Hi, I was in the same situation 5 years ago. My BP was so high that there was no alternative but to take medication but I was determined to do what I could to change my life style and eventually minimise my medication (or come off it altogether).
I read everything I could on blood pressure and nutrition. First off I went really hard at reducing all the likely causes: salt, caffeine, alcohol, sugar, UPFs. It was a difficult detox. Plus I reduced dairy and ate much less meat. So loads of pulses, loads of veg, upped my nuts and seeds. I used herbs and spices to increase flavour without adding salt / soy / msg. Plus pickles, chutneys, fermented veg to add interest.
I ate food that were rich in nitrates - beetroot, celery, spinach, turnip, kale, radish, watermelon, nuts, seeds and drank organic hibiscus tea. I think the evidence for dietary nitrates having much of an impact is weak, but at least it gave me positive ideas about things to add to my diet, rather than just cutting things out.
I also read this book which looks at stress and relaxation, what you eat and drink, how you move, and how you sleep. I found it straightforward and sensible and it gave lots of options e.g. for for exercise, rather than being prescriptive.
My dc were grown up so that made it easier with food as I wasn't trying to simultaneously prepare family meals and keep everyone else satisfied. And for dh I just added buttery mashed potatoes, or pasta, and extra meat/cheese etc to his meals.
It did work. I lost weight, I walked everywhere I could, made time to swim once a week (usually walked to the pool as then I'd done my 10K steps and could have a leasurely swim and sit in the jacuzzi and steam room (only once my BP was out of dangerous levels!). I found a local tai chi class. My bp reduced and I'm now on the very smallest dose of medication that is clinically available - and sometimes I only take half of that!
I relaxed away from that initial regime once the hard work was done, my BMI was normal and my BP was well managed. Hard work, but worth it.
For maintaining my weight I follow a low carb approach and (in general) I don't eat refined carbs - bread, pasta, pastry, cake, biscuits, crisps. I almost never have sugar, including sugary fruits or honey. I substitue extra veg for carbs, so eat curry with oven roasted cauliflower florets rather than rice and have a great recipe for keto naan. I do eat some pulses (beans, lentils, peas etc) but usually only once or twice a week. I eat good sources of protein - eggs, cheese, fresh and tinned fish, good quality meat. There are some absolutely amazing low carb recipes, it's far away from boring salads and low calorie diet foods. (i don't eat anything low fat, or with artificial sweetener).
I find it helps to have a routine - so breakfasts I have eggs twice a week (scrambled egg and smoked salmon, or a cheese and veg omelette), twice a week I have chia and yogurt pudding with unsweetened berry compote and some chopped nuts and seeds, and twice I'll have something vegetable like avocado, or asparagus, or crudities and dips, or even vegetable soup (yes, soup for breakfast - its warming, filling, fast).
I'm fortunate in that I didn't have a particularly sweet tooth so cakes and sweets are not overly tempting, but crisps, salted peanuts and a nice glass of wine or gin... I have to work hard not to into fall into that trap very often.
I try to plan my meals for the week (I get a veg box so it's usually done around that) and not to get into the habit of snacking between meals. You can't go wrong if you have a glass of water every time you find yourself heading for the fridge or biscuit tin - at the best you'll find you didn't need to nibble after all, at worst you'll have had another glass of water!
I think we all need to find our own way through these things. I love food and cooking so it wasn't hard to invest time and effort in research and in cooking from scratch. Good luck with your journey.