I am new here to this board, and thought it might help me build some structure if I post often about the low salt foods I plan to eat each day. It would be cool to hear from anyone else who is remotely interested as well
The 500-1000mg sodium is a limit I set for myself (based on my research) because it seems to really help me fight the moderate congestive heart failure I was diagnosed with in March 2016. Please don't be put off by how plain these first posted menus will be. The foods I am starting off with are the basic simple plain ones that I know I like. I have tried fancy recipes in the past and have not done well enough to eat them, but I expect that as I recover I will be able to expand my foods to include fun and new recipes.
Also the salt is something you really can change your taste for pretty quickly. I never used to think canned refried beans were salty, or salsa, or baked beans, or mashed potatoes. But now they are way too salty for me, and the plain stuff tastes so much fuller and better.
(Intro you can skip) I thought it was some weird kind of asthma where I could not breathe but meds did not help. Knowing that is is CHF was actually a type of relief (?!?) because it puts the control back in my hands to treat it with real food. I'm not on any meds, a decision that I researched a lot for myself, everyone has to follow their own research. In the first 2 weeks after being diagnosed with CHF in March 2016 I was on target eating real food within my sodium limit and felt so much better very quickly. Then addict amnesia took over and I went back to eating a mix of real food and junk and stayed sick short of breath etc. for the next 7 months. Varying between feeling almost barely ok, and feeling desperate for breath with even basic actions like walking down the hall. Sounds so crazy, and is really frustrating.
So now everything I eat is either naturally salt-free, or no salt added, with a few measured additions of low salt items to stay in the limit. Some days I had to be careful to get at least 500 mg, but I think it is important for my own functioning to have at least that much salt.
That means everything has to be stuff I cooked at home, so I know how much sodium is in it. It's actually nice to know what all is in the foods you eat.
Today November 15, 2016
Breakfast-Trader Joe's Old Fashioned Oats 1/2c in 1c water and microwaved for 2 mins. perfect and fast. (I like them plain the best, but add whatever you like, especially granulated maple sugar, actually makes a great dessert or light dinner)
Elevenses- Beans and Corn Tortillas soup- I make beans (no presoaking) in the crockpot on high for 6 hours using a package of Rancho Gordo beans (they have so many great varieties check out their website), and 6 cups of water, 3 cloves of garlic or minced from a jar, 1 cut up onion (diced or chunks). In the last hour of cooking you can add spices if you want, but I like them with just the onion and garlic.The beans come out so creamy and tender, they can be eaten whole, added to soups, or mashed for "refiried". The corn tortillas I tear into small squares and stir into the bowl of beans before I heat them up and it's great.
Lunch- Mashed plain Potatoes and Veg soup- I peel russet or yukon gold potatoes and boil without salt, then mash them with some of the cooking water. They are great by themselves very filling and satisfying, but also good with veg soup stirred in gives the soup more body. The veg soup I make is 4c low sodium Trader Joe's veg broth, 2c water, an onion diced, a pkg of sliced mushrooms (maybe dice them too) a package of fresh or frozen spinach if you like, maybe some diced zucchini, carrots, and you can add any veg you like or have on hand. I used to add 1-2T of low sodium soy sauce and that adds 60-100 megs of extra sodium to a serving depending on what else you added and how much you have at once. This latest batch has no soy sauce to see what it is like, and it's ok, but it misses some of the depth. You can make this soup as a Mexican soup by adding chili powder and smoked paprika, or Italian soup by adding a can of diced or crushed tomatoes and some Italian Seasoning, or maybe another combo of seasonings you like. The main part is it is fast and easy to assemble and cook.
Afternoon Tea- Bean Soft Tacos- I take 2 or 3 fresh corn tortillas and top them with some of the beans I cooked (maybe mashed, but not necessary) then microwave them for maybe 1 minute and top with fresh diced onion, tomato, lettuce, and maybe a thin slice of avocado (but they are pretty rich). I sometimes use hot sauce, but it is really high in sodium so I am careful. Store bought salsa is way too salty for me, but sometimes I make my own with diced tomatoes and onions.
Dinner- cold Hummus Sandwich or warm toasted Mashed Potato Sandwich- Hummus sandwich is 2 slices Trader Joe's or Alvarado St. No Salt Bread, maybe toasted, spread on some home made no-salt or oil hummus and some lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber. The mashed potato version is a slice of toast topped with warm mashed potatoes, a slice of tomato and some diced onion. I used to love mashed potato and stuffing sandwiches (with cranberry sauce), but have to figure out a no salt stuffing type thing to use instead. Even plain normal bread has 1/5 of my daily lower limit of sodium so I don't like to use that.
Dessert- in general i have never been a dessert person, but if I really wanted to I could have a Lundberg Honey Nut or Cinnamon Rice Cake, or some fruit.
I try to spread out my meals enough that I am never really wanting a snack, I'd rather just eat a little real food and be more satisfied. I don't tend to eat much at a sitting, but I do eat as much as I want to. Then I get hungry sooner than I did on the SAD, so I eat again more often. That is why I have 5 meals a day instead of 3. Works for me
And I check my symptoms afterwards: ankle swelling, fingers swelling, and so on. 
I hope you are doing better. I have not looked at this board for several months, so I was not posting anything or reading. 
