[queennmab]

Anyone else having trouble getting enough nutrients and vitamins?

I track my calories through fitday.com and I have a killer time getting enough potassium . I never even come close. Some days I have trouble getting enough vitamin A or niacin or calcium (I do take a multi-vitamin). But mostly my trouble is with potassium. This is a problem because, as a low-income vegetarian, I eat a lot of canned veggies which equals high sodium.

Everything that I read on the subject indicates that most people should have no problem getting enough potassium in their diet. I can't do it even when I add foods just for the potassium benefit. A supplement wouldn't even be enough; I'd have to take 10-15 of them every day.

I'm having more trouble getting the rest of my nutrients too, now that I've lowered my calorie intake to around 1200. I know that food is the best place to get your nutrients but I guess the less you eat the less you can count on getting from that source. I've started taking a second multi-vitamin daily now.

Anyone else have these issues or any suggestions?

[Suzanne 3FC]

I do really well, according to my fitday. I buy vegetables from farmers markets in the summer, which are much cheaper than supermarket veggies, plus they are usually tastier. I often freeze them for later, which helps in the winter. I also buy a lot of frozen vegetables, which are supposed to be almost as good as fresh, and are usually more affordable than fresh. The only canned vegetables I eat are tomatoes and roasted peppers. You can buy no salt added canned veggies if you need to.

What kinds of meals do you like to eat?

[medbook]

Consider that Fruits and vegetables in the Mediterranean diet are the best foods to lower high blood pressure. They have a special mineral that lower blood pressure, Potassium.

I know that the fruit that has the highest presence of Potassium is Banana.

youtube.com/v/IPQkS4NBZnA&rel=1

[nelie]

Here is an overview of potassium and foods that you can find
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?t...trient&dbid=90

The heavy hitters are swiss chard and lima beans but there are lots on there. Lentils and pinto beans are high and both of those are very cheap. Winter squash is also high and winter squash is cheap right now.

I eat tons of spinach so I don't really worry about potassium. I buy my spinach from Costco where I get 2.5 lbs for 3 or 4 dollars. It goes a long way.

[queennmab]

Originally Posted by Suzanne 3FC

What kinds of meals do you like to eat?

All kinds. I love to cook and experiment with different recipes.

I eat a lot of fresh and some frozen veggies. Probably my biggest canned culprit is beans. I just don't have the time or inclination to deal with soaking my own beans. But that's a big source of my protein.

Oh, and I have trouble eating fruit. I'm allergic to bananas and I can't eat any fruit with a lot of acid like citrus fruits or tomatoes.

I looked at that list at whfoods. I eat a lot of that stuff, just apparently not enough at one time. I ate broccoli, cauliflower and half a cantaloupe yesterday and didn't even meet half the potassium requirement.

Unless I'm misunderstanding what the potassium requirement is. From what I read it's 2-5 grams.

[Ready2ShedLBS]

when it comes to canned beans if you take the time to wash them you can get rid of some of the salt. I am right there with you when it comes to a low income but honestly I can eat off fresh fruits, veggies and a few canned items for $35 a week. Thats just for me and my daughter.

[queennmab]

Originally Posted by Ready2ShedLBS

I am right there with you when it comes to a low income but honestly I can eat off fresh fruits, veggies and a few canned items for $35 a week.

That's about what I spend, sometimes less. I'm not complaining about prices for that stuff, just that I don't have the money for anything much fancier. Most of my meals are dependent upon a few cheap ingredients which often includes processed foods. For instance, tomorrow I'm making homemade pizza, but not homemade crust. And two slices of Pillsbury's crust will give me 752 mg of sodium.