Looking for Low Sodium Lunch Ideas to Pack

[Bearvet]

DS16 is experiencing high blood pressure due to some kidney problems. He is on medication but was also told to only eat 1500 mg sodium per day. Dinners are not a problem but for the first time ever, he has to bring his lunch to school - I can only imagine the sodium in cafeteria food!

I have bought low sodium deli meats (still not great) and DS has been really good about reading labels. Just looking for some more ideas to pack for him - no refrigerator or microwave is available.

Thanks for your help!

 

[marcyinPA]

DS16 is experiencing high blood pressure due to some kidney problems. He is on medication but was also told to only eat 1500 mg sodium per day. Dinners are not a problem but for the first time ever, he has to bring his lunch to school - I can only imagine the sodium in cafeteria food!

I have bought low sodium deli meats (still not great) and DS has been really good about reading labels. Just looking for some more ideas to pack for him - no refrigerator or microwave is available.

Thanks for your help!

How about salad, with homemade dressing. If you make it homemade, you can control what you put in it. And if it's vinegar based, it will keep without a fridge. Cheese and cracker with that, but watch the salt in what you choose.

Yogurt and fruit...

Besides peanut butter, egg salad, tuna and lunch meat, I'm not sure what other kind of sandwiches you could do?!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I don't have any great food ideas, but you can always use an ice pack in the lunch bag to keep foods cold enough to last to lunch time. That opens up your options to foods that need to be kept cold.

 

[clarabelle]

I was wondering about some home -made dips with veggies or fruits.
Something maybe yogurt based?
Hummus -again you would probably have to do homemade for the sodium.
Do they make low sodium Peanut Butter?


This sounds really hard. I hope you find something that works for you.

 

[katesorad]

How about homemade soup, made with low sodium broth and veggies? Or egg salad sandwich, no salt added tuna, bagel and cream cheese, applesauce, grilled chicken breast, etc.

 

[clarabelle]

I really like Lara Bars.
I think they are low in sodium. My favorite is the Apple pie flavor.

What about homemade soups or pasta in a thermos? That is probably too much trouble for a boy to take to school?

 

[mom2grace]

Dairy has a lot of 'hidden' sodium, so read labels!

Could you bake/boil a chicken/turkey/beef and make your own 'lunchmeat'? Ham is probably out of the question.

What types of foods are you trying to simulate?

 

[FlyingDumbo]

What did he normally eat for lunch before? You will have to stay away from processed foods.

 

[Katie's Butterflies]

Do they make low sodium Peanut Butter?

Yep, they make sodium "free" peanut butter too. Basically, it's just peanuts-no salt, water, oil etc. It's the bread you have to watch out for!


OP, for lunches your son could try

leftovers,
soup in a thermos
apple slices with peanut butter
fruit/veggies
lettuce wraps (sandwiches that use letuce instead of bread/tortillas)
cereal w/ a thermos full of milk
baked chicken/turkey etc
Homemade frenchfries w/toppings (like homemade chili)

As another pp asked, what types of food does your son want?

Also, if your son wants more "salty" foods, you can use salt substitute which is made with potasium instead of sodium. It is HIGH in potassium though...

 

[disneyquestions]

Personally, I think everything store bought is WAY to high in sodium. It really doesn't take a whole lot of effort to make your own food, if you just sit down, and plan everything out. Sit with your son, get an idea of what he would want to eat, and then try and figure out a homemade low sodium recipe. Cooking is actually kind of fun (I think!) as long as you plan everything and estimate your time. Egg salad on some romain lettuce is a great meal. How about shrimp? I like to put it under the broiler with some salt, evoo and spice and in like 4 minutes its ready! Good luck - making kids change their diet is hard.

 

[Bearvet]

DS would normally eat typical teenage boy things - pizza, chicken nuggets or patties, tacos/nachos, burgers, etc. He's not a big salad eater. I'm cooking a roast beef today, so he can pack that tomorrow. Unfortunately it also has to have a "coolness" factor - he thinks he'll be laughed at if he brings a thermos. The nurse has offered her fridge and MW but he doesn't have enough time to get there - and again with the "uncool" thing.

Thanks for the help so far...would love more suggestions!

 

[dawson5]

My husband is on a low-sodium diet. I haven't found a lunch meat with low sodium (they make them but they aren't that much less). I have found a low sodium peanut butter, it is an acquired taste. I use potato bread or whole wheat. I usually buy a larger roast and can cut that up for sandwiches. Careful of condiments, lots of hidden salt there.

Be aware of any meat you buy, most have added salt or salt water. I think Tyson was the only chicken I found without or going to an organic farmer's market butcher shop.

Also, I try to give him leftovers. Anything I make is lower in salt than packaged food or fast food--but you said no fridge or microwave, so no help there.

Keep an eye on things marked low-sodium. Most of these have a higher potassium content than regular products. His cardiologist warned him about this. I think it has to do with his medication though.

 

[Eljay]

Here's some good info on low sodium foods.
http://www.lowsaltfoods.com/

As others have mentioned, anything packaged will almost always have a ton of salt in it, so you will have to be a fanatical label reader and also start preparing homemade food.

