Following a kidney-friendly, or renal, diet helps boost kidney function and prevent chronic kidney disease (CKD) from progressing. A renal diet allows you to reduce the amount of waste products in your blood, and a renal dietitian will provide you with a unique kidney-friendly diet plan to fit your body’s needs based on your stage of CKD. To help inspire you when cooking, the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) has released a new edition of their “Kidney Friendly” cookbook—here are a few of our favorites from each section.*

What factors into a kidney-friendly diet?

A renal diet is personalized based on: 

• Stage of CKD
• Appetite
• Weight changes
• Amount you urinate
• Other related health conditions, such as diabetes

In general, a kidney-friendly diet may have modified recommendations for your fluid intake and certain nutrients, which include: 

• Protein 
• Sodium 
• Phosphorus 
• Potassium
• Calcium 

Kidney-friendly recipes from “Kidney Cooking”

Main dish: “Special Pizza”

With cheese high in phosphorous and tomato sauce high in potassium, many people with CKD believe pizza is off-limits. This may be true when you think about popular pizza places for dine-in or take-out, this recipe limits common ingredients that may typically be a problem for people with kidney disease. Following the serving size recommendations of this recipe can allow you to enjoy pizza again in moderation.

You can find this recipe on page 33 of the cookbook.

Side dish: “Marinated Vegetables”

Are you eating enough vegetables? According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), adults should be consuming between five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day. You may find it difficult to make time to prepare and cook vegetables. With this recipe for marinated vegetables, you can prepare them in advance and store them in the refrigerator. They’ll stay ready-to-eat for several weeks, which is great for people with a busy lifestyle. 

You can find this recipe on page 69 of the cookbook.

Sauce: “Spicy Barbecue Sauce” 

Most store-bought sauces are too sodium-heavy. Making sauces from scratch is both fun and significantly healthier than most of what you can find on the shelf at the grocery store. Since barbecue recipes are not the same without the sauce, this spicy barbecue sauce is a great way to retain all of that good flavor without harming your kidneys.

You can find this recipe on page 13 of the cookbook.

Dessert: “Old Fashioned Pound Cake”

When you think of good sources of protein, desserts probably don’t cross your mind. With 10 grams of protein per slice, this pound cake has almost twice as much protein as one egg. If your renal dietitian wants you to increase your protein intake, this is a great dessert recipe to try out.

You can find this recipe on page 85 of the cookbook.

Drink: “Aloha Punch”

Store-bought Kool-Aid® and punches use phosphorus additives, thus they can be high in phosphorus. If you are monitoring your phosphorus intake, a trick to still enjoying these drinks is to mix them with a low-phosphorus beverage. With this punch recipe, you mix ginger ale (a low-phosphorus beverage) with Hawaiian Punch® (a high phosphorus beverage). 

You can find this recipe on page 107 of the cookbook.

Children’s recipe: “Crunchy Chicken Nuggets”

Finding healthy and palatable foods for children with kidney disease can be tough. For even the pickiest eaters, chicken nuggets tend to be a favorite. Try out this recipe with a low-fat ranch dressing or a homemade sauce (from the Sauces recipe section).

You can find this recipe on page 111 of the cookbook.

Special occasions: “Party Mix” 

Everyone loves a crunchy and savory snack to easily munch on at a social gathering. Many party mixes, however, contain high-phosphorus nuts and are typically high in sodium. This homemade party mix uses ingredients that are lower in sodium—making it a great go-to snack, whether at a party or at home. 

You can find this recipe on page 122 of the cookbook.

*National Kidney Foundation. (n.d.). Kidney Cooking: A Family Recipe Book for Kidney Patients.

https://www.kidney.org/sites/default/files/docs/kidney_cookbook_lr.pdf