Hi! I have been on a plant-based eating plan for several years now. I don't claim to be vegan because I do eat free-range eggs and a little honey and I do cook with almond milk instead of dairy milk and vegans often do not use almond milk because almond trees rely on bees for pollination. That said, I use no other animal products, including jello (because gelatin is animal-derived,) meaning no dairy whatsoever and no meat whatsoever. There are many good non-diary products available as well as "mock" meat (beware of extra potassium and phosphorus and spdium in processed foods) and most combinations of vegetables can provide complete protein just as animal sources do.

My "almost-vegan" food plan saved me from dialysis for at least two and a half years but my kidney function dropped dramatically when I had shingles and I wound up on dialysis for 6 months.

Apparently time was my friend because my loweered kidney function climbed from an eGFR of 8 to 17 and I have not needed dialysis since after the winter holidays in 2020.

I have remained on this meal plan and find as time goes by I'm not as tired as I was post-shingles and during dialysis and have been able to resume most of my regular household chores.

When I was first diagnosed with CKD I put myself on a renal diet and when my neph suggested a vegetarian diet I went back to the vegetarian eating plan I had used several years priior. I started experimenting with ingredients, substitutes, kidney-friendly items, and collected three batches of recipes downloaded below if you care to read them. Please bear in mind that manufacturers and producers change iingredients and amounts so nutritional values change also. In addition, since the earliest of my recipe collections was compiled, more information regarding nutrients has become available. Always read labels.

My current "mad chemistry" experients involve home-made vegan magic shell. Yep, as in chocolate. 1/4 C pure cacao (cocoa) powder has scant phosphorus, potassium, and sodium - it's the dairy added to cocoa that makes it a no-no for renal patients. I will let everyone know how my coconut oil/maple sugar/cacao concoction turns out.

Jello is another experiemnt in the works, I'll be using agar (seaweed) instead of animal based gelatin with fairly low-sugar fruit juice and will post results whenever I've finished playing in the kitchen.

As for weight loss, in 2 years on my vegetarian meal rotation I lost nearly 40 pounds. I'm diabetic and have a cortisol problem and am still considered morbidly obese. I'm realistic about losing weight - it takes a lot of time and attention and results are slow. But my A1Cs are normal so I know what I'm eating is right for my diabetes.

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