Hypertension and Meatball Soup!

By Jamie

Recently I was diagnosed as a "hypertension patient." I don't like that label and am still trying to come to terms with it. You see, over the past few years, I have learned (and am still learning) about health and nutrition, and I know I have come a long way so far. I have managed to change a lot of my eating habits and have incorporated exercise into my lifestyle much more than I used to. I have lost weight and have kept most of it off, although I am definitely not at my goal weight...yet. So with all that said, I don't really think it's fair that I have to deal with high blood pressure now!

I never had a problem with hypertension when I was forty pounds heavier and eating whatever I wanted. But now I have to exercise more, cut out as much sodium as possible, and "make better choices," as my doctor directed. Not only that, but I'm taking prescription hypertension medicine twice a day. It's frustrating because I feel, actually I KNOW, like I said before, that I have made several positive changes recently to better my health, but apparently not enough.

I have found, however, a silver lining. Since I have always, and probably will always, struggle with maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and am one of those people who can so easily slip back into the "forget-the-diet-and-eat-whatever-I-want" mode, having hypertension gives me a real reason to stay on track, and that's a good thing! (Not to mention my high risk factors of getting Type 2 diabetes.) I don't know if my health issue will ever go away, but I do know that a healthy lifestyle is more important than ever. So in an effort to keep my blood pressure down and lose more weight, I have been learning to cook with a lot more vegetables and a LOT LESS salt.

So I'm sharing with you my recipe for "Grandma's Meatball Soup, Revamped!".
Living "low sodium" isn't all that bad!

Ingredients

• 8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 lb lean ground turkey
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbls Italian seasoning
• 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped carrots
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• 6 oz rotini (or any pasta on hand)
• 4 tbls roughly chopped parsley
• 4 cups roughly chopped spinach

1. In a large pot, heat vegetable broth over medium heat.
2. Meanwhile, using your hands, mix turkey, parmesan cheese, pepper and Italian seasoning together in a large mixing bowl and form mixture into small meatballs. Approx. 2" diameter.
3. While raw meatballs wait their turn, coat a large saucepan with olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the celery, onion, and carrot and cook until tender. Stir in garlic.
3. Remove vegetable mixture from saucepan and add to broth, leaving the pan hot for the meatballs.
4. Add meatballs to hot saucepan. Let brown on all sides, making a yummy, brown outer layer, enclosing meatball goodness. Once browned on all sides, add to soup pot. Bring soup to a boil. Add pasta and cook until tender.
5. Turn heat off soup, stir in parsley and spinach. Serve hot and top with red pepper and parmesan cheese, if desired.