Cooking Channel

I watch the Cooking Channel. A lot. Unlike the Food Network, the cooking channel spends a significant amount of time on cooking, not contests. And I'm glad I do, because this morning I was introduced to this - grilled grapes - genius! (Although I haven't tried it yet - eek).

http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/spiced-chicken-and-grape-skewers-recipe/index.html



When I was first told that I had to follow a low potassium diet, and be aware of all the other restrictions, I spent hours looking at kidney specific recipes (aka davita.com). While Davita is the most useful site out there for CKD and Dialysis patients, it is not the place to go for good food. It is the place to go for your favorites altered (aka makes them taste bad) or to learn about the differences between phosphorus additives vs. naturally occurring phosphorus (most helpful!). I say, branch out and learn to love new foods, b/c you will enjoy your food a thousand times more. Unless you really love bad salsa and cream cheese, in which case even if you don't have kidney problems you will love the davita website.

Otherwise, I say look for kidney friendly recipes that were created not because they were thinking of kidney patients, but were created because people thought they tasted good!

Just think of all the grilled skewer possibilities...pineapple, shrimp, red pepper...I know my parents can't wait for me to experiment on their grill!!

My two favorite foods are...

Collard Greens.



Why? B/c this leafy green has calcium and unlike those other leafy greens it has far less potassium. Rumour has it collard greens are bitter, but I actually think they taste better than other dark greens. Remember, just say no to kale and spinach.

Frozen Grapes.



My favorite thing about frozen grapes is that whenever somebody mentions them, they always act like it is their brilliant new idea. But who can blame them, frozen grapes are magical. Every time you bite into a little natural frozen slushy of grape goodness you can't help but think, "These are delicious why don't I do this more often? I need to tell other people about the amazing evolutionary phenomenon that occurs when grapes are placed in the freezer."

What an ingredient label should look like...

Ingredients: Pork, Water, Salt, Crushed Red pepper, Sugar, Whole Fennel Seed, paprika, Black pepper, Chili powder, Ground red cayenne pepper
...this is happy :)

What an ingredient label should not look like...
Ingredients: Beef, Water, Textured soy protein concentrate (soy protein concentrate, caramel color), eggs, contains less than 2% of the following: Romano Cheese, Dehydrated onion, natural flavors, corn syrup solids, bread crumbs, soy protein concetrate, textured soy flour, salt, sodium phosphate
...this is sad :(