When you’re placed on a renal diet, you don’t have to say goodbye to flavor forever. While these special diets are restrictive, it’s critical that patients find ways to genuinely enjoy their food intake. The last thing you want is to end up dreading each meal since a healthy diet is a critical part of maintaining a healthy kidney. To help make sure your meals are full of flavor, here are a few tips for making a renal diet more interesting.
Find recipes that use limited ingredients.
Whenever you’re feeling stumped about what to cook, you can use helpful cooking apps and websites that suggest recipes based on certain ingredients you can eat. This way, you won’t spend hours looking through cookbooks only to realize that the recipe you chose has one ingredient you can’t have. SuperCook is a great resource which allows you to choose ingredients from different food categories or by typing them in manually. Based on the ingredients you chose, the app will give you hundreds of matching recipes from popular cooking sites.
Spice-up your spice rack.
Salt and pepper are the de-facto spice combination for a variety of foods. As a result, all flavor options can seem to disappear when you begin a low-sodium renal diet. In reality, there are countless spices you can use to add some mouth-watering flavors to your food. It’s just a matter of culinary exploration. Here are some spices you can consider adding to your spice rack:
Basil – This sweet herb can lighten the flavor of a sauce or add a nice taste to a sandwich.
Bay Leaf – If you’re ever slow-cooking a stew, soup, pâté, or similar dish, consider throwing in this leaf to add a distinct fragrance and flavor.
Cinnamon – When you’re looking to add some sweet taste to a dish while still remaining healthy, this delicious spice is a great option.
Ginger – This intriguing and healthy spice is often used in Asian recipes with fish or poultry but can also be used with fruit salads and even some drinks.
Oregano – You can easily add this vitamin K-rich spice to various dishes to add some minty and earthy flavors to your meals while also helping to support blood and bone health.
Unlock the power of sauces.
When a few dashes of a flavorful spice don’t quite cut it, sauces are a great way to bring a host of flavors and substance to bland meals. The great thing about a sauce is its nearly unlimited customizability. You can control the consistency, textures, and taste by adding in different ingredients and spices. Those foods with little to no flavor will automatically take on the flavor of your sauce, giving you even greater flexibility and control.
Use citrus as a flavor enhancer.
Lime and lemon juice might be unbearable alone, but they’re a great flavor enhancer when added to different dishes in moderation. If you’re a fan of fish, lemons are a great way to add a little tang to an otherwise bland meal. Salads are another great dish for throwing in some citrus flavors. You can use bottled juices or use the pure citrus from the fruits themselves.
A renal diet doesn’t have to be void of interesting flavors and exciting meals. This is a great opportunity to explore different recipes, foreign cuisines, and unfamiliar foods that better fit your current health needs than your previous diet. If you cook for the entire household, you can take your family along with you on this culinary adventure.
At Dialysis Systems Management, we’re dedicated to helping our patients transition into their new lifestyles smoothly and successfully. We understand the challenges you’re going through and are here to help. Feel free to contact us today with any questions.