Memorial Day Picnic and Barbeque Tips and Recipes

Are you ready for Memorial Day? This day of honor reminds us of the sacrifices by those who died while serving in the United States’ Armed Forces. Unofficially, it also marks the beginning of summer vacation season as well as barbeque season!

Spring is Here!

Spring has sprung and signs of nature surround us. Flowers and plants are blooming. Gardens are growing and early vegetables and fruits are ready to harvest. Birds are singing and bees are pollinating. We are loving the warming weather and looking forward to that first dip in the pool, lake or river. What a gorgeous time to be outside and enjoy a lovely picnic or celebratory barbeque!

Diet Considerations

If you are on a kidney diet, proceed with caution while enjoying picnics or barbeques. Ensure that foods eaten are kidney-friendly and practice food safety by keeping cold foods cold and hot foods hot. Since there are so many wonderful vegetables and fruits in season, it is important to be aware of which ones are the best choices. If you are on a low potassium plan, check with your dietitian to confirm how many servings of produce to include.

Store bought packaged picnic foods like potato salad and baked beans are high in sodium, potassium and phosphorus. Limit portions or substitute with kidney-friendly options like homemade macaroni salad and green bean salad. In addition, if you are on a fluid restriction, stay in the shade or wear a hat to stay cool, as the warmer weather makes you thirstier.

Kidney-Friendly Recipes

Despite potential limitations, with some awareness and knowledge kidney patients can enjoy Memorial Day and upcoming summer celebrations with friends and loved ones. DaVita.com recipes for people with diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease help make planning food for special events easy. Below are some of our favorite summer recipes. They are so tasty that everyone will enjoy sharing your kidney-friendly dishes!

Watch more DaVita Eats videos for additional summer recipe ideas.

Comments

May 28, 2017 at 5:53 pm

Evelyn

Hi I would like to know since I have stage 3 kindney disease and pre diabetic. Would you say all the recipes here on Davita are ok for me to eat since I have to be on a low protein , sodium diet also watching my sugar intake and phosphorus and potassium.

May 30, 2017 at 9:37 am

Sara Colman, RD, CDE

Many of the recipes fit into a lower protein diet. Some suggest adjusting the portion to fit your meal plan. For example, if your plan recommends 2 ounces of protein (meat, poultry, seafood) at a meal and the DaVita recipe serving size is 3 ounces, you can divide the recipe into smaller portions. All the recipes are low sodium, and have modifications to limit the amount of potassium and phosphorus. Each recipe provides the Carbohydrate Choices and carbohydrate content to help with your pre-diabetes plan.

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