Penguin Pride and Heart Patients

Hockey is a fun game to watch and if you are a heart patient there is no reason you cannot go to watch the game! Walking into the stadium is good exercise for your body and soul. Maybe you cannot play the game anymore but you can get out where the action is.

When you get the itch to catch a real live hockey game, go see Ticketamerica’s web site.  Ticketamerica.com has tickets for the Pittsburgh Penguins the Consol Energy Center and all other NHL tickets. Being from PA myself, I got Penguin Pride! Get your NHL tickets  at Ticketamerica's web site. They also have tickets for all Pittsburgh Penguins matches even those played at the  Consol Energy Center.

If you are a hockey fan but cannot get to the rink to watch a game or play, the next best thing is to find some free online games to play

Over at Candystand there is an extreme air-hockey challenge. It is free to play and if you submit your scores, you can win real prizes.  When playing this one, you select your country and help lead the team to victory. The mouse controls your mallet. So get your trigger finger ready for this excitement. You can play on Acadepod’s website they have eight hockey games.  Some of these are flash, java, and shockwave games for fans to enjoy.

Moderation is the key with Homemade Fries

I have to admit that for two years after my heart attacks I was scared to eat anything fried. I denied myself those homemade French Fries that I used to eat along with many other things.

One night while I was home alone recently and feeling like I had given up so much I put the olive oil on to heat.  As I cut up the potato, I had a brief moment of second thoughts. Then reality quickly took over and said I am not going to have another heart attack because I have a few French Fries here.

Those fries were so darn good, and I did not feel badly for giving into my craving. I know with the olive oil I fried them with the healthiest oil I knew of.

I did not salt them, homemade fries do not need anything.  I did mix my favorite dipping sauce, which is about a teaspoon of ketchup to 2 teaspoons of fat free mayo. I love this mix and its great on fries, or baked burgers. My granddaughters love this dip with their chicken nuggets.

I believe moderation is the key to everything we eat. Real French fries fried in olive oil once or twice a year is not going to kill me. 

Exercise and NCAA Basketball

Living with heart disease does not mean you have to sit in the house like a hermit. It is very important to get out there and get some exercise. Granted some of us can get back to our sporting activities quickly, while others need to take it slow and to build back up to these activities.

If you enjoyed basketball before you were diagnosed with heart disease you might be missing that type of adrenalin rush. While you may not feeling like getting out there to play basketball you sure can watch some great action on the basketball court. If you are a fan of the Charlotte 49ers, Greensboro Spartans or the Central Eagles get out there and see a game.  

Ticketamerica.com has seating for college games that include some great teams in the state of North Carolina that include the North Carolina Central Eagles tickets, North Carolina Charlotte 49ers tickets,  and North Carolina Greensboro Spartans tickets college NCAA games.

Low Salt Comfort foods

Comfort foods on a low salt diet are easier to prepare then one might think. Macaroni and cheese, soup, and even a cheeseburger and fries can be low sodium if prepared the right way. Here are some tasty alternatives to the comfort foods we enjoyed most of our lives.

Macaroni and Cheese
Macaroni and Cheese is a comfort food, but to some one on a low salt diet it is off limits. On the other hand, is it? The macaroni itself is not bad, and it's better if you skip adding the salt to the water when you boil it.
Opt to use low salt cheese, Helluva and Alpine Lace companies both make good varieties.

Also, skip the bread or cracker crumbs on top, as these are typically better for you. If you have to use the breadcrumbs, use low sodium bread and season it a salt-free seasoning. As always though watch the portion sizes and read the labels of all ingredients.

Burger and Fries!
For the burger get the leanest, you can find and mix it with ground turkey. Season it with the Mrs. Dash of your choice for extra flavor. For cooking, you have a few ways to accomplish it. Steam it, grill it, or bake it in the oven! Place the patty up on a drip pan so the oil, fat etc drips off on to the other pan and away from the food. Think of your burger as a mini meatloaf and you will fare better.

