[Jumble Jowls]

I have very high blood pressure. Can't have much salt. Can anyone recommend low sodium backpacker meals? I'd love to have Mountain House, but it's a salt bomb. My cardiologist would have a heart attack if he saw me eating them. I'm talking about add boiling water and wait, dehydrated meals. I carry a soda can alcohol stove, or white gas in winter. Suggestions?

[Randito]

I also have to limit my sodium intake. IME any sort of commercially prepared foods have two days worth of sodium intake in a single meal. One solution is to cook and dehydrate your own meals using the methods suggested by this excellent website. https://trailcooking.com/trail-cooking-101/freezer-bag-cooking-101/ Also IME I find I can tolerate more sodium intake when I'm exercising and sweating a lot during the day. E.g. I recently did a 75 mile bike ride on a warm day and drank 5 liters of water and other drinks during the ride. My measured BP was 30 points lower in the evening than the prior evening on a day with more typical activities. I have an automated BP cuff at home. Of course it is wise to experiment with your body's BP response to various amounts of exercise and sodium intake while close to medical services.

[Bernardo]

Backpackingchef.com has many great meals you can make yourself. This is what I do, but I add lots of salt because I think salt is vital to stay fit when working hard and sweating a lot. The relationship between salt and blood pressure in apparently not clear cut: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317099

[Randito]

[Slim]

I like Wild Zora meals as they are pretty clean and not sodium bombs. They usually come in around 600-700 mg per serving. ~Slim

[Ski]

trailcooking.com I just looked at Craigslist for "dehydrator" and there's no deals today - wrong time of year - but I've seen them on CL anywhere from FREE to dirt cheap ($20-$30 bucks) for NICE units. dehydrate your own. cheap. easy. and you control the sodium content. WAY easier than what you'd think: https://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8006458

[Bernardo]

Thanks for the info Randito. It's interesting. Good news is that there are options.

[Anne Elk]

Another thing you could do is use fractional parts of packaged meals (like Moutain House) as a "base" to provide flavorings for other from-home ingredients that you'd bring and cook yourself, like instant rice, your preferred protein, etc. But that might be more complication than you'd prefer. But somewhat less work than doing your own dehydrating.

[rubywrangler]

There are a few GoodToGo meals that have lower sodium, also in the 600-700 mg range - pad thai, pasta marinara, 3 bean chili

[sarbar]

We follow a lower salt diet at home - and have - for many years. I'd rather need to add a tiny pinch of fine sea salt when I eat, than have it come already in it. Not medical advice of course...but I find I work the best when I make sure I am getting enough potassium with salt when I hydrate while exercising. (I drink a lot due to one of my meds I take, just being open with that...so I can strip my electrolytes way too easy) Having said that, making your own meals is really the best choice. You can find so many "no sodium added" flavorings these days in stores. For example, I often use a no sodium added broth powder I can get at most grocery stores. Then add a tiny pinch of salt if needed (I don't usually because I live for cheese in meals....and that is far salty enough). I have many, many recipes on my site, and many can be made low sodium very easily (for example, if a recipe calls for soy sauce, use coconut aminos, which are baseline low in sodium). I have lots of tricks. Take your meds, watch your electrolytes, stay hydrated (better for BP!) and have fun working out. Eat lots of fresh produce on the trail as well, or freeze-dried versions. Your body will appreciate you.