Sunday, July 17, 2022

Low-Key Day and Strawberries!

 There is nothing much happening around here. Everything has all been very low-key. We went for short drive yesterday, but on Sunday we have not even opened the front door. He did wash and dry my puffy pink comforter on Saturday late afternoon-evening. 

Slowly I am clearing off two small tables near me. These tables are catchalls when I don't feel well. So, now I pick at things, organize or throw away. I am finding phone numbers I need, lists I don't need, magazines, programs, scissors, etc. 

Meals available I have cooked:

2 pork chops with sliced potatoes in the pan in oven

2 bscb with zucchini in the pan in oven

We can eat Great Northern Beans, salad, tomatoes. Tommy has collards and peas. I have green beans. 

Hopefully, tonight Tommy cooks and crumbles a huge package of ground beef to which I will add chopped onions, garlic, salt and pepper. 

My big deal was strawberries. At Publix I found strawberries $10/3. Ooops,  I must have hit a key. I also found Driscoll Organic Strawberries bogo $4.99/2. Naturally, I got a quart of the organic berries. They were so good that I will go back and get several more. I took that first box we bought, and we ate some in the car. I know that strawberries are cheaper somewhere, but I am just not there. If I had known how red these were inside and how sweet they were, I would have gotten more quarts. 

Two weeks ago, I paid $6.49 for 5 pounds of red potatoes. Shocking! Maybe I could have found/bought them more cheaply, but the cheaper places had potatoes that I pared half of them away because of flaws. 

Tommy had to water Saturday and today. But, when he waits until 7 pm, he is happier about working outside. I think I hear him in the kitchen washing dishes in the sink at 11 pm. 

I am slogging through Salt Wars. I say slogging, but it is really interesting. The Salt Institute really wants all of us to use more salt. The prevarications about salt are amazing. I would highly recommend Salt Wars. Since I was about 30-yrs-old, I have deliberately reduced salt on my own. My blood pressure was really low, so this was not a need or a suggestion from a doctor. 

Do you try and limit salt? Is this a suggestion for improved health? 


17 comments:

  1. I had high blood pressure for a few years and my doctor (nurse practitioner) said to reduce salt intake. But I didn't cook with salt, and didn't use salt. As it turns out, the high blood pressure was more attributed to sugar (and things that turn to sugar in the body = carbs) than the salt. I cut the carbs, started eating non-processed foods, and now use so much salt! My blood pressure is perfect. Another book that tells a lot about salt is The Salt Fix by Dr. James DiNicolantonio.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alice,
      Processed food has so much sodium. I knew this before reading this book. Thanks for the book recommendation.

      Delete
  2. I don't actively try to limit salt, I am just not a fan of much of it at all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anne,
      When I was twelve, I decided I did not like salt very much. So, there is not much for me to control. No doctor has ever said I should limit salt, but I feel like it is the best thing to do.

      Delete
  3. I don’t try to limit my salt, but I need to do that. The strawberries sound delicious. We had some last week but need to get some more.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Belinda,
      Limiting salt saves lives! They were delicious, and I cannot wait to get more.

      Delete
  4. Yes, all the time I try to limit salt. It's ubiquitous so it's easy to cut back

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Urspo,
      Good for you. It is all about simple choices and we don't have to search.

      Delete
  5. Do you cook all these dishes ahead of time, then just reheat/microwave?
    I have been aware of excess salt in the American diet since I was a child. Growing up, we never salted anything, nor was salt on the table. We DID, however, use copious amounts of garlic powder and pepper. I generally only add salt to my rub for roasted meats, and baked goods as the recipe calls. I buy unsalted butter. I try to avoid pre-packaged things like powdered soup mixes (I make my own onion soup mix), dressing mixes, gravy mixes and canned soups. I confess, though, to keeping a good stash of cream of chicken/celery/mushroom for quick, cheap casserole meals. As my kids get older, this supply has become smaller and smaller.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meg,
      Yes, we spend one evening or afternoon cooking all the meat. However, we did and do cook vegetables with the meat sometimes. One day, we cooked vegetables.

      When I use the creamed soups, I deliberately use no sodium vegetables or leave out salt in a recipe. I try my best to make things low sodium, not no sodium.

      Delete
  6. the only issue with limiting salt is that unless you also eat fish, and other iodine rich foods will leave you with a deficiency. Low iodine levels may leave you feeling tired, sluggish and weak. This is because your body needs the mineral to make energy. That's why it was added to salt..so people (who don't regularly eat ocean fish) wouldn't be lacking in it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. meetsy,
      That is so true. I doubt my cutbacks will result in any deficiency.

      Delete
  7. I have always been careful with salt since Hub's has high blood pressure. Most restaurant food is too salty for me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kim,
      Restaurant food has always been too salty for me. I don't have high blood pressure and hope never to have high blood pressure.

      Delete
  8. We don't add salt, usually, and purchase low sodium options when they are available. I love salt, but know it's not great to over-consume it.

    Sassybear
    https://idleeyesandadormy.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. sassybear,
      I rarely add salt. Now, I rinse green beans if they are not low sodium. I love salt on French fries which I eat maybe once a month.

      Delete
    2. sassybear,
      I rarely add salt. Now, I rinse green beans if they are not low sodium. I love salt on French fries which I eat maybe once a month.

      Delete

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