I am sorry about your blood pressure concerns. Can you give some examples of what you mean by flavorful food? Or examples of food that you don't like?

I think that salt is often used as a cheap way to make not very good food taste better. I also think that favoring salty food is an acquired taste that you can change. Because of your health concerns it sounds like you need to go cold turkey.

Do you eat out often or eat food from the inner aisles of the grocery store such as bagged snacks or meal mixes? Most people's sodium intake comes from eating these foods and not from the salt shaker. Per the AHA the top six sources of sodium in the US diet are:

• reads and rolls
• cold cuts and cured meats
• pizza
• soup
• sandwiches
• poultry

Mrs. Dash makes a salt free spice mix that many people like.

American Heart Association sodium guidelines

Break up with salt

One of my favorite seasonings is Jane's Crazy Mixed Up Salt. It does contain some sea salt, but it mostly is a mix of herbs. It's really great on fresh or frozen veggies and I love it on fresh tomatoes. Just a light sprinkle is all that I need. I buy it locally at Publix so don't know what store in your area may carry it. And of course there is Amazon. There is also a pepper available.

I personally quit seasoning almost everything I cook many years ago. I will season lightly at the table if needed. (Baking is a different matter.) I also find most restaurant meals are grossly over-salty so I ask for no or reduced seasoning on almost all my meals when we eat out. Almost all will accommodate that.

I meant to add that you can look up low-sodium recipes on AllRecipes.com. I'm sure other recipe sites such as food network, eating well, have similar filter criteria that could help you narrow down your search.

Keep sodium intake to not more than 1500 mg./day. Be aware of hidden sodium in canned goods, breads, cereals, etc. For now, try to eat whole fresh food & try some of the above suggestions for adding flavor to your foods. You also might try reading some things on American Heart Assoc. sites like another person on the thread recommended. Good luck!!

Thank you all so much. This info will be of great value to me.

@d_gw: We very seldom eat out. Never have bagged snack or meal mixes, we
prefer ours’ homemade. Make homemade
bread, but do buy Nature’s Own Honey Wheat bread. Make my own soups so I know what goes into
them. Have purchased rotisserie
chickens, but will no longer do that. Have
also purchased lite meats from the deli but will no longer do so. Have Mrs Dash (which I honestly don’t care
for) and have been using herbs and no-salt spices in place of salt Normally we have had pizza on Saturday
nights, but have stopped having it since this has been going on.

I do like Mexican food, Italian food, Chinese food, really all flavorful foods. But I guess those days are over for me.

@OutsidePlaying: I
looked at one grocery store for Jane’s, but will look at other stores for
it. Thanks for the info about
AllRecipes; I did not know you could
search by low sodium so will do that.

@lizzie-grow: Thanks
so much for the sodium info. That will help me
in planning meals.

These bouts of really high blood pressure started about two months ago. I hope the meds get regulated soon. I am tired of having these terrible headaches and I sure don't want to stroke out.

I have had high blood pressure since I was a little kid. I believe that weight and alcohol consumption have more of a part to play than sodium in causing high blood pressure.

That said I figured that reducing sodium and increasing dietary fibre are also good steps to take. Sometimes I use half salt (sodium potassium mix). I also make liberal use of hot sauce and lemon juice. Once you start using less salt you really will notice that you have become more sensitive to salt. Real killer is eating out and processed foods. I always used to like to get the Coconut soup from my local Thai food joint but one bowl of soup has over 2000 mg of sodium.

Penzey's has some very good no-salt spice mixes. I have a bunch of them and they're all quite good. From everything I've learned sodium consumption plays a significant role in managing high blood pressure. I weigh 110 and don't drink alcohol and have post menopausal HBP so those two factors have nothing to do with it in my case. I think in my case it's in the genes but I have become very sodium conscious as well and you definitely do lose your taste for it as you cut back. Eating out is a challenge as it seems many of even the finest restaurants seem to use salt as their only seasoning. I've had meals I just couldn't eat because they were so over salted for my taste. I'm sure others thought they tasted great.

