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[Laura Corin]

Can you do your own cooking to avoid sodium?  We buy very few prepared sliced meats (like turkey).  Instead once a week I roast chickens or other meats to use through the week for lunches.  To be honest, a little bit of salt on steamed veggies is likely to be much less of a problem than any kind of processed proteins.

 

Do you like fish?

 

L

[regentrude]

Buy raw meat if meat at all, not processed deli meat. Bake or broil it, slice it for sandwich. (Was that turkey sandwich supposed to be your meat for the week?)

Eggs are a good source of protein (why don't you eat any?)

Fish. Not canned tuna, but raw fish you can cook yourself.

If you do not use processed food, you can control how much sodium to add (OK, aside from the small amount occurring naturally)

You can season vegetables with herbs and spices.

What about nuts?

Can you have fermented dairy like yoghurt and kefir?

Grain has protein and calories; you can bake with very little salt.

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[BellaMama]

Clover Leaf has a low sodium Sockeye Salmon that yields 18 grams of protein and 85 mg of sodium for 1/2 can.

It takes getting used to, but I enjoy it now.

[regentrude]

. But I have an anaphylactic reaction to shellfish, and neither one can guarantee against cross-contamination. All of the frozen kinds I've looked at have salt added. I'd love suggestions of brands that don't.

 

I have never seen salt added to frozen fish. The two kinds of frozen fish I have in my freezer currently (MahiMahi from Aldi, Salmon from Walmart) have no added ingredients . They do contain some natural sodium... after all, they were living in saltwater.

You might want to try and see if sweetwater fish have less sodium.

[TrixieB]

When you buy fresh fish from the fish counter at the supermarket, it should not have any salt added to it.  ETA:  I just saw your post about cross-contamination.  A fish market might be able to help in this case.

 

To increase calories and healthy fat, add avocado to your green salad.

 

Steamed vegetables taste great topped with some olive oil or unsalted butter and dried or fresh herbs. 

 

If you can eat eggs, they are a good source of protein and you can season them with pepper, herbs, nutritional yeast, etc. rather than salt.

[Annie G]

Just based on the lunch you wanted today- the bread and pickle probably account for much of the sodium.  Eliminate the pickle for other options, like raw veggies, a side salad, or something. Making your own bread cuts a lot of sodium.  To make that sandwich more filling, add avocado slices or maybe some hummus.   

 

Do you avoid meat and eggs to cut fat? 

[wapiti]

My family has a history of heart disease and I'm trying really hard to get off the extra weight and lower my blood pressure (Not high, but borderline). I'm having a hard time getting enough calories and protein without upping the sodium.

 

Just throwing this out there - looking at the bigger picture, if you are open to eating more meat and eggs, you might consider an alternative, metabolic-syndrome angle to lowering your heart disease risk, weight and blood pressure.  With a low-carb/high-fat way of eating, the issue with sodium is the opposite (making sure to get enough, because the body expels more sodium with that way of eating - I can't recall why at the moment).

 

More generally, regardless of the sodium, I'd guess it's challenging to get enough protein while not eating much meat - I agree with Wendy's suggestion to look to vegans/vegetarians for ideas.

[kathkath]

boars head has some low sodium options.  Their roast beef is surprisingly low.  I was shocked at how much sodium bread has, and even more shocked by tortillas.

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[LaCEmom]

What about Greek yogurt?

[mamaraby]

Wildwood makes a sprouted tofu that has 14g of protein per serving and only 15mg of sodium. If you make your own hummus you can control the salt, even better if you get the no salt added canned chickpeas. Beans and lentils of all varieties are also a good source of protein with less sodium. Oh, and tempeh which makes a spectacular sandwich and taco filling. Many of these protein sources also have the added benefit of being a good source of potassium.

 

Being choosier with your bread and grains helps too and it doesn't mean you have to make your own. I think the important thing to remember is that you don't have to get a few large doses of protein - many smaller amounts add up.

 

Good vegan sources of protein - http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/protein.php

 

And don't forget oats - not particularly high in protein, but with your health history they have plenty of other positive benefits.

 

If you're looking for other meal inspiration within your guidelines you might appreciate the Happy Herbivore, "Forks Over Knives" cookbook, and "Appetite for Reduction."

[sbgrace]

Greek yogurt has a really good protein profile. Fat content might be an issue there (ie, it may have less fat than you'd like). But, given your issues with meat and eggs, I'd look at dairy outside of cheese and similar that would have salt added. If you're going to go heavy beans and/or nuts and seeds with many meals, watch your iron. Both inhibit absorption. But that would be a good option. There are some high protein "grains" like quinoa you could experiment with too. All grains have some protein. I really don't think it should be hard to get enough protein, even without meat.

[mamaraby]

If you're going to go heavy beans and/or nuts and seeds with many meals, watch your iron. Both inhibit absorption. But that would be a good option. There are some high protein "grains" like quinoa you could experiment with too. All grains have some protein. I really don't think it should be hard to get enough protein, even without meat.

Simple solution - pair vitamin c with our veg protein sources. Bell peppers, steamed broccoli, cantalope, xitrus, etc. Cook in a cast iron pan (even better if you're talking something acidic which will increase the iron content of the meal).

 

For example (http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/iron):

 

Vitamin C is a strong enough enhancer of plant iron and can overcome the inhibitors in plant foods. One study found that various doses of phytate reduced iron absorption by 10 to 50%. But adding 50 mg of vitamin C counteracted the phytate, and adding 150 mg of vitamin C increased iron absorption to almost 30%. Similarly, in the presence of a large dose of tannic acid, 100 mg of vitamin C increased iron absorption from 2 to 8% (13).

I suppose next someone is going to mention B12? ;)

 

There will be some trial and error involved and it can be a bit frustrating, but it might be best to think about it in terms of a week's numbers versus one single day. Will Spark People let you look at your numbers for a week at a glance?

[wapiti]

Swiss cheese is usually low in sodium. Not my favorite, but I came to enjoy it when I was carefully watching my sodium in an attempt to lower my blood pressure. I hate to say I eventually gave up due to what you're finding--I was losing weight and I couldn't afford to as I was already underweight. I've been considering a retry though, so watching this thread for ideas (especially interested in the metabolic angle mentioned above).

 

On the metabolic angle, I don't want to take the thread off topic - there are lots of places to read more.  For books, I'd start with this one though there are others.  Also google LCHF and "blood pressure."

[KungFuPanda]

Trader Joes has unsalted peanut butter . . . crunchy AND smooth.

 

Protein/calorie problem SOLVED.

[prairiewindmomma]

Nuts

Beans: pinto, black, white

Chickpeas/garbanzo beans