Sparkpeople

Sparkpeople.com has been the greatest aid to my nutrition awareness.  Although it's primarily a free website to help folks lose weight, it's been the one way for me to track how much sodium, calcium, fiber, and other nutrients we're getting each day.  It gives recommendations on amounts, and I try to keep in their ranges.

I don't use Ragu or Prego these days because of the sodium content.  I use the Better Homes and Gardens spaghetti sauce recipe, using no-salt-added tomatoes and tomato paste, and not adding additional salt.  So that recipe, with nutrients (as listed in the cookbook), is typed into Sparkpeople.  So I'm listing exactly the spaghetti that we use, when I enter it.  I have to adjust the nutrients given by the cookbook, since I'm using no-salt ingredients.  It takes some brainwork and figuring, but I believe I have it pretty close to right.

Thanks to Sparkpeople, I was made aware that we weren't getting even ten percent of the calcium we need per day, and I added a calcium pill to our daily regimen.  We usually do fairly well getting enough fiber, but toward the end of the day if I see I'm lacking in fiber for that day, I'll eat a raw carrot or two and perhaps mix up a glass of Metamucil and drink it.

Thank you, sparkpeople!

Tags: sparkpeople, nutrients