any suggestions?

[Cathy]

This is not a request for a recipe but I didn't see a category other than this that I could use.

My dh has heart problems and is diabetic. He's been in and out of the hospital 4 times in 6 weeks. They keep restricting his diet more each time.

I can come up with things for breakfast and dinner but lunch is hard for me because I work and have to leave him something. He used to eat soup a couple of times a week but they said no canned soup or veggies because of the salt in them. No deli meats because of salt, no fats, no sugars, and they even are not limiting him to 5 cups of any liquid all day long (he's retaining fluids) I have wracked my brain for ideas of what to leave him for lunch that would be quick and easy for him (he is not much of a cook and has very little energy).

TV dinners (even WW and H choice) have too much sodium. Peanut butter won't work. I can only think of making sandwiches with boiled chicken/turkey. No ham, bacon, jelly, cheese are allowed. I could make egg salad but couldn't add salt and the dr said there is too much sodium in canned tuna and salmoln. He can't have a salad every day and I know if I restrict him too much he's going to just fix something he likes, even if it isn't good for him. We also have to limit carbs so pasta and too much bread aren't in the picture.

I'm hoping someone out there would have a suggestion...TIA

[cpaige]

I'm going to bump this up for you since I will be reading any ideas that come through!

[leqet]

This may not help if he is still restricted in fluids, but have you ever tried making your own broth for soups and things? That way you control the amount of salt that goes in it.

I start with a whole chicken in the crockpot, rub the top with a little olive oil and season it (you can use whatever spices you like leaving off the salt). I stuff mine with a few wedges of onion and add carrots and celery to the pot if I have it. Don't add any water or anything, the chicken will have plenty of water by the time it's done cooking. Cook for 6-8 hours on low (depending on the size of your chicken and your crock, my 6.5 qt crock cooks a really small bird in 5 hours).

After getting as much meat off the chicken as I can for meals I cover the bones (and what's left of the veggies) in COLD water (it's important to either use very cold water or let the bones sit in the fridge overnight to get cold, it helps to draw the vitamins out of the bones). Add about two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (also helps get minerals out of the bone marrow). Then just let it simmer on low in the crock pot all day or night (10-12 hours). Strain the bones out with a mesh strainer while it's still warm. When the broth cools it may looks like it has all turned to fat, but this is gelatin from the bones. It means you have just made the most nourishing, vitamin-packed broth you can make. You can freeze it in portion sizes for cooking or use it right away to make homemade soup. If you freeze homemade low sodium soup, your DH can just pull a container of homemade soup from the freezer and heat that up.

[mzbeers]

You could make a pot of soup on the weekends, and he can heat it up for lunches during the week. I buy the low sodium chicken or vegetable broth, (I buy it at the health food store, the low sodium kind at the supermarket still has way too much salt, the kind I use has 90 mg of sodium per serving versus 530 for progresso low sodium, BIG difference!! Trader Joe's has good broth at a reasonable price) and use seasonings without salt. Add his favorite veggies, with or without meat (turkey, chicken etc....).

Hope you get some more ideas!

[NIGHTB1022]

I suggest you set up an appointment with the dietitian at the hospital and see what type of a diet they specifically can suggest for him.

With so many restrictions it may be necessary. Also, google for specific diets like low sodium, no dairy etc... good luck to you.

[cbms]

Have you looked into the Dreamfield's pasta? It's different than other white pastas, but as far as I know (GD and daughter of a severe diabetic), whole wheat pasta is entirely different than white pasta (just like whole wheat bread being entirely different than white). While you wouldn't want to just serve pasta plain, you could make your own sauce with fresh tomatoes to limit the amount of salt that goes into it.

A good (low sodium) alternative to soy sauce is Bragg's liquid aminos. It's much lower sodium while still adding flavor. It's tasty on tofu and on meat.

I also ditto the making your own broth. I very considerably cut down on salt for my family because I have a daughter with a severe congenital heart defect who experiences valve leakage when her pressures go up, so I make my broth from scratch. I will bake the chicken and then let it cool enough to pick it, then put the bones into a pan with 4 or 5 cups of cool water, a couple carrots, a peeled and quartered onion, some peeled garlic cloves, a couple bay leaves, and then I usually add about 1/4 tsp salt for the entire pan of broth. Cover, and simmer for hours to get the chicken flavors into the water and let the veggies flavor the water up. I remove and discard the veggies and strain the broth and then I have low sodium broth for my soup (and the peeled chicken to add to it when I make it). :)

Additionally, because of the whole wheat being different than white, you can make your own egg noodles for soups. It's really pretty easy, and you can leave out the yolk-reducing the fat.

Put 3 egg whites into a bowl and beat. Add seasonings (I add a pinch of salt, some garlic powder, and some onion powder) and beat again. Add some whole wheat flour until it's a dough a little stiffer than bread. Turn onto newspaper covered with flour on the counter and roll out as thin as possible. Let dry a couple hours, and then use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to cut into desired size. Continue to let them dry out. They can be put into an airtight container for about five days or you can use them right away in a soup. Whole wheat (which means they're turned into sugars in the body much slower than white) and lower fat than traditional egg noodles.


*after typing this out, I realized this is more than a month old... maybe you aren't looking for suggestions anymore. lol

Now just an inquiry... If he's retaining fluid and has heart trouble-is he in congestive heart failure? Why did they not give him some lasix to alleviate the fluids? If he's in CHF, limiting liquids isn't enough. He'll need a diuretic. I'm just a person that's wondering. *shrug*

[3timesoccermom]

I saw your first request for ideas and remember thinking, GEEZ. what CAN this poor man eat! I could think of absolutely nothing but glad you are getting some help now.

There are canned vegetables with no salt added and tons of seasonings these days that have no salt. Mrs. Dash table blend is one of our favorites - we are never without it.

Good luck!!!