As I’ve mentioned before, my last pregnancy was fraught with high blood pressure problems. I know that my diet was a big part of it back then. All I did was eat junk and salty foods. After working in the NICU, I see the effects that high blood pressure can have on a fetus. It’s not good.
So I made a promise this time, to both the baby and myself, that I would not let this happen again. But the cravings are hard to ignore. DH called me out at one point after a bad few days and I realized that he was right. I was eating crap. and I was eating a lot.
After that, I called myself eating right, but I still have a major problem: Sodium.
I bought some pickles to snack on when I felt really hungry, added salt to my cucumbers and tomatoes, put tons of creole mustard (I had no idea how much sodium it had!) on my tomato sandwich. And of course, I’d indulge in the occasional lean cuisine when I didn’t have time to make a meal…talk about lots o sodium!
I crave salt. During weight loss, sweets were always my biggest enemy. Well no more.
How did I know that I was having a problem already? You may think my blood pressure has been up, but no. I’m having really, really, really bad headaches when I eat salty stuff. I was at work the other day and felt absolutely terrible for the fourth day in a row. I went and took my blood pressure and it was 116/68…which is fine. But just because it’s not up now does not mean that my body is not being affected. When it was time for me to leave work, I had car trouble and my headache intensified, even causing some dizziness. This scared me a lot.
My MIL was actually the one who mentioned salt and it gave me pause. I had eaten a ton of salt that day. The next few days, I made a conscious effect to lower my salt intake. The headaches went away. Problem solved! Or is it?
Like with all things, I need a plan. Here it is so far:
- Most instant meals are a no-no, unless I can find any exceptions
- Lots of fruits and veggies (I actually had been doing that, but adding tons of salt! Yes, even on my watermelon…which I have never done in all my natural born life!)
- Find other seasonings such as onion, pepper, oregano
- No fast food at all!
Today’s meal is a baked pork chop( seasoned with a little olive oil, pepper, and onion), mashed potatoes/cauliflower (made from scratch, with a little skim milk and very small amount of unsalted butter and pepper), Steamed carrots, Green pea/Corn combo with onion and a whole wheat roll. It was pretty good! DS enjoyed it too, though he was angry that the carrots were cooked…he likes them raw.
My lunch today! Probably would've been better to have chicken, but at least it's baked.
I have another Dr’s appointment today, I will try to update afterwards.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I have a suggestion for a replacement to the instant meals. My DH and I recently started making homemade veggie pockets while on a Daniel fast. They are quick, customizable, portable, and filling! There’s no measuring in my recipe, but here’s my ingredient list for a basic veggie pocket:
Grape seed oil
Onions, chopped
Minced garlic
Fresh spinach
Colorful peppers
Whatever other veggies you like
Cooked quinoa, brown rice, or diced potatoes
Seasoning to taste (cumin, pepper, curry, whatever you like)
Shredded mozzarella cheese or hummus
Large tortillas, the healthiest version you can find (low/no sugar, whole wheat, etc)
Preheat oven to 400-degrees F. On the stove, saute and season the veggies in grape seed oil on medium or medium-low heat until tender. Then lay out a tortilla on a plate. Spread cheese or hummus onto the center of the tortilla. Put veggies and your cooked brown rice/quinoa/potato (optional) on top of that, then fold up the tortilla like a burrito. Lay the pocket on a lightly greased cookie sheet, fold-side down. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top. That’s it!
The veggie pocket might puff and stay, or it might flatten out as it cools. If you prefer something meaty, brown some ground turkey or sausage and add that to the mix. I like to dip my pockets in salsa. Wrap them up in wax paper or foil and put them in the fridge for grab-and-go.
Hi Kcurly!
With all 3 of my children, I craved dill pickles like you would not believe! With my last pregnancy, I tried just peeling and eating raw cukes as an alternative and would go through 5 large ones in 2-3 days.
Eventually, I did go back to the dill pickles, but that was all the salt I would eat if at all possible. For some reason kosher dills did not do the trick, only the hamburger dill chips would do! As soon as I delivered, the cravings ceased.
I don’t know, do you think it would be ok to have a few of the crinkly cut dill chips every once in a while? I know I was cranky if I did not get my pickle fix, lol!
Also, my bp was good during pregnancy, but the night after delivery shot through the roof, to the point of needing IV meds through the night.
shones, that looks so good! I’m going to try it!
Bridget, I think I will buy some hamburger dill slices and just have a few every other day or so. The cucumbers are something I’ve been eating, but with salt :/ I will try them with just red wine vinegar and pepper.
Thanks ladies!
Hey lady.. re: seasoning your food without salt. I’m glad you’re cutting it down because that means you are going to open the door to the world of herbs and spices! I use very little salt in my food, but I’m definitely heavy on the herbs/spices.. paprika, garlic (fresh and powdered), parsley, oregano, basil, mint, cinnamon (my secret weapon in seasoning meats – no lie!), cumin, dill, curry, vinegar, red wine, rice wine vinegar, etc. etc…the list could go on and on. My spice cabinet is definitely more well-stocked than my hair product cabinet!
Go heavy on the spices and you won’t miss the salt! Also a lot of spices have health benefits too, so you can’t go wrong cutting the salt. Good luck!
PS Oh one more thing…marinate marinate marinate! Meats and vegetables can be marinated, so use it to your advantage.
One of my favorite marinades for pork or beef is red cooking wine, fresh black pepper, fresh garlic, with a dash of mustard powder or regular/spicy mustard.