Sodium

Well, it's happened again.....sodium has become my enemy. Except this time, I'm trying to do something about it. Thankfully, I haven't had blood pressure issues w/ either pregnancy despite my propensity to swell up w/ fluids. I was doing okay this time around, but I started having some nerve issues and then I noticed some pockets of swelling on my feet. Gasp! I can't do that again! I had carpal tunnel in the last month or so w/ Rachel and it took about 2 full weeks for it to go away after she was born.....due to my excessive swelling.

So, since I noticed this around week 22, I've mulled a bit about it and tried to increase my exercise a little unsuccessfully. Ok, now I got to strike against the beast another way....diet. So, I've decreased my sodium a lot over the past week. I do feel better, but man, is this frustrating. I mean, let's be realistic, it's not just a matter of avoiding McDonalds. When I went grocery shopping yesterday, I felt like salt was pouring out of the aisles. Seriously, this cuts out a lot of stuff that I would cook......given how much sodium is in things like tomato sauce, salsa, chicken stock, creamed soups, etc. I mean, salsa has more sodium than the tostitos you put it on! So, I'll be making my own tomato sauce (minus the white wine) in order to have something w/ noodles. I'll let you know how it goes.

So, today was a full-fledged attempt of lower sodium cooking. I made Garlic Ginger Chicken , Slow Cooked Veggies, and Baked Potatoes. So, the Chicken was good but a little tangy but Ben and I liked it....Rachel is still not big on chewing for extended periods of time so meat isn't always a hit w/ her anyway. The veggies.....well, let's just say they aren't meant to cook the whole day while you're at work.....the flavor was good but they were a bit soggy which was not so good. And how about things like sour cream aren't really high in sodium - who knew?!?!

I guess I've just never really paid attention to this part of my nutrition before. I know when I go out to eat that I'm not really eating good food, but I cook a lot, and I never really thought that everything was so high in sodium. Hopefully, despite all the extra work, I'll be able to keep this up.