Tips for Making Kidney-Friendly Cheesecake

Dairy products are high in phosphorus.  That’s what you’ve heard, right? But did you know, a select few items like brie, feta, and cream cheese are considered low phosphorus choices?   In America, we really do love our dairy products and I can’t tell you how many times patients have been excited to find out that, yes, you CAN HAVE certain dairy products without your phosphorus shooting through the roof.

So in honor of  Valentine’s Day, we bring you a creamy, delectable cheesecake that you can enjoy with your significant other, family, or just yourself.  It actually freezes well, so you could freeze it and pull it out later too.  It is low in phosphorus, moderate in sodium (if you can stop at 1/8 of the pie instead of the whole pie) and can be stopped with your favorite berry or cherry cheesecake topping (Yep, all those best cheesecake toppings are low in potassium too!)  Don’t forget a small dollop of whipped cream!  If you really want to get crazy, you could sprinkle 1-2 tsps of chocolate shavings on the top.  They’ll only put you back 35-40 mg of phosphorus for the day.We topped ours with blackberries and a berry sauce.  I always cheat on the sauce and melt a little jam in the microwave with a little bit of water and some fresh or frozen berries, but you could cook one from scratch if you’re so inclined.  We used a small dollop of Cool Whip® on the top.

A word to the wise on sodium for this meal.

1. Crusts:  I went through our local Walmart (it is 5 minutes from my house so probably the grocery store I frequent most) and looked at premade crust versus cookies.  Turns out that there isn’t a huge difference and maybe even a little bit less sodium in a premade crust because they can make it really really thin.  The crust lowest in sodium, by almost 50% was a granola crust versus a graham cracker or cookie crust.  It is likely a little bit higher in phosphorus then the graham crust, but at the time of this post I hadn’t heard back from either company on the phos content.  Still, you can cut out some sodium just by being conscious of the brand you buy.  If you don’t even care about the crust for taste or texture, then consider a crustless cheesecake.  You’ll save yourself 100-200mg sodium.
2. Cream Cheese: Cream cheese varies widely in sodium content and it seems the lower the fat content, often the higher the salt content.  Do yourself a favor and enjoy a regular cream cheese for this dessert instead of fat-free or 1/3 less fat.  You’ll save yourself several hundred milligrams of sodium.  If you’re worried about calories, just have a smaller piece.

Creamy Cheesecake

Printable recipe

2 (8oz) packages of cream cheese

1 c white sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 c sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Cream together cream cheese and sugar. Add eggs one at time, blending well. Add vanilla and sour cream. Pour into shortbread crust.
3. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cake jiggles evenly across the top when lightly shaken. Run a knife around the outside edge, but leave the cake in the pan. Let cool on counter, then place in refrigerator. Remove from pan when completely chilled, and serve.
   

   	Amount
   Serving	1/8 of pie
   Calories	251
   Carbohydrate	32 g
   Fat	12 g
   Protein	2 g
   Potassium	150 mg
   Sodium	201 mg
   Phosphorus	81 mg

Original Recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/8419/easy-sour-cream-cheesecake/

KidneyGrub Verdict:

This is a great basic cheesecake recipe.  Consider it a “blank-slate” to work from.  If you prefer a tangier cheesecake, use lemon juice instead of vanilla extract.  We chose a cheesecake with a little bit of sour cream to help keep the sodium a little bit lower.  We will be making this again and again.

Author: Jessianna Saville, MS, RDN, LD

Photo Credits: Rebecca Barksdale