food

After being diagnosed with kidney failure I was given so much information it was overwhelming.  Besides having to be on dialysis I also had to follow a very strict diet.  In the hospital the dietician came in to talk to me about what I could and could not eat.  It was terrible.  She read over a list of foods that were not good for me because of the amount of sodium, phosphorous and potassium.  All of which when you have working kidneys can be eaten, but when your kidneys don't work those things turn into toxins that build up in your body and can make you feel awful.  The list of foods that were off limits to me made me cry.
No more:
chocolate
avocados
ice cream
milk
Peanut butter
beans
bananas
oranges
nothing with salt
tomatoes
pasta sauce
cereal
I want you to understand that I loved all these foods.  Reeses peanut butter cups were my go to treat. Guacamole is my world.  No more cereal and banana for breakfast.  What?! After the mourning period was over for what I couldn't eat anymore.  I had a hard time finding things to eat.  I was almost scared to eat.  I was finally feeling good after feeling so sick for so long and the thought that food could make me feel sick again scared me. So for the first week all I ate was chicken and rice.  Because another part of this diet is it is high protein.  I need to eat protein at every meal.  I wasn't used to eating like this.  You know healthy eating.  I was so lost.  Then slowly but surely I started figuring out yummy recipes.  I realized that in moderation I could enjoy those foods.  And the that the real key to sticking to this diet is cooking at home.  Restaurant food is so loaded with sodium it's crazy!  At home I can control my ingredients. Everything is fresh.  I can withhold the salt.  You know what else is terrible?  Fast food.  I mean duh, of course it's bad for you but seriously it's way worse than I ever thought.  And the "healthier" options on the menu seem to be the ones loaded with sodium.  My doctor told me that not just people with kidney disease should be on a low sodium diet, but EVERYONE should be on one. Restaurants have to post the nutritional information for their menu.  Pay attention to it. Ask the waiter for a list before ordering.  You will be surprised at how much sodium is put into food.  People are so concerned with the calorie intake but there is so much more to it than fat.  My point is this, what you put into your body is so important.  I never really paid any attention to it.  I was so busy taking care of 4 kids that I would just eat as fast as I could.  Sure I cooked dinners for my family, but they were not as healthy as they are now.  And we ate way more fast food than I care to admit.  But after a long day of school, homework, after school sports I just couldn't whip together a meal. So fast food it was.  But no more.  And I'm not so sad about it anymore. 

Just for fun here is yummy recipe I came up with that is easy to make and delicous:
Moms Meatloaf
1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound turkey meat
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 white onion chopped up
1 1/2 cup of milk
2 cups of panko bread crumbs
1 egg
2 cups of ketchup
Combine everything in a bowl.  Make 2 loaves with the meat mixture.  Bake at 400 for about 30-40 minutes.  It's really so yummy and delicious. And perfect for fall.


 And just for something cute to look at here is my Lucy, so proud of herself for figuring out how to "hang like a monkey"