Kidney Diet Tips

Tips For A Simple Summer Dinner

Let’s talk dinner. Shrimp dinner. Quick, easy dinner that’s delicious too. For those days when you may not be feeling so great or are super tired. We ALL have those days…

I recently have been experimenting with the Today’s Kidney Diet Kidney Friendly Recipes which are available in a cookbook download if you are a myDaVita member. If you are not a member yet, no sweat, it takes only a few minutes and you can click here to get started.

With another Minnesota winter behind me and summer fast approaching, I was immediately drawn towards the Healthy Summertime Recipes cookbook. The Linguine with Garlic and Shrimp has only 7 ingredients and 7 steps- simple and speedy, right? This recipe is also available directly in the DaVita Recipes section here.

Abby T-Ingredients-finalAfter a quick trip to the grocery store, I started preparing the dish exactly as written. It became very clear after I started cleaning and peeling shrimp that this was more time consuming than I thought! Now what to do?

Well, as I prepared the dish I came up with a few ideas to save you time and energy without compromising taste or nutrition.

  • Feel free to use cooked shrimp in place of raw shrimp that the recipe calls for. Cleaning and peeling the shrimp took a lot of time.
  • Substitute ready-to-use minced garlic. It reduces time spent in the kitchen but not flavor. Play around with how much garlic you add to your dishes. I prefer a good amount but I have to add less or my kids won’t have anything to do with my meals.
  • Parsley flakes can be used in place of fresh parsley. Parsley flakes are available in the seasonings section of the grocery store. It saves you time on cleaning and chopping the parsley. You can experiment with how much parsley your taste buds prefer.
  • Double the recipe. Freeze leftovers and you will have a healthy delicious meal ready to heat up when you’re not up for cooking.

Next time I make simple summer dinner I’m going to use whole grain noodles.Abby T-Cooked Shrimp Linguine-sm This has nothing to do with saving time but whole grain noodles will provide more fiber and make you feel fuller longer. They are naturally higher in phosphorus so check with your renal dietitian to find out how much you can add in to your diet.

This recipe was so tasty, and the family loved it! It really is a great dish for anyone and is approved for CKD non-dialysis, dialysis or diabetic diets.

Check out 6 Simple Shrimp Recipes to cook up additional easy, kidney-friendly shrimp dishes.

What are some of your go to recipes when limited on time or energy? Do you have any shortcuts or ideas on saving time in the kitchen?

 

 

Abby Tibodeau, RD, LD

Abby Tibodeau, RD, LD

Abby has been a renal dietitian for over five years and continues to learn new things every day. She enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband and three children. Abby is currently working on her master's degree in dietetics.