a lot of what you are experiencing sounds like me. I am moving toward the natural. (i'm still defining pepsi as natural tho)

lots more veggies. a pile of veggies w/rice is a good dinner to me! gave up white bread well over a yr ago. (mostly. don't tell me they use white flour in donuts - lol!)

I eat very, very little meat. some turkey from the deli (low sodium) for a sandwich and some chicken chopped into chicken salad or into my veggies and rice.

hopefully I'll do better once moved and I can find (and have space) the colander, spinner etc.

I've also given up cow milk. don't drink it anyway but for cooking I'm gonna make my own almond milk as needed. I buy a tiny container of milk, use 1/4 - 1/2 cp and toss the rest anyway. will try freezing the almond milk.

also trying to move away from using canned food items.

Marti- You need to take care of yourself! If your blood pressure is high, you should go see a doctor and see if you need to change your blood pressure medicine or adjust the amounts you're taking.

The best thing to do to lower your blood pressure is to reduce your salt intake. Most people (without high blood pressure) should eat no more than 2,000 miligrams of salt, a day. Spaghetti sauce and soups often have that much salt in a large serving! It's important to read the labels...I buy 'no salt' tomato sauce and add dill, basil, pepper, etc. I had to learn to cook with very little salt, when my grandmother used to stop by for dinner. She had high blood pressure and was on a low salt diet. It means you taste the food more...but when you cook at home, you have much fresher ingredients than what they use in most canned foods.

As for the cholesterol...I've read that olive oil not only reduces bad cholesterol, but increases the good kind. I use canola oil, soy milk, soy cheese and margerine, when I cook and bake. I use Nucoa stick margerine, because tub has too much water...and Silk Soy Milk. Get the 'natural' (green carton) for baking, since everything else has vanilla flavoring in it. Does not taste right, when you make biscuits! :)

I still eat chicken, turkey, fish and eggs, but living so far from town...means more cooking/baking at home and virtually no take out. That makes a big difference! It's amazing how much salt and cholesterol is in a fast food meal :(

Steph, I'm a Pepsi addict too, but starting tomorrow, it's off limits.

LL, I"m not on any blood pressure medication, and have been limiting salt for a long time. Enough that I can really taste the salt when I eat things with salt in it.

Dh & I are starting a diet tomorrow, mine by choice and his because he is too macho to cook for himself. Woman's work and all that. I'm eliminating cheese, red meat, and sugar to start with. I don't drink milk, don't eat cereal, and only use it in mashed potatoes and cooking other things right now. I tried soy mlk, but I really don't like it. Rice milk is ok, and I looked at a carton of almond and can't remember why I rejected it. Sugar maybe?

Most soy milk smells like baby formula...and I think it tastes even worse! I found that out the hard way, ordering soy milk, in a few lattes, when I still drank coffee! Yuck!! LOL

The 'green' carton of Silk Soy milk is really good, especially for baking. Maybe try it in biscuits or muffins and see what you think. I tried rice milk (maybe a different brand?) but it tasted too watered down to use in most baking.

Good luck on the new diet! Let me know how it works out. I switched to soy cheese for pasta and pizza, but I can't find anything to replicate cream cheese or ricotta. Still looking, so I can try a few other recipes. I probably eat a little too much sugar, but I'm trying to cut back. I think if I kick the Coke (LOL) rather than Pepsi habit, I'd lose 10 pounds! Even drinking just one a day, seems to be a problem...and I can't stand diet pop :(

oh boy, aren't we the addicts! lol! I'm sure I'd drop a ton if I quit pepsi. last monday I had 1 in the early morning and not another one til about 6pm. When the guy showed up to jump my car battery and I told him I hadn't had a pepsi all day he went to his cooler in the back of the truck and pulled out a can of pepsi for me! God bless that guy - lol!

marti - try making the almond milk yourself. search google for a 'recipe'. should just be the almonds (natural) and some water.just puree it to death. or liquify. I plan to do that when I get settled in new place. Along with more fresh veggies and fruits. I seldom eat red meat. Am thinking about having a roast ground at the store to have some to add to chili and for meatballs. I'd freeze it in 1/4 lb pkgs.

I've heard celery is good for the blood pressure.

I know that cholesterol is from eating animal products. Less meat, less fat, less cholesterol. I went the 'natural' route about 5 yrs ago, now maintaining good levels in my tests. It is a major adjustment but I did one thing at a time.

A can of Pepsi: read the serving size, it is 2 per can, that means sugar, calories, carb X 2 on that label!

There are lots of diet suggestions online to help you figure out what to eat. Women do not need as much food as a man, so if your portions equal your husband's then there is part of the problem. Also sodium, as we get older we need less than 2,000 mg per day, I think for a woman over 50 is now like 1,200 or so. There is sodium naturally in foods so no need to add any. If you crave salt, eat celery, it is natural sodium and the good kind (you need when sweating in the summer heat).

As we age health changes FAST, not like when we were young. But if you have had children, you know that women's bodies are forever changing, we can become someone entirely different (weight, hormones, etc) almost overnight...

Good luck with your diet changes, it is not easy but so do-able especially once you get a feel for a healthier you!

Wow! After four hours working on the horse pasture and walking up and down (1/8 mile each way) I think this is my new exercise program! LOL My jeans are already looser, so I just need to walk up and down the pasture at least 4 times a week. At least what I gain over the winter seems to disappear over the summer :)

Well, I have a Vitapro mixer that turns everything to liquid just about, and I am eating raw foods, actually green smoothies.

I had a blueberry, English peas (both frozen) and pomegranate juice (real thing), and broccoli smoothie for dinner yesterday. It was delicious.

I'm happy not to be cooking these veggies, and now I have lots of fresh home grown tomatos and peppers to blender up as well. I could let it run for a while and the blender would heat it up and make a nice hot soup. Look into that, Marti.

My DH says the blender/mixer with its TWO HORSE POWER MOTOR, sounds like an airplane taking off, and I'm inclined to keep my hand over the top in case it makes lift off. Maybe I will read the instructions on how to do it right, but so far I've been able to eat everything I've blendered up. DH says his favorite was the BlueBell Homemade Vanilla ice cream and the frozen whole unsweetened strawberries. Best dessert ever, he said. Oh yes, and a couple of cups of fat free milk. It sure went down smooth!!!!