My/our friend qwlauren posted this in the Lounge; I'm asking for y'alls help for her. Thx.

[elleng]

'High BP, Pre-diabetic. WHAT THE F*CK AM I SUPPOSED TO EAT????????????
At my last check-up (I put it off for four years. A lot can happen in four years, right!) I found out that I had high blood pressure, and was pre-diabetic. Out of his great love for me, my dearest husband went through our house and threw out every box of cookies, crackers, every high sodium soup, TV dinner, all sweetened yogurt, my Capn Crunch cereal, my Jello. Gone. All gone.

WHAT THE F*CK AM I SUPPOSED TO EAT????

I hate cooking. I have discovered, after buying 15 of them, that I hate the taste of Greek Yogurt. I have some carrots and some corn. If somebody tells me that they have too much sugar, I will cry.

What can I snack on? Help!'

[Mr.Bill]

1. Fruit. (in moderation)

Also, it's the right time of year to start a vegetable garden. Everything tastes better when you grow it at home. Start with tomatoes, cucumbers, zuchini, etc. Easy to grow, and there's a lot you can do with them, even without cooking.

[dameatball]

2. Try experimenting with smoothies for a while. There are all kinds of combinations you can make.

Eventually the novelty might wear off, but just take a break from them if it does. Yesterday I made one with avocado, blueberries, flax seed, a dab of vanilla, almond milk and ice. I made it because that's what I had around. Easy. Kept me going until lunch time.

[MLAA]

3. dear Elleng, The perfect food for your friend would be:

Plant based meals with minimal or NO oil, salt or sugar depending on the seriousness of your situation. The only way to achieve this perfection is to buy fresh or frozen veggies, grains and beans. I know several who have done this for very serious health issues including a friend who had 5 or 6 palpable tumors disappear rather than go the chemo/radiation approach.

However others I know are able to address type 2 diabetes and high BP through aiming for the minimal oil, salt and sugar but understanding they aren’t perfect and sometimes you just can’t pass up the Burger King impossible burger or an Oreo cookie (has no milk or egg) I eat this way, and don’t have any health issues.

If you want to learn more about how what you eat can prevent and reverse type 2 diabetes, high BP, heart disease etc send me or have your friend send me a direct message and I’d be delighted to send her email her links and gift her books and DVDs.

[onecaliberal]

4. Fresh meat, vegetables, fruits and nuts.

Look at serving size. Protein and grains are subtracted from carb serving net count.
My husband had a stroke 4 years ago. His A1c was 14 at that time. Today it is 5.6. We did it with food. He isn’t on a daily pill or insulin. He only takes insulin on the rare occasions when he has a dietary excursion. It might seem like there isn’t much to eat now, but if you stick with it and do homework and read labels, you can turn it around.

[Kali]

5. she should ask her doc for a referal to a nutrituionist

start here - https://www.precisionnutrition.com/what-should-i-eat-infographic

[dflprincess]

6. Can your doctor set you up with a dietician?

It's the first thing my friend's doctor did when they found out shes diabetic. She's been able to control it with diet.

[TreasonousBastard]

7. Oops--- meant to reply to thread.

.

[TreasonousBastard]

8. Having been diabetic for years...

There are plenty of things you can eat. Most things, in fact. The main problem is carbs, especially the wrong kind. A dietician can help figure out tasty meals with less sugar. Exercising helps, too. And it doesn't have to be a steamy workout in the gym. Walking the dog is often enough.

For the blood pressure, diet and exercise work well and cheap pills are also out there. I have a prescription for losartan, and it works well.

Definitely necessary to see a decent dietician for menu planning and lists. Lots of lists. You may be surprised that peanut butter is high on the approved list. A PB&J with unsweetened PB, low sugar J and low carb bread is always welcome. As is tuna salad, and eggs of all sorts. Even egg salad.

There's a diabetes support group here on DU that doesn't get enough attention, but it may be helpful to post in there.

