High iron, low cholesterol, low sodium meals?

I never ever added salt to cooking and we didn't usually add it at table either, but -- as you say -- its all that insidious salt in prepared foods.  And in the old days when DH was growing up they didn't have it on the labels.

Dark Chocolate - its high in Iron and I know its been proven to be good for your heart if you have a couple pieces per day.     See chocolate is good for you!

Have a look at the DASH diet: dashdiet.org  DH followed it for his BP and it helped and wasn't too horrible.

Perfect! This is exactly what I've been looking for. I'm going to buy the cookbook tomorrow and get started! Thanks.

By the way, I have significantly limited my sodium in the past two days and my blood pressure has already started to go down. That has made me so happy because I was getting really worried about it!

By the way, I have significantly limited my sodium in the past two days and my blood pressure has already started to go down. That has made me so happy because I was getting really worried about it!

Yay!  Keep it up.

How about a spinach salad? You could throw in some kidney beans (rinsed thoroughly, or even soaked, if from a tin to remove as much salt as possible) and lots of fresh veggies. I'm not sure if nuts are ok for cholesterol sake, but I am pretty sure walnuts are high in iron, and are always nice in a spinach salad. For dressing, I just use olive oil and balsamic vinagrette with a bit of pepper.
You could do lots of veggie stir-fries with green vegetables, and serve them with plain rice. There are all sorts of vegetarian subs for meals that would work (tofu would be a good one), but you might have to check the sodium levels of some of them. You could make minestrone or vegetable soup. Red beans and rice (from scratch to avoid too much sodium) might be high in iron, as well.
It wouldn't be a fun diet for a meat-eater, but I am sure you could experiment with some basic ingredients and come up with a few things.

DS came home from checkup with doctor yesterday and most things check out OK except for his triglycerides, which are too high for someone only 28.  Doc thinks its due to lack of exercise and he had already started going to the gym.  So he'll go back in a month to get more blood work.  But there must be a dietary element to it?  Anyone have any experience on that one?

DS came home from checkup with doctor yesterday and most things check out OK except for his triglycerides, which are too high for someone only 28.  Doc thinks its due to lack of exercise and he had already started going to the gym.  So he'll go back in a month to get more blood work.  But there must be a dietary element to it?  Anyone have any experience on that one?

My mom has trouble with high triglycerides. Turns out she has a fatty liver which produces more of them, or something along those lines. She has been on a very strict low fat diet for years, but the triglycerides continue to go up. I'm a definite believer in having good fats in the diet. In fact, I am pretty sure that the good fats are supposed to help counteract the bad ones a bit. (I think I read that somewhere.) So foods with natural fat like avocados, nuts, olives, etc. are supposed to be very good for you (in small amounts, of course). My mom cuts all of those things out, but I have told her many times she should try adding those fats back into her diet to see what happens. But do moms ever listen to their kid's advice? 
Probably best for him to start trying to cut out hydrogenated fats, trans fats and the like, by avoiding pastries and baked goods, except for the whole grain stuff. I think complex carbs like brown rice, oatmeal, etc. are supposed to help lower cholesterol and triglycerides. Cut down on cheese (unless it's part skim or reduced fat, or just a small amount of the regular stuff) and just try to eat a lot more fruit and veg.

But do moms ever listen to their kid's advice? 

Do kids ever listen to their mom's advice?! 
He got some Weight Watcher's string cheese, which looks pretty good on the label.  He's a real cheese-aholic so it will be hard.  He has also been eating almonds.  But he eats hardly any of the vegs/fruits    He'll eat carrots, broccoli and cucumber.  Eats strawberries, pineapple and possibly a red apple.  And that's about it!!

Do kids ever listen to their mom's advice?! 

You got me there...    But I seriously spent half an hour convincing my mother it is ok to buy herself a good pair of trainers to walk in because she has back problems and keeps wearing these cheap Payless shoes! Grrrr!!!! She's terrified to ever spend money on herself. I know she is saving to come and visit us, but sheesh, she has to look after herself, too! 

Anyway, it sounds like your son needs to learn to love a good salad, and since he loves cheese, he should throw some in! To me, there is a big difference between boring old salad and really tasty salad. He could toss in some goat cheese, some dried cherries, and mix it up with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Or go Greek with feta and olives, if he likes that. It is hard to get people to eat vegetables who have a sort of vendetta against them, but maybe he could experiment with some different ones and see if he finds some he likes.