Renal safe meal replacerment? Edible

[kickingandscreaming]

Can anyone recommend a decent-tasting meal replacement that lowers over all caloric intake?

[PrimeTimer]

You might find something you like in the recipes section on the Davita site. They have a Recipe Category drop-down menu with choices from A-Z. They list all the pertinent stuff like Phos, Potassium, Sodium, etc but also the amount of calories for each serving. I hope this is what you meant by "renal safe meal replacement".

[kickingandscreaming]

Thank you, PT, but it's not.  I'm looking for something in a can that is actually palatable.  I'm not looking for any more work in the kitchen or in the process of eating.

[rcjordan]

When I was in the hospital after my nephrectomy, they gave me a couple of brands.  The only one that I could tolerate was Nepro Mixed Berry.  Not good, but tolerable.

https://www.amazon.com/Nepro-Carb-Steady-Nutrition-Containers/dp/B000MTKGR6/

[GA_DAWG]

The one thing I could recommend is the chocolate flavored Rockin Protein drinks. Each one contains 30 grams of protein and only 280 mg of potassium. Fairly low in phosphorous too, and are lactose free. The chocolate flavor tastes really good too. Vanilla is okay but with about twice the potassium.

[kickingandscreaming]

Rockin Protein drinks

Unfortunately, reality doesn't quite match.  According to amazon, it has only 20g protein and quite a lot of carbs and sugar and lots of dairy (made from milk) and 760 potassium and 45% of MDR of phosphorus. 

[GA_DAWG]

They have different products. I have one in my hands that says it is 30 g of protein, 280 mg potassium in each 12 ounces. This is the one labeled Rockin Protein Builder. In addition there are only 6g of sugar per 12 ounces. I normally divide it into 6 ounces per day which gives me 15g of protein and only 140mg potassium. As I said, the vanilla and strawberry flavors have about twice the potassium, so when those are the only option, I divide it into thirds.

[kickingandscreaming]

Thank you, GA Dawg.  Do you have calcium restrictions?  This claims to be 70% of the MDR of calcium and 50% of phosphorus.  That's a lot of both.  Do you worry about them?

[GA_DAWG]

No, I do not have calcium restrictions, in fact I am given calcium. The phosphorus is 45% according to the label. One would definitely need to take binders after drinking this, but as a source of protein, that actually tastes good, it is an option, an option that was approved by our nutritionist. A question was asked and I gave an answer that works for me and one I presented to our nutritionist and my neph before using. I also gave the correct amounts of protein and potassium contained. Unfortunately, we have very few options that are 100% free of potassium, phosphorus, or calcium. My potassium and phosphorus currently run in the high 3 to low 4 range. Fortunate for certain and undoubtedly due in part to residual function, but still something I am cognizant of and concerned with.

[Charlie B53]

I am not a fan of any of those drinks.  I have a problem with the taste.

Meals, I don't eat near as much as I used to when I worked.

PD I swear saved my life.  The constant 'Fill' really made the difference.  I simply could not eat near as much as I used to.

All my life I had been very active, burning mass quantities of calories.  So when I stopped working I really started gaining excessive amounts of weight.

Renal failure then started adding mass quantities of water weight.

I looked like a fat balloon.

Not able to eat much I decided to stop eating near as much 'flour' products as they contains so many excess carb calories.

My meals now consist of a piece of lean meat and maybe a cup of frozen vegetables.  Done.

Grill, fry, Roast, or broil the meat while the frozen veggies are in the micro-wave.

Coffe and a blueberry muffin for breakfast.  Some days I fry a couple of eggs and a slice of that 40 carb wheat bread toasted.

So far I've lost just over 100 lbs and am 20 pounds UNDER my High School Football and Army weight.

I NEVER EVER thought I would be under that weight.  But I am.

And I still have a small jelly roll that is slowly still going away.  I don't doubt I will be under 180 in a couple more years.

[GA_DAWG]

That is the difference in this product for me Charlie, the taste is like regular chocolate milk, not all the chalky taste. One of the nurses at the center gave me one of the shakes they pass out one time. I took one swallow and asked her what I did to make her mad. The dietitian usually recommends a whet protein mix, but those things are usually terrible in taste, and she has brought some cookies as samples before that are available at Walmart, but $5 for two cookies is kind of extreme. I figure 6 oz with good taste is that gives me 15g protein is about the best I can do.