[eppur_se_muova]

9. You may hate cooking, but avoiding prepackaged food is the most important step.

Salt and sugar are added to everything, especially snack foods, and in much larger quantities than most people would ever choose for themselves. I remember being shocked that sugar was the 3rd ingredient listed on a can of green beans (beans, water, sugar, salt).

I started cooking for myself mostly because I lost my taste for meat and started eating vegetarian. When the recipes call for salt, I usually cut the amount in half and don't miss it at all. I tend to use fresh produce or dried beans or rice, but canned (black beans, chickpeas) are OK if you rinse or soak some of the salt out.

If I want a sweet desert, I fix rice pudding or bread pudding (w/raisins or other dried fruit) and decide for myself how much sugar is enough. I'm pre-diabetic too, which means I need to limit my sugar intake, not avoid sugar altogether. Moderation is the key. Old-fashioned cookie recipes use spices such as ginger, and less sugar. My favorite cookies are made with pumpkin pie filling (which usually contains no pumpkin, and too much sugar, so I cut back on sugar in the recipe).

My favorite yogurt snack is yogurt with peeled, diced cucumber, raisins and almonds, the latter two soaked in warm water to soften them up. Add a pinch of salt (or salt substitute) and black pepper, no sugar. The result is a savory, not sweet, yogurt. Other yogurt dishes and condiments are found in Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Indian cooking (cacik, raita, tatziki - Google for recipes) -- again usually mixed cold, so not much actual cooking. And if you *really* want to control your sugar and salt intake, you can make your own yogurt. It's not that hard, it just isn't perfect every time. You get used to it.

Savory salads, cold or warm, are quick to fix and filling. Think three-bean, broccoli, macaroni salads. Again, making your own dressing cuts out a lot of sugar and salt. Speaking of beans/legumes, I make my own hummus in the blender. Chickpeas, like most beans, can be purchased dried or canned, which gives you another option to control salt.

I've been pre-diabetic for several years, but meds keep that and BP under control. I try to practice moderation, particularly where salt is concerned, but an occasional indulgence is not going to threaten my life. My particular weaknesses are chocolate (buy the expensive stuff and savor it, you don't eat as much that way) and hot and spicy snacks, which usually include more salt than I'm happy with, but wasabi peas are apparently not that salty. Chile and lime Takis, on the other hand ...

[Scrivener7]

10. Go back to the greek yogurt. Put in a spoonful of "all fruit" preserves in your favorite flavor.

You'll love it! Also, any recipe that calls for mayo, use the greek yogurt instead of 1/2 or 2/3 of the mayo. The flavor is better!

Coffee might be affecting your BP. Get a BP monitor (you should have one anyway) and try a week of half caf/half decaf coffee. It tastes fine and it brought my BP down a lot (though I drink A LOT of coffee.) Though for some people, coffee has no effect.

Lots of chicken and fish with lots of fresh vegetables and spices. Try morroccan recipes. Have the carrots and corn. It's a lot less salt and sugar than the cookies, crackers, soup and processed food you've been eating.

Once or twice a week, go to a bakery and get a cupcake or a cookie. But don't have them in your house.

Use some of the greek yogurt to make tzatziki sauce and use it as a dip for carrots and celery.

I'm big on smoothies. Fruit, banana and nut with spices.

Try the Weight Watchers diet. There are menu suggestions, and it shows you how to eat in a way that forces you to use fresh foods rather than packaged.

You don't have to change everything in one day. But do it. You will feel much, much better.

[Vinca]

11. The poster needs to decide to like cooking. You can make killer chocolate chip cookies with

almond flour and stevia-sweetened chocolate chips for example. You can buy Jello (ick) that's sugar free as well as sugar free puddings. It's all a matter of substitution and experimentation. Plus, you shouldn't have to eliminate everything you love. You just have to eat it in moderation. Tell the husband to go shopping since he threw out all the favorite foods. Have him check for lower carb, lower sodium and sugar free when possible. My husband (diabetic) just discovered Cascadian Farms cereal that tastes just like Cheerios doesn't raise his blood sugar.