Even things that you would not think of as salty, have a lot of sodium.

Fresh fruit will be a good place to start. Unsalted almonds. Hardboiled eggs (plain). Carrot sticks.

It's not going to be easy.

 

[disfan07]

I agree with others that anything pre-packaged is going to be very high in sodium.

I have the opposite issue of not getting enough sodium which started when I started eating mostly whole foods (basically making my own meals form scratch). When I was told to get more sodium, I started reading labels and was shocked by the amount of sodium in anything pre-packaged!

What about trying to get an appointment with a dietician? They would probably be the best people to point you in the proper direction.

I know that in the medical group where my doctors are, if there are any major diet changes necessary, they automatically refer you to a dietician in the medical group (whether or not you go is your choice). Maybe the doctor has a recommendation they could give you.

Good luck

 

[prncess674]

If he doesn't want to give up sandwiches check out the Pepperidge Farm "Very Thin" bread. It won't be as filling as regular bread but it has less than 100mg of sodium per slice. You can stack the sandwich high with other toppings (cucumbers, carrot slices, bean sprouts) to make it more filling.

http://www.pepperidgefarm.com/ProductDetail.aspx?catID=755&prdID=11798

Another favorite of mine for afternoon snack are the Blue Diamond 100 calorie pack of the Natural Almonds. Zero sodium. The dark chocolate are my favorite and only have a minimal amount of sodium.

http://www.bluediamond.com/index.cfm?navid=466

The sabra hummus is yummy as a sandwich spread and to dip carrot sticks or cucumber slices. My favorite is the roasted red pepper flavor.

http://sabra.com/products/Roasted-Red-Pepper-Hummus

 

[Katie's Butterflies]

Luckily, most of the food you mentioned can be recreated at home pretty easily...we sort of

Pizza-
Sauce, crust, toppings (all easily made at home)

Tacos- there are/were several brands of corn tacos that were lower sodium than others. (I haven't looked recently) You can also check out health food stores such as trader Joe's and whole foods etc for tortillas. (corn apparently has less sodium than flower tortillas)

For taco seasoning, you can make your own. (The ones in the packages contain ccrazy high amounts of sodium) Chili peper, cumin, garlic and onion are what I use.

Nachos- make your own! You can find low sodium cheeses at your grocery and local health food stores.

Here are a couple of recipes I found which should be helpful!

Tortilla chips recipe: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/tortilla_chips.html
4 corn tortillas
1 teaspoon canola oil
Salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly oil two baking sheets.
Lightly brush one side of each tortilla with about 1/4 teaspoon oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Stack the tortillas and cut into 8 wedges; arrange on prepared baking sheets. Bake until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes.

Store up to 1 week in an airtight room temperature container.

Nutrition
Per chip: 8 calories; 0 g fat ( 0 g sat , 0 g mono ); 0 mg cholesterol; 1 g carbohydrates; 0 g protein; 0 g fiber; 20 mg sodium; 6 mg potassium.


Here's a link to a chicken nugget recipe. You can substitute the cereal listed with cornflakes etc.
http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/rec...7EF781837D&WT.mc_id=Newsletter_EBA_2010_03_10

It's no fun when you can't just grab the box off the supermarket shelf or order something from a fast food menu. But, with some planning, he can have most of the stuff he had before... just a little different

Good luck!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

I know some of us here have had to go on the LID for thy ca.
This diet severley limits salt (iodized),

Everything was made without salt. I would check out trader joes for items.

If you use the natural peanut butter that has NO salt. Mix it up and keep it in the refrig, this prevents the oil from separating.

I think with your ds it will be the snacks and crunchiness factor.

Anything can be dipped into the peanut butter. Carrots, celery etc.

You can make a homemade salsa with chopped tomatoes, onion, cilantro etc.

Unsalted matzos are an option.

Make popcorn in the microwave. Use plain kernels and a brown paper bag.

No Yolk noodles have small amount of salt.

Hagen Das sorbet is dairy free and no salt.

Birdseye steamfresh veg (non sauced variety) has no salt. I found our store brand has salt in it.

Get the nuts in big bags in the cooking section so you can have a variety. All are no salt. Pecans, walnuts and almonds.

Maybe try making a trail mix type thing with the nuts, dried fruit like pineapple,apricots, cranberries (craisins)and raisins.

 

[sharbear]

1500 mg of sodium is very low. You have to be very careful with what you buy. Some things have a crazy amount of sodium, canned beans for one. Yikes.

Whole Foods is a good place to look for low sodium foods. Somethings that he could look at are low sodium tortilla chips and salsa. Be sure to be willing to really look at labels.

Most canned and prepackaged foods are really high in sodium. You have to be careful of things like cereal. Also prepackaged meat (esp. chicken) can be injected with sodium. Organic foods are your best bet.

 

[golfgal]

I take a lot of cut up fruit and veges for my lunches when I need them. I am hooked on yellow and orange peppers right not (but they are so expensive). It gives you a lot of fiber and keeps you feeling full longer too.