Depending on your toppings, you can add a slice of cheese. Cheese though is typically high in sodium and not a good thing if you insist on ketchup, pickles, mustard, and mayo on your burger. All of these are high in sodium, so its time to choose what you can go without and what you must have.


The fries are the easy part. Either purchase the type which is already cit or slice up your own potatoes and bake them. Never deep-fry these, I know they are great but most of us who are on the low salt diet are also on the low fat, or low cholesterol diets as well. Baking our fries is much better all around and much healthier for us.


Soups
Canned soups are usually loaded with sodium and the no salt or low salt varieties are gross. Soups are a comfort food that is stable of just about everyone in the United States. You can create you own and still enjoy it. Boil a few chicken thighs, add frozen vegetables or noodles and along with Mrs. Dash you have a soup you can eat. Beef stew no problem cut up your own beef, add the frozen vegetables, and chopped potatoes and you have a hearty meal you can enjoy.

My journey into the low salt diet is only just a year old but each day I am finding alternative ways to eating the comfort foods I enjoyed all of my life.

Salt and its dangerous affects

Many people do not really understand the ramifications of eating so much salt in their diet, nor do they realize how much sodium they are in fact consuming on a daily basis. A healthy adult should limit the intake to 2,300 MSG according to the Mayo Clinic and unhealthy adults such as those with heart or blood pressure problems need to consume less. Read on to see what salt does to the body and how you can prevent a heart attack.

Some may wonder why it is so important to limit the consumption of salt. Heart attacks and strokes top that list, but even before it gets that bad, people who eat too much begin to retain fluids. Two months before my heart attacks last year my best friend Chrissie noticed that I was gaining weight in only my arms and legs at a very noticeable rate. I did not derive a conclusion because I thought I was too young to worry about it. I was wrong.

The salt we eat goes into the kidneys where it is used and the extra is passed through urine. However is there is extra salt, which is too much to pass in the urine it enters the blood stream and increases the blood volume. When there is too much blood volume it makes your heart work harder. Prolonged over working your heart can lead to heart attack, stroke, or worse yet death. It also causes high blood pressure, which can do so many bad things to you. Truthfully, knowing that it could eventually kill you is it worth the extra salt on your French fries or other food.


Not only can too much salt in your body cause the heart attacks, strokes, and high blood pressure. It can also mess with your kidneys giving you kidney disease and cirrhosis! Retaining the extra sodium will make you puffy and puffy ankles make it very hard to walk some days. Your clothes do not fit properly and well its all around a very bad idea to load up on salt just enjoy food.


Limiting your salt before your doctor tells you too can reduce our risks and help you live longer. It can also prevent you from paying the almost 19,000-dollar hospital bill from last fall when I had 3 heart attacks within 4 days.
There are many benefits to reducing the salt within your diet. Some of these benefits include lower cholesterol, less chance of insulin resistance, reduced risk of having chronic liver disease, less of a risk of developing osteoporosis, some types of cancers, and it lowers your chances of becoming obese.

Even if you never salt the food, you eat at the table you may be in trouble with your intake. About five percent of the sodium intake occurs when we are cooking, only 6 percent is added at the table, and 12% comes from natural sources. A whopping 77 percent of the salt an average adult consumes comes from the processed or prepared foods we eat. Those are stats according to a graph, on the Mayo Clinic site.

You would be wise to eliminate or reduce the consumption of processed foods or foods that come all ready prepared. Get back to preparing meals from scratch, if you have a crock-pot you can prepare a meal in the morning and allow it to cook stress free all day. Prepared foods are not healthy for your wallet either as they usually cost much more.

Low Salt Thanksgiving

Soon it will be time to plan the Thanksgiving Dinner and for those among us on the low salt it's a time we dread unless of course we are cooking. Traditionally holiday meals are laden with foods, which have many delicious foods that are swimming in salt. That can spell major trouble for us and it is something we should avoid at all costs.

I am not saying avoid the Thanksgiving dinner feast, I am simply saying avoid the salt. Avoiding all the sodium we can is so much better for those people we love as well and us. With smart choices, we can enjoy all the food, fun, and festivities of the day.

