N is for noodles: A kidney-friendly staple
What kind of noodles do you eat? Growing up my family ate egg noodles and spaghetti. As an adult, I’ve discovered a whole world of noodles from around the world. A basic noodle recipe calls for flour, water, egg and salt.
Types of flour used in noodles include wheat flour, (white or whole wheat) rice flour and buckwheat. Some noodles are made with starch instead of flour; bean starch, corn starch, potato starch and tapioca starch are used throughout the world. Tofu and seaweed are also used as a noodle base. Some noodles contain additional flavorings or colorings. Given all these ingredient combinations, the plain old noodle I knew as a child has certainly expanded into a vast menu of noodle choices.The next time you feel bored with your kidney diet, consider exploring different noodles to try.
Noodles are often named by their place or origin. Included in the category are Chinese egg noodles, Chinese wheat noodles, Filipino pancit noodles, German paetzle noodles, Hong Kong noodles, Japanese udon and ramen noodles, Korean gook soo noodles, Malaysian hokkien noodles, Shanghai noodles, Thai noodles, and Vietnamese mi chay noodles. The Italians call their noodles pasta—which originates from the word paste or dough. Dried pasta ingredients include durum semolina, durum wheat and water. Fresh pasta includes egg, salt and sometimes olive oil. Spaghetti, vermicelli, fettuccini and linguine are popular long pastas in the US.
Noodles are inexpensive, healthy and versatile. Most noodles are a great choice for kidney diets because of the low potassium and phosphorus content. Some noodles contain salt, so read labels to make the best choice. Choose kidney-friendly ingredients to dress up your favorite noodles.
High potassium tomato sauce is not the only flavoring for pasta or noodles. Consider adding noodles to homemade soup; create a cold noodle salad; stir up a noodle, meat and veggie stir fry; make spring rolls with a rice noodle and fresh vegetable filling; try deep fried noodles to add crunch to a salad or side dish. Check out the following kidney friendly noodle recipes from DaVita.com:
Linguine with Garlic and Shrimp
Rice noodles with Chicken and Oyster Sauce
Kidney diet resources from DaVita.com
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