Be sure to read labels and even though it's tasty, be careful about eating Jane's Crazy Mixed up salt mix. Its first ingredient is salt and it has 270 mg of sodium in 1/4 tsp....not low sodium.

When my husband had to go on a very low sodium diet, I came across some delicious marinara and butternut squash sauce from The Vine on Amazon. Only 25 mg of sodium. They also have some good salsa. Their products are organic and gluten free as well as very low sodium.

Hunts makes no salt added tomato products, and I also found some lower sodium black and kidney beans.

i like the Costco version of Mrs. Dash.

https://www.amazon.com/The-Vine-Organic-Vegan-Marinara/dp/B01JSSD5NI/ref=sr_1_5_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1496881231&sr=1-5&refinements=p_n_feature_nine_browse-bin%3A114322011#customerReviews

Time will be your friend as you lower your sodium intake, your taste buds will "reset" and your sensitivity to the taste of salt will increase so less will be needed.

One of the things to do is to use spices and herbs and use the best you can find so that the flavor punch is maximized. I've always been amazed at how much flavor punch you get from citrus zest and find I like to use that with my foods. I agree with Penzey's mixes and esp their vietnamese cinnamon is especially flavorful.

One of the more successful diets for reducing BP has been the DASH diet. You might find some useful info there.

I'm with Rita, a splash of lemon or lime juice does wonders. I also keep roasted garlic handy for a quick flavor burst when appropriate.

I switched to a plant based diet 2 years ago and no longer need bp meds (or any other meds)!

Agree lemon works. Sodium is something I've had to keep to a minimum for health reasons for years. It's not what helped my blood pressure the most though.

Reducing my reaction to stress through bio feedback, breathing exercises and meditation has helped the most. I know it doesn't help everyone but for me it's been a lifesaver. I use a 15 minute a day meditation 5 days a week.

http://time.com/4758175/high-blood-pressure-sodium/?iid=sr-link2

It is probably more complex than just low sodium, we should probably also pay more attention to adequate magnesium and potassium.

Flavored vinegars, including very good quality balsamic vinegar.

The herbs and spices from Penzey's are awesome!

Here is an online recipe book that you can download, it's put out by the Kidney Foundation and has wonderful recipes. I have kidney disease and use many of the recipes, all taste good. Recipe book

Thanks to all of you.

@Olychick: I will
definitely be reading labels. And thanks
for the info on Jane’s. I did not
realize it had real salt in it, so will not be trying to find it.

@Suzanne: The
products from and their link to Amazon - sounds interesting. I do purchase any canned products with no
salt and have done so for years. I will
look for the Costco version of Mrs Dash; I did not know they had a version.

@Rita and Mimou and Yeonassky: Thanks for the mention of using lemon
juice. Mimou, what plant based diet did
you switch to? ‘

@Annie: You and
3katz4me and Diane_nj recommended Pinzey’s so I will have to give thought to
purchasing some spices and herbs from them.
I currently do buy Vietnamee cinnamon, just not the Pinzey’s brand, so
it will be interesting to compare. I’ve
never really cared for citrus zest, but may start using it – it has such an
oily taste to my palate and I know that is weird. Late yesterday evening I did print off info
from the Mayo Clinic about the DASH diet.
It seems very doable.

@Yeonassky: I have
wondered if meditation will help. Glad
to know that with some other methods has worked for you. Did you have someone to teach you or were you
self-taught?

@Mdln: Thanks for
that link. I have booked marked it to peruse
later on in my search for insight.

@Diane_nj: I love vinegar (including the smell), but
normally have used it only in salad dressings.
I will have to start thinking of other ways to use it.

@Yayagal: A huge
thank you for the link to the recipe books at the Kidney Foundation. I downloaded each of them and have bookmarked
the site in my Health Folder.

