Christmas is in less than one week!  Many people plan their holiday meals in advance with the their staples like turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and the like.  But what about people on a renal diet?  We looked to Fresenius Kidney Care for some holiday meal planning and shopping tips that are easy to follow and won’t be difficult to manage this close to your holiday meal.

One of the biggest tasks is finding foods that are not too salty and with no phosphate additives can be tough. Take a look at the tips below for some practical suggestions below:

Shopping For Your Kidney-Friendly Holiday Meal

• Select fresh ingredients when possible. For example: Fresh or frozen green beans are better than canned. If you prefer canned, choose no added salt or a low sodium version.
• Purchase the ingredients to make your dressing or stuffing yourself! Boxed dressing and stuffing mixes are easy to prepare, but tough on salt and phosphorus control.

Kidney-Friendly Holiday Meal Preparation

• Make your own gravy using drippings from the turkey; it will be less salty than gravy from mixes and jars. You can never beat the taste of a fresh homemade turkey gravy!
• Double boil potatoes and other vegetables to reduce potassium and make them a healthier choice for your holiday meal.
• Reduce or cut out the salt from any recipe to make it more “renal friendly”. Start by reducing the amount in half.

To read this entire article including some great kidney-friendly holiday recipes like a Bavarian Pot Roast, crunchy green bean casserole and even cream cheese sugar cookies click here!

Source: FreseniusKidneyCare.com