I'm trying sooo hard to go plant based, but struggle getting full without chicken, turkey or fish (no red meat!). Every vegetarian recipe I find has lot of carbs, and as a diabetic, they all immediately raise my blood sugar (yes, even whole grains). I'd like to find about a dozen meals I can just cycle through.
I've tried searching "low carb plant based recipes" but they all seem to assume low carb means 100g of carbs per meal! I keep mine under 50g for the whole day. I'm a diet-controlled diabetic.
Any suggestions of meals or places to look? My dietitian was no help!
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Yes, something has to give when you give up parts of the food chain. I know I had a horrible time with the diabetic thing, along with low potassium consumption. What a joke.
If your potassium is ok, try using lentils and beans to fill in with less carbs. They are a good source of protein as well, without being too much. We also discovered certain pasta raised our levels more than others. We like the Del Checco brand. A bit more expensive.
There is spaghetti squash that is good. I got sick of it. And you can spiralize veggies to make them seem like a pasta product. Lots of work but good with summer veggies like zuchinni. But again, high in potassium.
Be careful not to get you protein levels too low. Mine did and I began to feel bad. So I added chicken and turkey back in a couple of meals a week. Really made me feel better. And there is no point in doing something that makes you sick.
I will be truthful here. I ate so much salad for years that when I went on dialysis, I stopped eating them completely. For the first time in two months, I ate one tonight for dinner. But I added cooked ground turkey and cheese for the protein.
I'm grateful my potassium is normal. I forgot about spiralizing zucchini - I even have all the equipment! I do eat shiratake noodles, though it took me some time to get used to them. Now I like them! I also alternate with hearts of palm "noodles". For some reason, I was only thinking of red sauce with these pasta substitutes, but you've got me thinking about expanding that. I've gotten into a bad habit of eating chicken twice a day. My goal is twice a week. I'll get there, I just have to have a plan. Thanks so much for the encouragement - especially from a kidney rock star! 😍
Hi Basset, you mentioned certain pasta raises levels. I find I am turning to pasta a lot, with roasted peppers and a little chicken etc. Is Del Chicco pasta a better option health wise? It’s not one I know, thank you
Yes, dieticians are rarely helpful. My hubby is a T2D who went through kidney disease, dialysis, and a couple of years ago received a transplant. You're a very wise lady for keeping your carbs low, low, low. My hubby started too late with serious dietary changes and suffered the consequences. We finally realized the seriousness of sugars and carbs (which turn into sugar) and raises glucose. It's high glucose that narrows and stiffens the vessels throughout the body, including the filtration vessels in kidneys. And that can result in kidney failure, heart issues, limb loss, etc. Processed food items have the highest carb values. Over time, we realized that the following items are huge culprits in driving up glucose - all products made with flour like breads and pastas and sugary items as well as staples such as potatoes and rice. So, if you can remember the main culprits, you're well on your way to easier shopping and cooking. We substitute cauliflower rice for rice, we substitute zucchini either diced, sliced, or spiralized for pasta, we simply substitute another vegetable for a potato or use mashed cauliflower, etc. Interestingly, we also layer zucchini and add pizza sauce and toppings for pizza; no crust needed. (Cauliflower pizza crusts often have added flour.) You'll find the meals far tastier! As for fruits, the fruits in the berry family are very low sugar and carb whereas others, like grapes, are little sugar bombs. So we stick with blueberries, strawberries, cantaloupe, etc. If you really crave bread and so on, you can find low-carb bread, reduced carb ice cream, etc. at grocery stores if you look carefully. But look at those labels just to make sure they're truly low carb. (Sometimes the titling is misleading.) Sure, you may pay a little more, but one's health is worth it. We, too, noticed that the renal diet and the diabetes diet are often at odds with each other. When there's that dilemma, the diabetes diet takes precedent. This also means that my hubby diet includes protein - protein has few if any carbs - and we favor "fins and feathers" over steak, etc. My hubby did wonderfully well following his doctor's advice - he almost managed to save his kidneys but he started a little too late. His numbers rallied beautifully, but then his blood pressure soared and dialysis was initiated to bring it down. He successfully got himself off all diabetes meds (including insulin) while on PD. His doctors, including his nephs, applauded the achievement. This also helped in getting on the transplant list. My hubby's immunosuppressants has brought back the diabetes (including the need for insulin) so we're doing all we can to stop it from harming his gift. I'm exceptionally glad you're interested in dealing with your situation too. Sending you all of the encouragement in the world that you will find success!
Statins are used to treat high cholesterol and triglyceride. But yes you are correct in ultra low carb without taking a GLP -1 antagonist used for diabets
With diabetes, controlling cholesterol and triglycerides will always be an issue; they're inexorably linked. The overriding culprit - elevated glucose - stiffens and narrows the vessels. Then, the damaged lining inside arteries also makes it more likely for cholesterol to stick and narrow or block them. So diabetics take insulin (or pills) for the glucose, and statins for cholesterol. This puts diabetics between a rock and a hard place regarding diets - whether to focus on the carbs and sugars to control the glucose or to focus on the fats that might stick to your vessels. My hubby handles by working with both - he tightly controls sugars and carbs but also enjoys less fatty proteins like chicken, shrimp, etc. And he makes sure all fats are not "artificial" fats but the real deal. But all of that can lead to very severe weight loss. It's a balancing act. One does have to eat to survive. Hope you find a great middle road for yourself. Diabetes needs a cure!
