Eight Day and Counting

Fiḍal (Grace), 12 Masá’il (Questions), 171 BE - Tuesday, December 23, 2014 about 4:49 pm Pacific Standard Time

Eight days left in 2014. Eight days to review the years and set new goals for 2015. One of my goals for 2015 concerns the low phosphorus, low protein, and low potassium diet I am attempting to follow. I say attempting because sometimes I am successful and sometimes I fail following the diet. The problem I have is that I get some of my food from food banks, which means some of the items are high in either protein, potassium, or phosphorus. Unfortunately, most of the contents list protein and/or potassium, but not phosphorus. This means I have to look up the phosphorus content on the internet or take a wild guess and hope my guess comes close to being right.

I have three handouts my doctor gave me that list the protein, potassium, and phosphorous in fresh foods, but not in canned or prepared foods. Some of the canned foods list the potassium count, but not the phosphorus count. It is difficult to find the phosphorus count. I have almost cut beef out, I still eat a little beef when I fix some soups or stews, but not very much.

I have taken to making my own soups and stew, most of the time. Sometimes I get canned stew or canned beef with the food I pick up at the food banks. I usually use that when I fix soup because I can regulate my portions better. The coming year will be interesting when it comes to finding a way to stay on my diet, while getting enough to eat.

Cooking for someone on a low sodium diet

Istiqlál (Independence), 3 Kamál (Perfection), 169 BE – Friday, August 3, 2012 about 6:00 PM Pacific Time

Mom is now on a low sodium diet as well as a low fiber diet. I am going to focus more on cutting down the salt then on cutting down the fiber. It is easier to cut down on the fiber in her diet is a lot easier then on the salt. I did find a new way to help cut down on the salt I dump my canned vegetables in a colander and then run water over them.

I think this weekend; I will mix everything with rice or pasta. I will have to read on the packages, but I do not think packaged pasta has salt unless you add it when cooking and I do not add salt to the pasta water. I have to be very careful with the salt Mom gets because she is retaining water and her legs are swelling. I have been putting her legs up on the couch when she is in the living room and at night, her legs are up.

I need to get some fresh vegetables and other unprocessed items for her to eat, which I will do on Monday. The problem with the weekend is I have no one to stay with her while I go to the store. I did not get to the grocery store today; therefore, this week end I will just have to focus on getting as much salt out of the food she eats as possible.