Kidney Diet Tips

Kidney-Friendly Recipes for End of Summer Barbecues

The beginning of September marks end of summer and the last chances for summer outings and barbecues. Take advantage of the remaining sunny, warm weekends and plan a kidney-friendly get together with family and friends.

Here are some guidelines for sticking with your renal diet while still enjoying a fun filled end of summer barbecue.

1. Choose hamburgers, chicken, ribs, fish, steaks or pork chops for the grill. Fresh meats are low in sodium compared to processed meats like hot dogs and sausages.

2. Go easy on the sauces and dressings because these can add lots of hidden sodium. Try home made instead. Spicy BBQ Sauce and Meat Marinade from DaVita’s recipe collection are both tasty but low in sodium.

3. Serve a tossed salad with low sodium dressing, macaroni or pasta salad like Bow-tie Pasta Salad or a fresh cabbage slaw. Another option is a fresh low potassium veggie tray with celery, cucumber, bell pepper and cauliflower. Combine sour cream with any salt-free herb seasoning blend for a quick dip. If you prefer a hot vegetable, try Grilled Multicolored Peppers and Onions or roasted corn on the cob.

4. Instead of potato chips, cheese snacks or nuts, serve low salt pretzels with low sodium mustard, unsalted popcorn or low salt tortilla chips.

5. For dessert make vanilla cookies, angel food cupcakes, blueberry, peach or apple pie. Instead of ice cream, enjoy nondairy frozen dessert, a dish of sorbet, sherbet or a Popsicle. Make a fruit tray with lower potassium fruits such as grapes, strawberries, pineapple and watermelon. Serve with DaVita’s Easy Summer Fruit Dip.

6. The best drinks are homemade lemonade, home brewed Iced tea , lemon-lime soda or water. Make a sparkling drink with club soda and cranberry juice. Remember to count fluids if you are on a fluid limit. Wear a hat or stay in the shade to help keep cool so you don’t feel too thirsty .

Here are some more end of summer recipes for chronic kidney disease and dialysis diets from DaVita.com.

Sara Colman, RDN, CDCES

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.