Thanks so much for the encouragement! I've been eating low carb for 12 years now, so gave up all 'white' foods and many fruits years ago. Very limited processed foods. I do all my own cooking and baking. I'm ever so grateful that I love vegetables as much as I do! All those years of eating low carb and controlling my BS, I really focused on meat. I've given up red meat since my diagnosis 2.5 years ago, but I still eat chicken and fish. Just trying not to make that the focus of the meal anymore, w hile still controlling my diabetes. My nephrologist told me to focus more on my diabetes than a kidney diet, but I'd like to do both.
You and my hubby are doing the same thing! And, by default, I'm essentially doing that too. It's definitely a very healthy lifestyle. And remarkably tasty! The "white stuff" doesn't really have much taste to them. May you live a long and beautiful life!
I dont know what stage you are currently but, at least for stage 3 and lower, protein restriction may be of little or no benefit according to a fairly recent scientific report ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
In addition to yourself, Darlenia and many others I have found dieticians are not helpful and I generally recommend qualified, Nutritional Therapists instead. My mum has benefitted.
At least. Mum (ckd3) is planning to nudge up her protein intake in a controlled way. When she does that depends on imminent blood test results which hopefully are not adversely affected by fairly recent covid then shingles 🤞
Hi, I'm on a plant-based low carb diet, the low carb part just because I kept gaining weight with carbs like rice and noodles and I was trying to lose weight. I wound up with just a few foods I really like, soup with my favorite vegetables, but I'm fully satisfied with it even after three years. My problem was more an "eating my feelings" habit, and I still eat roasted, unsalted peanuts in the shell, so the process takes more time and keeps my fingers busy. Don't know if you have the weight and emotional eating problems, but you might do well on a similar diet. One of my meals is just a salad with the vegies I like and also apples and raisins, don't know if you have to be more careful about fruits, I'm guessing yes? I eat lots of blueberries. I find the vegetable miso soup quite filling partly because of all the liquid. Good for you and good luck. (I don't use a dietician either, tho I did study nutrition in college)
Cauliflower, celery, cabbage, onions, garlic, peppers especially red, mushrooms, and fresh pineapple. Add no salt garlic bread seasoning. Pineapple gives it the great taste! Add “Better than Bouillon”into the water.
Cook on stove top and it smells great! Tastes even better!
Use use as soup or just vegtables. I keep it on the stove at least weekly. If I get hungry I just fix a cup. I make 1/2 piece of sourdough toast with it as well once in a while.
Hope you enjoy and your kidneys love it!!🥰
Arugula salads with berries and feta and bacon bits is another go too. My kidney loves arugula.
I also make pasta with palmetto noodles instead of traditional noodles they are made from hearts of palm. It is great! Buy them online or at Aldi. Hope this helps. Eating out is a challenge.
I understand the frustration.. I finally just threw out the things I knew where bad (Colas...Salt...Sugar)...and ate according to my Lab Numbers. I ate what I wanted and if I saw something like Potassium or Calcium going out of range, I would eat less of it...If my range was low, I would eat a bit more of it.
Kidney Disease effects all of us so differently...what works for someone may not work for another...I go by my Labs and how I feel
Thats what I do ..and actually I have found very few foods make my numbers change greatly either way...but everyone is different... we can drive ourselves crazy trying to find nutrition and I am not sure how much that effort effects anything...It took me 23 years to go from 3b to Dialysis...I eat pretty much anything I want...but super careful with Salt and Sugar...and I take a binder when I eat to help get rid of any phosphorus that gets by me
Your replied really helped me feel so positive. I am stage 3a and going round the bend re what to eat. I need to take a step back and revisit food sensibly. Thank you x
Thankyou...Kidney Diet can put us in such tailspins...We need to be cautious, but so much of it is just really someone's opinion...Kidney Disease is NOT a one size fits all...and good balanced Nutrition is so important. Just be mindful of your Labs (I do mine monthly) and adjust...but again, most of what you read is "someone's opinion"...including mine...
While I dont have specific recipies. Hows about tofu and veggies. you can saute it with a little curry power so it forms nice crust. Tofu tastes like anything you do with it. BUT why go off Turkey amd chicken completely? What stage disease are you in? Some won't hurt. It's not the protein that affects the kidney bit rather the organ's ability to process it- to keep it out of the urine and blood, speaking in on very simple terms.
I love tofu, but try to limit to once or twice a week for other health reasons. I'm not completely eliminating chicken and fish - I'd just like to cut it down from twice a day to twice a week.
Have you looked into a meal delivery service? I just found one online called, The purple carrot. I don’t know if you want to have home delivery or not but this one appears to be home delivered.
I've never heard of the purple carrot! I did take a peek at their website, and while there are too many carbs for me, I did get some ideas of meals I can adapt and make. Thanks!
Hi! I’m not specifically low carb, but I’m vegetarian and mostly plant-based. If you like mushrooms (very low carb!), they can be quite filling - especially the portobello and more ‘meaty’/solid mushrooms. The king oyster mushrooms can be pulled apart like chicken or pork and flavoured with anything you like, just how you’d flavour meat. They’d also work in a curry instead of meat as they’d carry all the flavour. Not the cheapest veg, but probably cheaper than meat!
Oh, I also add chia seeds to my diet to up my protein and keep me fuller. You can soak them in any liquid or stir through yoghurt, and they’re a great for extra nutrients. So you could see if that is an option for you.
on YouTube check out Mr Crafty Man. He was a long-term diabetic that came down with stage four chronic kidney disease and developed a plan that cured him of both. He gives multiple YouTube videos showing the meals he and his wife cooked that were low-carb.
In my experience, when I cut out animal protein i could up the carb total without affecting my blood sugar. You need to eat bulky carbs like lentils and beans to replace the red meat.
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