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

@dks, thank you for your kind words. Your eGFR sounds good to me, under the circumstances.

Like you, I couldn't find any good (and realistic) vegetarian and vegan diets and dietitians in my area knew even less than I did about meat-free kidney diets! So I had to find values myself for vegetarian kidney recipes and experimented in my own kitchen for a couple of years.

I can post links, the problem is that I have no links to my recipes to post because my research was published in pdf format and posted here as pdfs. My computer crashed about a year ago and the refurbished replacement pc won't allow me to post pdfs. However, if you contact @gingerw. volunteer mentor in the kidney thread, I'm sure she can show you where those recipe collections are.

When you find them, please bear in mind that nutritional values for some brands and some ingredients have changed. When I wrote the first recipes, potassium amounts were not required to be on a label, for instance, but now they are on most labels. Phosphorus content still is not on most labels, though.

A good way to check nutrient values is the USDA website and I have found good information also on Self.com, just google those and you can navigate to those sites.

Since I first started "concocting" recipes, too many manufacturers have altered ingredient amounts so some of the values in my earlier research may not be accurate.

This doesn't mean the recipes are no longer good; they are still very doable on a kidney diet. It's just that some of the nutrition amounts may need to be updated.

Please keep me posted about your journey. Hopefully Ginger can help you find the pdfs in one of the kidney threads.

@dks, thank you for your kind words. Your eGFR sounds good to me, under the circumstances.

Like you, I couldn't find any good (and realistic) vegetarian and vegan diets and dietitians in my area knew even less than I did about meat-free kidney diets! So I had to find values myself for vegetarian kidney recipes and experimented in my own kitchen for a couple of years.

I can post links, the problem is that I have no links to my recipes to post because my research was published in pdf format and posted here as pdfs. My computer crashed about a year ago and the refurbished replacement pc won't allow me to post pdfs. However, if you contact @gingerw. volunteer mentor in the kidney thread, I'm sure she can show you where those recipe collections are.

When you find them, please bear in mind that nutritional values for some brands and some ingredients have changed. When I wrote the first recipes, potassium amounts were not required to be on a label, for instance, but now they are on most labels. Phosphorus content still is not on most labels, though.

A good way to check nutrient values is the USDA website and I have found good information also on Self.com, just google those and you can navigate to those sites.

Since I first started "concocting" recipes, too many manufacturers have altered ingredient amounts so some of the values in my earlier research may not be accurate.

This doesn't mean the recipes are no longer good; they are still very doable on a kidney diet. It's just that some of the nutrition amounts may need to be updated.

Please keep me posted about your journey. Hopefully Ginger can help you find the pdfs in one of the kidney threads.

@kamama94 @dks

You're right there is so much to educate ourselves on for diet, and it seems to change all the time. Right now, I am going through a period where there has to be an emphasis on getting good protein into me, but I don't feel like eating. I like mandarin oranges and their sweetness, and celery for its crunchiness, and some greek yogurt. So, it is a protein shake for me most days. My last tests from the dialysis clinic showed I am doing okay for albumin, but still losing weight that was not intended. It has my PD nurse and oncologist concerned, but I don't want to add in an appetite stimulant seeing that I am already taking so many medications!

I'll go track down those files!
Ginger

I'm a stage 3-4 CKD. After going to the ER last week, my husband is now on dialysis. I'm so, so thankful this happened in WI where we have good medical services when we were days away from going to our very remote, off-grid little home in AZ. So now we have a different focus on the foods he requires and the liquids he drinks. One of our biggest finds was monk fruit as a 1:1 replacement for sugar but the dietitians we've talked to don't seem to know much about it. It's available in liquid form from Amazon and in dry form with Erythritol from Costco. Does anyone have any input?

We also purchased some Green Salt. My husband, of course, doesn't like it but I think it's okay for some things - especially eggs. The website trygreensalt.com, however, doesn't do a very good job of explaining the contents other than saying that is has 50% less sodium than salt. It also has protein, fiber, magnesium, potassium, and Vit B3. I'm going to write to them and ask for a clearer picture on what this actually contains. In the meantime, does anyone know more about it?

In the booklet put out by DaVita, there's a picture which includes a container marked Vegan Ice Cream and another marked Almond Cheese. Where does one find those?

I hope today is a good day for everyone. Vicki

I'm a stage 3-4 CKD. After going to the ER last week, my husband is now on dialysis. I'm so, so thankful this happened in WI where we have good medical services when we were days away from going to our very remote, off-grid little home in AZ. So now we have a different focus on the foods he requires and the liquids he drinks. One of our biggest finds was monk fruit as a 1:1 replacement for sugar but the dietitians we've talked to don't seem to know much about it. It's available in liquid form from Amazon and in dry form with Erythritol from Costco. Does anyone have any input?

We also purchased some Green Salt. My husband, of course, doesn't like it but I think it's okay for some things - especially eggs. The website trygreensalt.com, however, doesn't do a very good job of explaining the contents other than saying that is has 50% less sodium than salt. It also has protein, fiber, magnesium, potassium, and Vit B3. I'm going to write to them and ask for a clearer picture on what this actually contains. In the meantime, does anyone know more about it?

In the booklet put out by DaVita, there's a picture which includes a container marked Vegan Ice Cream and another marked Almond Cheese. Where does one find those?

I hope today is a good day for everyone. Vicki

@ldrlaw Curious what happened with your husband that he had to be placed on dialysis? Did they do a chest catheter? How does this change your plans to winter in Arizona, now?

Here is what Cleveland Clinic has to say about monk fruit: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/why-you-should-use-monk-fruit-sweetener/
Sending you support as you go through this,
Ginger