From Cancer to Delicious Food

Back in 2008, I turned 40.  Turning 40 really didn't bother me; it's just a number.  My body had a different idea.  I thought I felt healthy in general, but I was mistaken.  I went to the gynecologist for my annual exam and my blood pressure was high.  I must confess that I hate exercise and I love sweets, desserts, and fast food, so high blood pressure was not surprising to me.  I guess it was time to change my exercise & eating habits, but that wasn't all.  The doctor found cysts and scheduled me for a D & C to remove them.  He told me not to worry because it wasn't cancer.

I had to see a cardiologist first to get my blood pressure under control before I had surgery.  The doctor put me on 2 medications and told me to change my diet and exercise.  I went back a week later, and my blood pressure was still bad.  He put me on another medication and told me to come back the next week.  My pressure was still too high, so he put me on a 4th medication.  I was a little pissed that my body was being so stubborn.  My pressure finally came down to normal and I went for my D & C surgery about a month later.

The day after my outpatient surgery, my gynecologist called me to tell me that the tissue removed was indeed cancerous and I needed to see him immediately.  I went to his office and he told me that I needed to have a total hysterectomy ASAP.  I made an appointment with the general surgeon who would be doing the surgery along with my gynecologist.  When I met with him, I requested that he remove my gall bladder too because I had a huge gall stone which had bothered me for years.

I had successful surgery a couple weeks later and my cancer was diagnosed as stage 1B.  I followed up the surgery with 6 weeks of radiation treatments.  Three years later, I am still cancer free.

All the while this was going on, I had the challenge of completely changing my diet.  I started reading food labels and discovered that soooo many foods have tons of sodium in them.  Pretty much anything that's prepackaged and easy to fix is chock full of sodium.  No more mac & cheese, canned soup, bottled salad dressing, taco seasoning packets, lunch meat, chips, crackers, etc.

I had to find low sodium recipes to replace some of the essentials in my diet.  I was able to find things like, ranch seasoning, taco seasoning, salsa seasoning, Italian dressing seasoning.  I made enough to fill old bottles of spices and I started using them in my everyday cooking.  I was truly surprised at how tasty the food actually was.  The food didn't need salt to taste good, it needed flavor.

I love cooking, baking, and sharing delicious food with others.  Parties and holidays challenge me to serve dishes that will have no leftovers.  I have always wanted to share my low sodium recipes with family and friends.  I recently decided to start bottling and selling my own spice blends, Auntie Jean's Low Sodium Spice Blends.  I'm getting positive feedback.  I truly hope that my friends and family are eating healthier, that's my goal.  I worry about the kids who are eating fast food, pizza, hot dogs, mac & cheese on a daily basis.

In the future, I will be posting some of my favorite low sodium recipes.  Most of them don't take much longer to make than hot dogs or pizza.