Confused with diet friendly recipes

[flipperfun]

Hello everyone, I am getting more and more confused with what a kidney friendly diet actually is.

I have read on this site somewhere? about mushrooms being OK and yet I thought they were high in potassium.  I have also seen recipes with tomato sauce another high potassium ingredient. 

Does this mean they are kidney friendly only if potassium and phosphates (dairy) are OK, so again my question is, what actually makes them kidney friendly recipes??

Confused I am!

[billybags]

Yes the kidney diet is a mine field. Hubby  does not eat: bananas, mushrooms, melons, advaccado, prawns, mackerel, bacon he might have a very small cherry tomato now and a gain. The thing is have a little of what you fancy, do not go mad.

[peleroja]

When in doubt, this is the best place I found to get info:  http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/index.html  My rule of thumb is all things in moderation, including moderation.  You just can't eat a banana, tomato, avocado, raisins, etc. all in the same day.  Spread them out over several days.  If it helps, keep a log on Excel.  For the first year I was on dialysis I listed protein, potassium, phosphorus, sodium and fat.  By making out my menus in advance, I could control these things before eating them, and tweak the menus as necessary.  If you eat out like I do, many restaurants list their nutrition counts on line.  Hope that helps!

[Desert Dancer]

Here is what I have done: I sat down with my dietician and asked her for a ceiling, in milligrams, for each value I need to keep an eye on. Then I asked her if I could multiply that value by seven and work within a weekly framework rather than a daily one. She said yes. So then I went out and bought one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Bowes-Churchs-Values-Portions-Commonly/dp/0397554354

It's the book the dieticians rely upon and has values for everything you could think of, including fluid. I've gone through it and made a list of the values for all the foods I commonly have in the house; then I just have to look at my list and add up the values to know what total a meal will have.  So far it's worked for me.

[jbeany]

Part of the problem is that what is kidney friendly for one patient isn't for another.  At times, I had low potassium and had to eat more of it.  You need to figure out what works for your labs, not some generic "kidney patient".

[Restorer]

About mushrooms: "one serving" of mushrooms, as it's used for many of those charts, is half a cup of raw mushrooms. That might be twice as much as you'd put on a small salad, so that's fine. But mushrooms cook way down - one serving of some kind of mushroom sauce might have considerably more.

[-Lady Noir-]

Part of the problem is that what is kidney friendly for one patient isn't for another.  At times, I had low potassium and had to eat more of it.  You need to figure out what works for your labs, not some generic "kidney patient".

 

[Hazmat35]

I eat mushrooms, cooked / saute'd several times a week.  I also eat tomato's and tomato sauces.  Tomato sandwhich's are my favorite in the summer months. 

It's all about moderation and taking your Phosphorous Binders.  I love Cheese Omelets w/ mushrooms, tomato's, green peppers, etc.  I have at least one a week.  But I make sure that I take my Binders, and watch the balance of the remainder of the meals. 

My Phosphorous has been about 4.2 for months, so I'm not so worried.  You have to enjoy what you have!!!!  But within reason.  It's all about balance.