decrease glucose levels. For instance chinese food such as chow mein always increases my next glucose blood check.
I find that "GREEN IS GOOD" is a solution that helps my diet. Green vegetables, salads, are usually healthy additions to anyones diet.
Taking salt away from my diet has been difficult but I am managing with a salt substitute now.
But I will admit I MISS my salt, my bp is better so is my fluid retention since I have decreased salt intake... ah the wonders of life.