Work on small changes.

• Keep fruits and vegetables on hand.  Use frozen, canned, or dried if they are more convenient than fresh.  Try ready-to-eat items, like pre-peeled carrots, pre-washed salad mix, or single serving cans of fruit.

• If you already eat one or two vegetables a day try adding a serving at lunch and another at dinner to reach 4-5 servings per day.  If you are not eating much fruit or only have juice at breakfast try adding a serving to your meals or have fruit for a snack.

• Slowly increase your use of fat free and low fat dairy products to three servings a day.  Try drinking milk with lunch or dinner instead of alcohol, sugar-sweetened soda, or tea.  Choose low fat (1%) or fat free (skim) milk to decrease your intake of saturated fat, total fat, cholesterol, and calories.

• Read food labels on margarines and salad dressings.  Choose those lowest in saturated fat.

Consider meat as a part of the whole meal and not the focus.

• Limit meat to 6 ounces a day – three to four ounces is about the size of a deck of cards.  When you look at your plate you will want ¼ of the plate to have meat, chicken, turkey, or fish, ½ of the plate to be filled with vegetables, and the other ¼ of the plate to have a starch such as potato, rice, or pasta.

• Think about adding two or more vegetarian-style (meatless) meals each week.  The protein you need could come from items like dry beans, soy burgers, or tofu.

• Increase servings of fruit and vegetables, whole grain rice, pasta, and dry beans in meals.  This will help you to feel full without eating too much meat.  Try casseroles, pasta, or stir-fry dishes that have less meat and more vegetables, grains and dry beans.

Use fruits or other foods low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and calories as desserts and snacks.

• Fruits and other low fat foods offer great taste and variety.  Use fruits canned in their own juice.  Fresh fruits need little or no preparation.  Dried fruits are a good choice to carry with you.

• Try these snack ideas: unsalted pretzels or nuts mixed with raisins, a fruit smoothie made by blending plain low-fat yogurt and fruit; popcorn with no added salt or butter; and raw vegetables.

Tips to Reduce  Sodium

Do not add salt to the food you are eating.

When cooking use half of the salt called for in the recipe.

Vegetables-Buy fresh, plain frozen, or canned with “no added salt”.

Use fresh chicken, turkey, fish, and lean meats.  Avoid canned, smoked, or process-ed meats.

Limit cured foods (such as bacon or ham), foods packed in brine (such as pickles, olives, and sauerkraut), and condiments (such as MSG, soy sauce, mustard, catsup, and barbecue sauce).

Be spicy instead of salty. 

Flavor foods with herbs, spices, lemon, lime, vinegar, or salt-free seasoning blends.

Cook rice, pasta, and hot cereals without salt.  Cut

back on instant or flavored rice, pasta, and cereal mixes, which usually have added salt.

Cut back on frozen dinners, pizza, and canned soups and broths, or use the reduced sodium varieties.

When eating out;  order

foods without sauces and

ask that no salt, soy sauce,

or other sodium containing seasoning is used in preparation.

Remember, here are things you can do to control your blood pressure! 

• Maintain a healthy weight.
• Be physically active.
• Follow a healthy eating plan that includes foods that are low in salt and sodium.
• Take blood pressure pills as directed by your doctor.

Food Group

Daily Servings

Serving Sizes

Ideas

Benefits

Grains & Grain Products

7 – 8

1 slice of bread

½ cup cooked rice, pasta, or cereal

1 ounce dry cereal  (check the label;  1 ounce may be ½-1 ¼ cups)

whole wheat bread, pita bread, bagel, grits, cereals, oatmeal, crackers, unsalted pretzels

major sources of energy and fiber

Vegetables

4 – 5

1 cup raw leafy or ½ cup cooked vegetables

6 ounces vegetable juice, low salt

tomatoes, carrots, green squash, broccoli, turnip greens, spinach, green beans

rich sources of potassium, fiber and magnesium

Fruits

4 – 5

1 medium fruit

¼ cup dried fruit

½ cup fresh, frozen

6 ounce fruit juice

apricots, bananas, dates, oranges, orange juice, grapefruit, mangoes, peaches, pineapples

rich sources of potassium, fiber, and magnesium

Low fat or fat-free dairy foods

2 – 3

8 ounces milk

1 cup yogurt

1½ ounces cheese

skim or low fat (1%) milk, fat-free or low fat buttermilk, fat free or low fat yogurt, low fat and fat-free cheese

major sources of calcium and protein

Meats, poultry, and fish

2 or less

3 ounces cooked meat, chicken, turkey, or  fish

select lean meats

trim away visible fats broil, roast, or boil,

remove skin from chicken or turkey

rich sources of protein and magnesium

Nuts, seeds, and dry beans

4 – 5

per week

⅓ cup or 1½ ounces nuts

2 tablespoons or ½ ounce seeds

½ cup cooked dry beans

almonds, filberts, mixed nuts, peanuts, sunflower seeds, kidney beans, lentils, peas

rich sources of energy, protein, potassium, fiber, and magnesium

Fats and oils

2 – 3

1 teaspoon soft margarine

1 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise,

2 tablespoons light salad dressing,

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

soft margarine, low-fat mayonnaise, light salad dressing, vegetable oil such as olive, canola, corn, or safflower

27% of calories in the DASH diet come from fat.  This includes the amount in or added to foods

Sweets

5

 per week

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon jelly or jam

½ ounce jelly beans

8 ounces lemonade

maple syrup, sugar, jelly, jam, fruit-flavored gelatin, jelly beans, hard candy, fruit punch, sorbet, ices

sweets should be low in fat