Kidney Diet Tips

Flavored oils and vinegars: low sodium flavor for kidney diets

Do you ever find a new food or ingredient that you absolutely fall in love with and want to always have on hand? I had such an experience earlier this year when I attended a meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona. Afterwords with some free time to explore, I discovered Outrageous Olive Oils and Vinegars, a wonderful shop that specializes in high quality extra virgin olive oils, flavored olive oils and balsamic vinegars from around the world. I immediately thought how perfect for adding new and exciting flavors to a kidney diet or for anyone limiting sodium intake.

Some of the extra virgin olive oils I tasted include Frantoio from California, Castile from Spain, Chilean Arbequina from Chili and Leccino from Italy. Each has a unique flavor and are a great source of monosaturated fat and antioxidants. My favorite tasting experience was the flavored extra virgin olive oils. Herbs de Provence from France, Blood Orange, Garlic, Basil or Lemon from Tunisia, Tuscan Herb from Italy, Cilantro Roasted Onion or Wild Mushroom and Sage from California. My love for spicy-hot made the Harissa and Chipotle olive oils stand out as favorites.

Flavored balsamic vinegars from Modena, Italy includes fruity picks like Fig, Black Cherry, Pomegranate, Blackberry Ginger, Cinnamon Pear and Strawberry, as well as Oregano White, Vanilla and 18 year old aged traditional balsamic vinegar.

No need to go to Scottsdale to check out these flavorful low sodium seasonings. You can order online at OliveOilAZ.com. You can also find flavored oils and vinegars at your local Farmer’s Market and specialty cooking stores. Even the grocery stores carry some delightful oil and vinegars that add much more flavor than the usual plain products.

Try favorite oils and vinegars in the following DaVita.com recipes:

Artichoke Relish on Toasted Pita

Basic Salad Dressing

Easy Pizza Dough

Fresh Vegetable Marinade

Garden Vegetable Salad

Italian Style Shredded Beef

Lemon Marinated Chicken

Oil and Vinegar Salad Dressing

Pickled Okra

Tasty Baked Fish

What’s your favorite kidney-friendly low sodium seasoning?

Sara Colman, RDN, CDCES

Sara is a renal dietitian with over 30 years experience working with people with diabetes and kidney disease. She is co-author of the popular kidney cookbook "Cooking for David: A Culinary Dialysis Cookbook". Sara is the Manager of Kidney Care Nutrition for DaVita. She analyzes recipes and creates content, resources and tools for the kidney community. In her spare time Sara loves to spend time with her young grandson, including fun times together in her kitchen.