Before We Dive Into Cooking…
This is me and the very handsome Scooch - one year ago today.
18 March 2026
This is a picture of me one year ago today – it was the day I was diagnosed with hypertension, high cholesterol, being pre-diabetic, and my Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) was discovered. I was told in no uncertain terms that my weight was not helping and was probably the most major contributing factor. As of today, the 1-year benchmark, I have lost 54 pounds, got my cholesterol, A1C, and blood pressure levels into the safe zone, and my CKD has lowered from level 3B to level 2 – where I intend on keeping it. During this year, one of the things I’ve discovered is that it’s not fear that motivates me to keep on; it’s the quest to find new recipes from all over the world that I can adapt to meet my fresh eating needs – and most are so simple…they’ve gotta be shared!
It’s not a matter of when we start, or where we start; we start now, here in my kitchen. The biggest boon you will give yourself is HOW we start – and that is by going through your fridge, freezer, and cabinets to get a fair assessment of what you have, what you really need to get rid of (whether it’s from age or it’s just an unhealthy item), and to create a list of staples you will need to have on hand.
The second biggest boon you can give yourself is to utilize as few prepared foods as possible.
“Wait a sec, Sparks. What, exactly, is a “prepared” food?
Prepared foods are anything that comes in a bag, bottle, can, carton, canister, wrapper, or box. Basically, if all you have to do is heat-n-eat, it should probably be avoided – but not everything. Some prepared foods that you will utilize almost daily are noodles, canned and frozen fruits and veggies, grains and cereals, bread, coffee, popcorn kernels…you get the gist. Read the labels on EVERYTHING. Label reading is so very important. We are looking for low sodium and with as few ingredients as possible; we want only ingredients that are actual food products and not better living through chemistry. I guarantee that when you look up some of the ingredients put in foods, it will put you off those foods.
Next, we go to the store – and read some more labels! By going to the store, I mean I am taking a video at the store so you can see what I’m shopping for, how I plan on using whatever I find and, of course, show off my mad label reading skills. I’m not asking you to spend a lot of money. I don’t want you to as I most certainly have a worker-bee’s budget. Most of the recipes I will be presenting are very cost sensitive. However, it really can cost a lot to eat healthy, but it shouldn’t and if we do it correctly, it won’t.
A quick reminder: if you are joining me because you have placed on a medically required eating plan, I, myself, follow the DASH (Dietary Approach to Stopping Hypertension) Diet and most of my recipes adhere to the DASH guidelines. I will never say I’m not gonna bake, make candy, or prepare holiday foods, because I will – but I will always specify that those recipes or techniques are a treat and not a daily! Besides, a leg of lamb is usually a treat, right?
Then, after all that, we will start cooking!!!
I will be posting a video about reading labels, auditing your cabinets, and taking a field trip to the grocery store very soon. I just have to figure out how to edit it.
Meanwhile, thank you for the read and keep bein’ groovy!
- Sparks
