I have changed my diet so it is more low-cal and healthy. Every choice of what is eaten is had in moderation. A good example I can give you is having a burger and fries one day then I won't do that again for a week or two. Instead, I'll eat healthy by creating dishes using chicken or fish for the rest of the week and add vegetables to each of them as a side.
I have gotten back into cooking a lot more since the heart attack took place as I found it is a better as we don't use salt and we don't use sugar in anything.
I quit using both salt and sugar after my heart attack and my husband avoids both because of his Type 2 diabetes. We are always creating items in the kitchen but we also tend to stay with items we have found do work well for both of us.
A change we did make along our creativity. White rice was removed from the dishes and replaced with jasmin rice that is much finer, less starch and cooks so nicely.
I did want to leave a final thought on your question. I haven't tried gumbo before but what I can say is we make a spicy jambalaya that will have frozen shrimp added into it.

Gwen If Your Numbers are and have been stable then even "BAD" Gumbo is liely better for you then any "fast food" ala anywhere else in america... If your sodium is high Still if your cholesterol numbers are wacked out Then definatly use caution... shrimp and shellfish will likely affect your fats LDL and other bad lipids ...
when I returned after my 1st surgery I through away all my salt in the house and used other seasoning the is/was salt free and after 5 ot 6 years I allowed some salt to return especially in summer hot weather 88 plus I found I lact the salt in my body and would actually begin to crave salt items like fritos or chips .. and feel normal after a single serving .... it can be controlled quite easily .. and when in doubt eat it in moderation if you need to !!! make it home and use other means other then salt and salt added to all the seasonings you would normally use keep in mind Cayenne peppers are your friend in the natural state and even in the brands of pepper sauces ( read the labels) !! I just went back and searched in YOU TUBE I typed "Heart healthy Gumbo" there are a number of offerings that double the greens and also some that offer good protein options such as turkey and or chicken catfish is awesome seasonings and home made seasoning options like papaprika cayenne white and black peppers There are also options for making your own cajun and creole spices thar are salt free worth a look !!

All good answers as we are all different. I was experiencing dizziness as I documented here earlier an thought it was my heart. Turns out it was 40 mg of lisinopril was to strong now. Mixed with zepbound, and carvidelol was dropping blood pressure to much. Now I'm as strong as I used to be. Less weakness. As far as the food> i had a hunger buster for dinner last night with fries, and had a no good mole with chicken meal from a Mexican restaurant that did not sit well with the zepbound. I also forgot to mention the dosage of lisinopril was lowered to 20 mg. God Bless all trying to do the right thing. I use salt, sugar in moderation. Do what's right for you all.

Gwen I still have not given up Gumbo...you can tweak your recipe to leave off a lot of the salt and fats and enjoy it occasionally. I have been doing that for a lot of years now and my cholesterol is doing very, very well. Just remember "moderation" is key.

I use the low salt seasoning now and I read the labels. I no longer season my food as much as I use too. My brother went over to my sister's house this past weekend since she cooked gumbo for several people. He was visiting from Louisisana. I did not attend nor do I attend sometimes. She cooks for her children and grandchildren. They all depend on her to cook and I just can't eat her Food. I recently started having some salt after 2.5 years of being diagnosed with heart failure. I try to limit salt to 1500mg. a day. I also limit sugar, carbs and Fat. Enjoy this Day!