While I am unable to provide personal nutrition advice to the readers who come to this blog I want to encourage those of you with questions about your own diet to contact your dietitian for a meal plan that is personalized to YOU! There is no “one size fits all” renal diet and the best advice is always tailored to your own needs.
I thought I would devote this blog to the holiday weekend that is coming up. I have spent most of my time talking about sodium and salt but many kidney patients have to worry about many other nutrients including: protein, phosphorus, potassium, fluid, and sugars if they are diabetic. Planning a Thanksgiving Feast with so much to think about can be a daunting task! Enjoy turkey, cranberries, stuffing (made with white bread), green beans, rice, salads. If you are limiting potassium be sure to double boil your potatoes (bring the potatoes to a boil, discard the water and start anew) and avoid yams, pumpkin, squash.
Today I want to talk turkey!
When purchasing your Thanksgiving bird remember to read the label – if the turkey is “seasoned” or prestuffed there may be salt and phosphates that have been added. Choose a fresh or frozen turkey that has no additives. Thaw the turkey in the refrigerator and use a meat thermometer to make sure that it is fully cooked. (Nothing spoils Thanksgiving like food poisoning!!) Cook stuffing separately from the turkey. If you must stuff your turkey, make sure the turkey reaches 180F and the stuffing reaches 165F. Your oven should be set no lower than 325F.
No holiday meal is complete without a fantastic dessert and I highly recommend these Spiced Pear Cupcakes with Maple Frosting developed by Chef Leslie Cairns! They were a huge hit with our dialysis patients last year and an even bigger hit with my children. They are a decadent lower phosphorus, lower potassium alternative to pumpkin pie.
Pear Cupcakes (yields 24-30 cupcakes)
½ tsp dry ginger
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cinnamon
2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 medium pears peeled & chopped
1 cup pear juice
Preheat oven to 350 F. Sift dry ingredients together. Cream butter & sugar. Add eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Add vanilla. Alternate adding dry ingredients with pear juice. Fold in pears. Bake in lined muffin tins for approximately 15-20 minutes.
1 cupcake with frosting = 3 starch choices, or 2 starch choices if using Splenda
Maple Frosting
4 cups icing sugar
½ cup butter (softened)
1 tsp maple extract
¼ cup milk
Cream butter & sifted icing sugar. Add maple essence & milk. Spread frosting on top of cupcakes. Lick bowl!
Happy Thanksgiving!