Living with chronic kidney disease can be extra difficult if the people around you, especially your family, are not on board with the many changes you need to make. Your diagnosis came with a lot of diet and lifestyle recommendations, but sticking to those might be hard without the support of the people around you. Your diet especially has a huge impact on your overall health and condition, so whatever you can do to make sure that you are following up with the changes you need to make is of the utmost importance.
One thing that could make your life and diet much easier is if you aren’t the only person around you eating healthy. This means including your entire family in your kidney friendly diet. You might think that your family may not go for it, but there are plenty of delicious family friendly meals that fit into your kidney safe diet.
Make It Yourself Meals
Especially if you have smaller children, healthy make it yourself type meals are always a winner. Even the pickiest eaters can find something that works for them, and being able to make their own plates will let them have more control over their choices.
Tacos: Taco night will be a family favorite when you offer plenty of assorted options for topping off delicious tacos. Offer soft and hard flour tacos, fish or turkey filling with low sodium spices, and plenty of fresh veggies as toppings. Carrots, onion, bell pepper, lettuce, and cucumber are some delicious favorites. Top with a little bit of shredded cheese.
Mini Pizzas: Making your own mini pizzas is another great option for households with kids. Use pita or English muffins as the base for your mini pizzas. As tomato sauce isn’t the best choice for kidney patients, have unsalted pesto sauce for yourself (and anyone else that opts for it). Toppings can be grilled chicken, onions, bell peppers, broccoli, pineapple, and more.
Kabobs: Great for the grill or the oven, kabobs are another meal that puts each person in charge of his or her own plate. Simply offer cubes of lean meats such as fish, chicken, or shrimp and plenty of fresh vegetables to skewer. Serve over rice and/or a salad.
Pasta Galore
Most kids love pasta. You can up the health factor by offering whole wheat pasta, as long as it is in the diet plan discussed between you and your doctor or nutritionist. To keep things kidney friendly, opt for salt free pesto sauce, nondairy cheese sauces, or Alfredo made with cream cheese. Add in plenty of vegetables wherever you can. Make sure to watch your portions as it is easy to overdo it with pasta.
Delicious Simplicity
Always remember that the simpler your plates are the better. Fill your plates with delicious produce, a serving of rice or pasta, and a lean protein option. If you try to get too fancy, you might turn off some of those picky eaters.
Not only can feeding your whole family kidney friendly meals help you stick to your necessary diet plan, but you will also be helping your family. Children especially learn their habits from you, so offering the healthiest foods at mealtime will help them learn healthy eating habits as early as possible. Feeding your family kidney friendly meals is not just about you, it is about your whole family’s health. For more information about a renal diet, click here.
Also published on Medium.
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