Stage 3 Kidney Disease and Diet: What can I eat?

@fiesty76 , Lots of good edibles on a renal diet! Somewhere in this thread is a free cownloadable copy of an early recipe collection. Currently working on a second one as new discoveries are made and new things come to light and will be posting those recipes sometime in 2020.

what test is there to determine the level of oxalate in our system - blood? urine? i was just put on a low oxalate diet, low sodium, but am finding various conflicting lists of "low oxalate" foods. My urologist gave me a UPMC (university of philadelphia) low oxalate list..wheat is a definite no, but on another page, it lists graham crackers as ok... wheat is in graham crackers. it's just confusing.

If you like garlic....I have found that McCormick Perfect Pinch Garlic and Herb SALT FREE seasoning is great on lots of things. I almost always use it on meat. For broccoli or cauliflower a squeeze of lemon seems to make it seem sweeter and adds another layer of flavor. I also like slicing a tomato, topping it with a slice of fresh mozzarella and some avocado and putting an oil and balsamic vinegar dressing on it. The balsamic vinegar is the key here. Not sure if these are good for diabetic but they work for me (level 3 kidney).

I don't see the post I wrote last week so I'll post it again. I got very depressed the past couple of months and did not stick to the diet totally.
I said I thought I had found a lump on my left side and it got so painful after having an x Ray that showed nothing. I was supposed to have an ultra sound on kidney and bladder and chest advised from New kidney Dr. Because I had such pain on left side I had to call an ambulance and they did all those tests at the hospital. It seems I was having muscle spasms. They gave me meds and now they are gone.
Now, the good news . The Dr. talked to me at the hospital and said, all your tests are normal. I said what about my kidneys. He said going off the Arthritis meds, there is no sign of kidney disease. They're normal. I couldn't believe it. He said over the years the Arthritis meds were causing my kidneys to shut down. Thank you Lord. I may be in pain without Arthritis meds and have to use my walker all the time
but it is worth it.
I pray for all of you suffering from this terrible disease and be sure to check your meds and what ones could be hurting your kidneys. I'm sure your Dr will. I am one of the lucky ones that the Dr. caught this before I got worse.
I will be checking in to see how everyone is doing and say prayers for all of you.

@nene22 As a fellow kidney patient, in Stage 3B [GFR about 33%] I follow a fairly strict renal diet No potatoes/tomatoes/bananas/dairy/ beans/avocado/etc. due to phosphorus and potassium levels. Even though my doctors also said there was no need to restrict my foods, I have proven that my progression of the disease has slowed tremendously, only dropping 6 points in 4 years.
@kamama94 has posted a great recipe book here on Mayo Connect that helps us all!
Ginger

@gingerw, I have great news!

Some growers and distributors now are making available some foods kidney patients were told to avoid in the past.

My favorite grocery store now carries baby blonde and baby strawberry red potatoes in a steamable bag of 3 servings per bag. One serving is only five tiny potatoes. BUT! They are delicious and fillling. They are not meant to be peeled but can be and can be soaked 2 hours before preparing to reduce potassium, etc., even more than it already is. I don't steam the potatoes, I open the bag and take out 5 then re-seal and put the bag in the fridge, something you normally wouldn't do with potatoes but this keeps them fresh. 5 Hy-Vee baby potatoes = 80 cal 100.8 ? mg P 480 mg K 35 mg Na 2 Gm prtn. If you track your potassium intake and are in Stage 3, you probably aren't taking in more than 1500-1700 mg K daily and 480 mg of potassium in the mini potatoes approaches 1/3 of your daily potassium limit. If I'm careful to watch potassium content of other foods that day, these potatoes are an occasionable allowable treat!

More good news: 1 Italian or plum tomato averages 11.2 cal 14.9 mg P 147 mg K 3.1 mg Na 0.5 Gm prtn, well within mineral restrictions.

Frankly, there is no way on this green earth I could have only one avocado slice but half or even a whole Roma tomato is quite satisfactory, thank you very much, and so are 5 baby potatoes.

I'm working on a new recipe collection starring formerly "forbidden" foods. As always, all will be free of charge for anyone to copy, use, share, etc.

Stay tuned.

@kamama94, I have been following this discussion and now I am confused. I wonder if you could tell me what is meant by "formerly forbidden" foods?

@rosemarya, CKD patients are told to watch and limit sodium, phosphorus, and potassium. Sometimes they also need to limit protein. Some of the foods we are told to limit or avoid, usually because of high potassium content ailing kidneys no longer can filter and excrete efficiently are potatoes, tomatoes, dried beans, avocados, bananas, oranges, etc. High phosphorus drinks like dark colas should be avoided. Red meat should be limited or avoided and in some cases, as in mine, a low-meat or even vegetarian or vegan diet is recoommended.

Lately, though, some foods which were to be limited or avoided in the past now come in more kidney-friendly form like the lower-potassium baby potatoes or the Roma tomatoes. Also, my recipe collection addresses ways to prepare potatoes so there's less potassium in them.

@nene22 That sounds great for a rare treat for me . . . followed by an anti-diarrheal. I cannot tolerate fats, so the mozzarella, avocado and oil would put me over the edge. It sounds lovely though, that is why I would still eat it for special occasions without the oil. I love Balsamic also.

@mjctexas My oxalate tests use blood and urine. I have found the lists on the internet to be confusing and contradictory. How old is your list? The list I use I got from my clinical assistant in 1914. It is a copy from 1/11/2008 Master Oxalate List composed by Helen O'Connor from 23 sources. I refer to it frequently.
I am on several limiting diets that I call my CDOFF list. Basically I avoid root vegetables (except carrots), dairy, carbs, fats (no fried foods), fiber (no green leafies), chocolates, and bread. I suggest using the list you got from your physician and eliminating 3 of the worst oxalate offenders at a time. Hopefully you will see better test results and feel better as time goes on.