Turkey
What would a Thanksgiving dinner be without the turkey? A farce that is what the feast would be without the turkey. There are low sodium birds out there for purchase and they are plentiful in the right areas.

Choose a fresh turkey, which has not been frozen. The brining process adds all the high sodium content, which can harm someone on a low salt diet. If you are lucky enough to live in a rural area, contact a farmer and see if he would sell you a fully-grown tom or hen.

Rub a salt free seasoning inside the turkey, in the area where you would add the stuffing to add flavor.

Gravies, Vegetables and More
To save on sodium in the gravy use a prepared mix, which has reduced salt, but these are not all created equally so read the labels.

Use fresh or frozen vegetables it's the processing of these items, which sends the salt content rather high and reduces the quality.

While cooking anything do not add salt. Add a container of salt to the table, so it's handy for people to use if needed.

Stuffing is typically high in sodium so create your own. Unsalted bread is the main ingredient along with celery and some no salt seasonings such as Mrs. Dash complete the stuffing that is better for you.


When cooking any of the desserts, which go with this meal, it is permissible to add any of the salt substitutes to make it healthier for every one. Done correctly no one will even notice but you.

Use a low salt spread for breads and rolls that you serve at the feast.

It's best to skip the pickles and olives but some people will complain so get the low sodium variety and serve them in dishes.

For deviled eggs and salads, which use a mayo base, get some reduced salt mayonnaise and use it. It's not the best but it will work.

Low salt Christmas Dinner

Planning a Christmas dinner when you are on a low sodium diet for health, reasons can be an overwhelming task to figure out what you can eat. I have put together this list of foods, which are low in salt so that you and I can enjoy food on Christmas with the family.

Low Salt does not mean bland food, it simply means food that will not clog your heart and shorten your life.

We all know that ham, which is the staple of most Christmas dinners, is now outlawed by our low sodium diet. Usually Christmas Dinner us included, the ham, ham gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, buttered homemade rolls, canned vegetables. Last year this was one of the reason I said screw the usual ham dinner with all the trimmings. I skipped making the entire dinner.

Gravy

To some that looks like it would be a wonderful meal. Salt reined high in all of those food items even the mashed potatoes because they were smothered in gravy. The gravy that is typically made from the ham drippings is not only loaded with sodium it is also high in fat, which is a no-no for those among us who are on a low cholesterol diet. It is best to skip the gravy, which is made from fat.

However, that is not always possible as it is a necessary item to some people. There is low sodium instant gravy mixes that you can substitute for the homemade gravy. Read the labels on these, stick to the suggested serving sizes and one serving will be enough.

Meat

All ham is high in salt that is part of the curing process. It is really best to avoid it when on the low salt diet. There are low sodium hams on the market, but they are usually double the price and hard to find. If you insist on having ham for your Christmas dinner opt for ham slices which have been rinsed in water to remove the salt. To me personally a ham slice will not cut it, as it is not what I am used to.

Potatoes

The potatoes on the Christmas dinner menu are fine if you use whole potatoes you need peel and cook. Skip the candied yams or sweet potatoes, which are in the cans. Anything in a can is processed and processed foods are typically high in sodium.

For a person on a low salt diet, opt for a low salt butter spread and a dollop of sour cream. Sour cream has lots of flavor and it is naturally low in sodium.

Canned vegetables

These are always high in salt, even if you get a low salt variety it still has more sodium then you should have. Opt for cooking frozen or fresh vegetables for the holiday dinner and everyone eating it will be eating better. Season these no-salt alternatives from Mrs. Dash.

Breads, rolls and other items might be fine as long as they are homemade where you can control the salt content. Read the labels and make some changes if needed.

Going on a low sodium diet is not a bad, thing. Until you get the hang of cooking low salt foods, meals will be bland but do not be afraid to get out there and educate yourself. Your life depends upon this, and it is always a great way to get our families eating better without them realizing this.

Resources:

http://www.lowsaltfoods.com/food_center/lsfoods/meat.htm

http://www.lowsodiumliving.com/ham.htm