I am not a doctor. I am not a nutritionist. I am not a healthcare professional of any kind. I cannot and do not offer this blog as medical advice. I offer this blog only as a creative resource. When creating my recipes I try to use common sense. I implore you to do the same when using them. I don’t know what is best for you. That’s up to you and your doctor.
You’ll still have to do the math to calculate how much of which things you need to tick off your DASH checklist for the day/week depending on how much you ate of any given recipe. Pay attention to how many servings I say that a recipe makes, as I have designed them to have a reasonable amount of everything per serving. That said, I usually try to make the servings generous enough to satisfy. Otherwise what’s the point?
There are some unanswered questions raised by the official DASH guidelines (why can you eat 6 eggs a day but only 2 cups of beans a week? are fatty fruits like avocado and olives counted the same way as other fruits?). Sometimes, in order to make a recipe, I have to use my judgement to guess what’s right. I have actually tried to get more information from the NHLBI, and they were…not really able to answer my questions. So I do my best, but I am not an expert, and I am definitely influenced by my own opinions and definitely falliable. Please consult your doctor if you need advice. I am only here for inspiration and I am not qualified to offer health advice.
Regarding alcohol: Please be aware that consumption of alcohol can increase blood pressure, particularly heavy consumption or binge drinking. Recommendations that usually accompany the DASH diet (as in this handout from the NHLBI) indicate that drinking in moderation (no more than 1 drink per day for adult biological females and 2 drinks per day for adult biological males) can be part of a healthy lifestyle for many individuals. I have included some recipes that include alcohol on this site. Please consult your physician about whether you should avoid alcohol entirely, or what is safe consumption for you personally.