Sample DASH Menu

By Lindsay Lyon

Posted: April 14, 2008

Want to give DASH a try? Here's a sample day's eating plan developed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute that appears in the pamphlet Your Guide to Lowering Your Blood Pressure With DASH (.pdf). The menu allots 2,000 calories per day, so serving sizes should be adjusted to meet your calorie needs.

  Sodium (mg) Substitution to Reduce Sodium to 1,500 mg  
Breakfast      
¾ cup bran flakes cereal: 220 ¾ cup shredded wheat cereal  
1 medium banana  1    
1 cup low-fat milk 107    
1 slice whole-wheat bread: 149     
1 tsp soft (tub) margarine 26 1 tsp unsalted soft (tub) mararine  
1 cup orange juice 5    
Lunch      
¾ cup chicken salad: * 179 Remove salt from the recipe*  
2 slices whole-wheat bread 299    
1 tbsp Dijon mustard salad: 373 1 Tbsp regular mustard  
½ cup fresh cucumber slices 1    
½ cup tomato wedges 5    
1 tbsp sunflower seeds 0    
1 tsp Italian dressing, low calorie 43    
½ cup fruit cocktail, juice pack 5    
 Dinner      
3 oz beef, eye of round: 35    
2 tbsp beef gravy, fat free 165    
1 cup green beans, sautéed with: 12    
½ tsp canola oil 0    
1 small baked potato: 14    
1 tbsp sour cream, fat free 21    
1 tbsp grated natural cheddar cheese, reduced fat 67 1 tbsp natural cheddar cheese, reduced fat, low sodium  
1 tbsp chopped scallions 1    
1 small whole-wheat roll: 148    
1 tsp soft (tub) margarine 26 1 tsp unsalted soft (tub) mararine  
1 small apple 1    
1 cup low-fat milk 107    
Snacks      
1/3 cup almonds, unsalted 0    
1/4 cup raisins 4    
1/2 cup fruit yogurt, fat free, no sugar added 86    
Total 2,101    

Source: National Health, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

• One More Reason to Try the DASH Diet—and How

high blood pressure with variations during the day

i have checked my b p after taking a shower it is always elevated for at least 10 minutes it goes from 15 to 10 points higher,,also in themorning after y wake up it is a little higher than 10 minutes later, even i never faile to take my diuretic and ace inhibitors, do you have an explanation for it?

vic guti of FL @ Aug 10, 2009 06:13:29 AM

high blood pressure with variations during the day

i have checked my b p after taking a shower it is always elevated for at least 10 minutes it goes from 15 to 10 points higher,,also in themorning after y wake up it is a little higher than 10 minutes later, even i never faile to take my diuretic and ace inhibitors, do you have an explanation for it?

vic guti of FL @ Aug 10, 2009 06:13:28 AM

Commenting on Sample Dash Menu

My blood pressure has been high the last few times i have taken it. I finally went to the doctor today and my pressure was 170/90. She had taken my pressure several different times throughout my visit and it was different each time,but still high. The doctor put me on some medicine for about 3 weeks and will return to see her. She gave me the DASH diet website to go to and it was very helpful. I printed out the Sample Dash diet and will try it out. This is all new to me and would like more sample diets i can try. Thanks Michelle Simmons. My email adddress is below.

Michelle Simmons of IL @ Jun 30, 2009 19:21:45 PM

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