Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.
Seven-day salt source diary
Most of the salt people eat arrives already inside bread, cheese, cured meat, sauces and ready meals, not from the spoon at the stove. A week of writing down everything the household eats, with a rough salt figure from the label or a nutrition app, shows which five foods to change first instead of guessing.
First tasks
- Set up a simple diary page with columns for day, food, amount and salt
- Record every meal and snack for seven ordinary days
- Ask the agent to rank the diary items by likely salt content
- Pick one change for each of the three biggest salt sources
Salt and saturated fat goals from your clinician
Advice on salt, fat, alcohol and fluids differs a great deal between someone with borderline cholesterol, someone on several heart medicines and someone with kidney or heart failure. Asking your clinician or a dietitian for the goals that apply to you, in writing, means the cooking changes in this area are aimed at the right target from the start.
First tasks
- Write three questions about salt and fat to ask at your next appointment
- Ask whether any fluid, potassium or food limits apply to you
- Write the agreed goals on a single page kept with your recipes
- Confirm the goals still apply at your yearly check-up @recurring(yearly)
Cupboard and fridge salt sweep
Stock cubes, gravy granules, soy sauce, jarred pesto, smoked ham and hard cheese sit in most kitchens and quietly decide how salty dinner will be. Going through every shelf once, sorting items into keep, use up and replace, clears the way for the flavour shelf and stops old habits being restocked by default.
First tasks
- Empty the condiment shelf and read the salt figure on every jar
- Sort fridge and cupboard items into keep, use up and replace
- Write a replacement list for the next shop
- Repeat the sweep once a year to catch items that crept back @recurring(yearly)
