I'm not much of a cook. I'm not good at planning ahead. Many days I'll come home from work and cook meat or have Bill cook it and have trouble with what to put with it. I'll go to the pantry and get what's easy which means it comes in a bag, box, or a can. This is a habit that has to change because of all the sodium in prepackaged foods. A normal person should have anywhere from 1400-2300mg daily. (Thanks Toni)

I've started being a "Sodium Sleuth" looking at labels. Last night I had Tilapia (fish) and cooked some frozen veggies to go with it. I was going to spice them up a little bit by adding some Greek seasoning. It had 560mg of sodium in 1/4 of a teaspoon. Then I thought about Italian dressing, it had 550mg in 2 Tbsp. In order to get my blood pressure down I know I'm going to have to get this sodium thing figured out. I'm meeting with Toni, the cardiac dietitian on Monday to help me out.

This morning I took our youngest son Gabe for Senior pictures. This is one of those "mom moments" I wouldn't miss out on. Gabe took great pictures, what a handsome young man. My tradition is to go out for breakfast with my son after pictures. We went to a downtown restaurant in Atlantic that we both love.

I ordered a veggie omelet with very little cheese, dry wheat toast, and fruit instead of hash browns. Then Gabe sat across from me and ate Bread Pudding French Toast with whipped cream and a super-sized cinnamon roll. (Help!)

Please join me in being a "sodium sleuth". Comment here on foods where you are starting to notice the sodium content. I think just being aware will help me be successful with this area. Wish me luck with being more organized with my cooking.

Blessings,

Laurie