You all are helping me in so many ways. I do appreciate it very, very much.

Shambo on the Cooking forum cooks low sodium for her husband. Here's her blog: http://dontsalt.blogspot.com/

WalnutCreek, I primarily follow the Dr. Fuhrman plan. I have a few issues with some of his science but overall it is a good plan if you are inclined to eat plant based. I understand it doesn't appeal to everyone. At first, I didn't use any salt, you do adjust. Now on some foods, I use a small amount. I hate to sound like a commercial but I lost weight, gained energy and (knocking on wood) I never get sick. My blood work is like it is from a totally different person.

Look into the DASH diet! This came out of a randomized controlled trial funded by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. It is high in fruits and vegetables, and has had a demonstrated effect on blood pressure. It is high in potassium. It is always on lists of the healthiest diets. Recipes are included in the books.

DASH

Yeah, unfortunately, you do need to limit Italian/pizza, Chinese, and Mexican foods and restaurant foods overall. Also avoid frozen entrees.

I would also recommend tracking your foods in an app like LoseIt or MyFitnessPal to get an idea of your sodium intake.

Good luck. I have a family history of high blood pressure so I do monitor mine at home (I have white coat at the doctor), and I try to keep my sodium around 1500 mg per day.

Exercise, even just walking, will help. Also maybe try some meditation. I found a local 8-weight class on mindfullness based stress reduction (MBSR) that was taught at a local hospital.

Aside to gsciencechick: did you do MBSR? Did you like it? Find it useful? I did and really found it helpful.

@CindyMac: Thank you
very much for that link to Shambo’s blog.
I knew she had one, but did not know what the addy was. I was just looking at it and believe it will
be extremely helpful to me.

@Mimou: Thanks. I will have to Google Dr. Fuhrman and his
plan. Sounds as if you are doing
wonderfully well by using and modifying to your tastes.

@gsciencechick: Thank
goodness I’m not one who loves to go out to restaurants to eat, just preferred
my own cooking because I did know what was going into it and, IMO, tasted
better than most restaurant foods.
LOL. Never have cared for frozen
entrees either, but do buy frozen vegetables.
They make life a little easier on my hands and back now that I am in my 4th
quarter of life (and have always planned to make it to the 5th
quarter). We are just a family that
prefers home cooked. And thanks for the
name of a class type to search for when seeking some meditation training. I did wear a Fitbit and tracked my food for a
long time, then got out of the habit over our very busy holiday season and a
spring trip to Charleston. Need to get
that Fitbit charged and start wearing it and utilizing their tracking system
again. In the meantime, I have a
spreadsheet I have started keeping that is helping, but Fitbit is easier. I did download some info regarding the DASH
diet from the Mayo Clinic site, but this link you provided is great – thanks again. And I am curious, what does “white coat at
the doctor” mean? Also, walking is all I
can do now and have started doing it for short periods of time.

All of you have been extremely helpful.
I am so greatful.

The DH had the same situation. He likes the Trader Joes 21 spice mix--no sodium. It adds some flavor and a touch of heat. After a while your sense of taste adjusts and you don't miss the salt as much. Now he can taste when something is salty. His BP is right where it should be with a minimal dose of cheap BP medicine. It takes time for the medicine to work so you need to be patient. It took the DH about 6 months to get to his goal number.

@hoovb: Thanks for the info about the spice mix and the length of time it took to stabilize the HBP. The spice mix sounds as if it would be just what I want for taste.

I agree salt isn't a criminal, but it messes with my mild kidney problems quite a bit. In fact I can't take any excess minerals. For your DH I'm sure it's different.

For meditation I initially was taught Transcendental meditation which was great but too restrictive in that it is 40 minutes a day and caused me to have migraines. So I do breathing and walking meditation from on the web. Also a 15 minute guided meditation which I love. I love his ideas on the rest of the talk but the:

Meditation starts at 22.15 minutes