[Riki]

When I was a kid, we had Ensure and Boost, which I hated with a passion, but I think part of it was because they mixed it with Kayexcdlate (sp?) so it tasted like crap and has to be shook up from time to time because it would all settle to the bottom.  I was given a banana flavor that I could barely tolerate.  I still have a hard time with anything banana flavored.  There was also a maple one that I was allowed to freeze and eat it, it wasn't too bad.

Dialysis kids are picky eaters, if they eat at all, so this stuff was meant more for those who didn't eat much.  Luckily, I ate well at home, and was more picky when I was in hospital, so I didn't need it at home.  When I was in hospital, however, that bottle came up every morning with the breakfast trays.

[GA_DAWG]

That should have been a whey protein. I can't imagine dealing with the dietary restrictions as a kid Riki, nor the fluid restrictions. Most kids are a bit picky to begin with, and then to have so many things restricted.

[Riki]

That should have been a whey protein. I can't imagine dealing with the dietary restrictions as a kid Riki, nor the fluid restrictions. Most kids are a bit picky to begin with, and then to have so many things restricted.

Most of the kids that had it didn't eat at all, especially those few who had been on dialysis since birth, and there was a couple of them.  This "formula" (what we called it) was all they had all day.  They didn't eat or drink anything else.

I actually think kids are more resilient than adults when it comes to this stuff.  IF you've been doing it most of your life, you don't feel like you are missing out.  I started when I was 12, so I think what I missed most were things like potato chips and chocolate.  When the rest of my family were having bacon and eggs, I was having fried potatoes and green beans, and I actually loved it.  Still prefer it to bacon and eggs.  Like now, I didn't have to worry about potassium as much back then, so the potatoes weren't that big a deal.

[GA_DAWG]

I still make a hash with fried potatoes every Friday night for dinner. I peel the potatoes Thursday night and let them soak overnight and all day Friday. Potatoes, tomatoes and cantelope are still the hardest things for me to leave alone.

[Marilee]

So far, it's the "decent tasting" part of the store-bought meal replacement for ESRD that has me stumped, but here are my thoughts:
1. Hummus. Garbanzo beans have the least phosphorus of any beans, and due to their less-absorbabe phosphorus, makes them a decent source of low-fat protein. Enjoy on celery, crackers or flatbread. Many brands even come in single-serving packs for a quick grab (just gotta read their labels of course).
2. Home-made jerky. I've been making some for my hubby to knosh on - it's not hard to keep a bunch on hand - and it provides quick protein with not too much fat, and I can control the seasonings (in our case, we're actually trying to boost his sodium levels as well as protein levels).
3. Roast Chicken. Keep on hand in the fridge for a quick grab any time - don't even have to make something with it - just chow down.
4. Egg whites - About the best source of issue-free protein - can be whipped up with a little sugar (not a lot) and baked into macaroons (just skip the nuts). That's another do-ahead thing.

We've got mini-cartons of Nephro here, but hubby grimaces when he sees them, even when I lace them with a little chocolate (which does help - just doesn't get all the way to "tasty").

[Marilee]

So, a little late, but this weekend my hubby is 'stuck' on a liquid diet (getting ready for the ol' colonoscopy) so I bought a protein drink called "Protein2o" - basically, it's water, whey protein isolate and flavorings. It's only 60 calories for 15 grams of protein, so just about the best protein supplement I've been able to find.

A similar product, different brand, is "Premium Protein Clear" (not their shakes, but their Clear water). Same ingredients.

Hubby says they don't taste bad, so I'm delighted to have these handy to boost his protein levels daily.

The phosphorus levels aren't listed on the labels, but given that it's all whey protein isolate, it'll be around 150mg, or 10mg per gram of protein. I called the folks at "Premium Protein", and they said that their Clear drink has zero mg. phosphorus, but I can't see how that's possible: Maybe they meant zero added phosphates... Anyway, a protein option without a ton of calories. . Had to share.