Nowadays lots of people in their Forties and Fifties are being told that they have high blood pressure and that unless they induce major lifestyle changes soon, then they will be on blood pressure tablets for the remainder of their lives. The fact is, that once your body gets used to these tablets it is extremely hard to get off them.

Therefore, if you have been given this word of warning, take it seriously. The doctor’s advice can take different forms, but it normally includes: lose weight; give up smoking and drinking; take more exercise and eat less salt.

In the spirit of this latter bit of advice, I have put three low sodium soup recipes from three different countries in this piece. I hope you like them.

Recipe One: Germany

Two Bean Soup (Zwei Bohnensuppe) (Serves Four)

1 1/4 cups white beans, dry 1 cup cut green beans 1 green onion, diced 1 potato, peeled & diced 2 tbls unbleached flour

Garnish =================== 4 oz ham, chopped 1/4 cup celery,chopped 1 onion, yellow, diced 1 tbls unsalted butter (optional) 3/4 cup beef broth, unsalted 1/4 tsp pepper 1 parsley, sprig

The beans can be either fresh or frozen, but do not use canned. Boil the beans until softish; add the potato and continue to boil. Add the flour to thicken when the potato is soft. Stir well. Serve in bowls and then add the garnish. Crispy bread is a good accompaniment.

Recipe Two: Ireland

Sorrel Soup (Serves Eight)

1 lb Sorrel 3 oz unsalted butter (or margarine) 1 substantial onion, chopped 2 tbsp flour (heaped) 2 1/2 l stock 2 tbsp breadcrumbs 1 pepper 2 egg yolks 150 ml cream

Wash the sorrel well and chop it up. Heat the butter or margarine in a saucepan and just soften the sorrel and onion in it. Sprinkle the flour on to the vegetables and mix well. Let it cook for around 1 minute. In the meantime bring the stock to the boil, then add to the pan. Add the breadcrumbs, add pepper to taste, and bring to the boil, then simmer for about 1 hour covered. (It can become liquidized at this point, if liked). Whisk the egg yolks with the cream and add a little of the hot soup to the mixture, stirring well; then add gradually to the soup pot, stirring well on the heat, being careful not to let it boil.

Recipe Three: Russia

Borsch (Serves eight)

1 cup navy beans, dry 2 1/2 lb beef, lean 1/2 lb slab bacon 10 cups cold water 1 bay leaf 8 whole peppercorns 2 cloves garlic 2 tblsp parsley, dried 1 carrot 1 celery stalk 1 red onion, large, chopped 1 tsp salt (optional) 8 beetroots for soup 2 beetroots, small 2 cups green cabbage, shredded 2 leeks, big, sliced 3 potatoes, cut into eighths 1 tin (1 lb 13 oz) tomatoes 1 tbspn tomato paste 3 tbspn red wine vinegar 1 lb kielbasa (optional) 2 tbspn flour 1 tbspn butter, melted 1/2 cup sour cream (optional)

Cover beans with water and allow to soak overnight; cook until tender; drain; set aside. Put beef, bacon and water in large soup pot; bring to the boil. Skim fat from surface. Add bay leaf, peppercorns, garlic, parsley, carrot, celery, onion. Cover and simmer on a low heat for around 1 1/2 hours.

Scrub beetroots for soup and cook in boiling water until soft, around 45 minutes; drain and dispose of water; cool. Peel and cut each beetroot into eighths. Scrub small beetroots; grate; cover with water and soak.

Remove meat from soup; lay aside. Strain soup into another pot and add cooked beetroot, cabbage, leeks, potatoes, tomatoes, tomato paste, vinegar, sugar, beef and bacon.

Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes. Chop kielbasa into chunks and add with navy beans to soup. Simmer 20 minutes more. Mix flour and butter together to make a paste. Stir into soup to thicken slightly. Strain raw beets, saving liquid yet discarding beetroots. Add beetroot liquid to soup.

Additional sugar or vinegar can be added for a sweeter or sourer flavour. Slice meat and arrange in individual soup bowls. Pour hot soup with vegetables over meat. Garnish each serving with a dollop of sour cream, if desired.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on a number of subjects, but is currently involved with work on high blood pressure charts. If you want to know more or check out some great offers, just go to our site at High Blood Pressure Recipes.

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