The best snacks for a Renal Diet Part 1: Fruits and Veggies!

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The best snacks for a Renal Diet Part 1: Fruits and Veggies!

If you’re like most Americans, you likely grab a snack between meals to tide you over until your next meal or to satisfy a craving. Having a repertoire of quick “go-to” snacks is a must to help you get the most bang for your buck out of snacking that can help achieve your health goals . So, what are the best snack foods to have on hand while following a renal diet? We’ve got quite a few favorites so we’re breaking this topic down into two posts starting with our top snack food for kidney health: fruits and veggies!

Row of a variety of low potassium fruits and vegetables that make great renal diet snacks on a black table with white siding in the background.

Why are snacks important on a Renal Diet?

Although snacking isn’t necessary for everyone- there are several benefits to snacking between meals for people with kidney disease.

  1. If you have Diabetes, smart snacking between meals can help to stabilize blood sugar. Going too long between meals can cause dips in blood sugar and if you are using insulin, this could cause hypoglycemia.
  2. Snacks can help to fill any nutritional gaps. Let’s face it, getting in all of the recommended servings of fruits and veggies during the day can be hard when you’re just eating 3 meals per day. Using snack time as a way to add fruits and veggies makes this much easier!
  3. Snacking can help ward off overeating at meal time. For some of us, waiting too long between meals can lead to overeating. By including a snack between meals, ideally no more than 4 hours after a meal, can help minimize overeating at your next meal!

Not all snacks are created equal!

Some of the foods that we often think of as snack foods like crackers, chips, or cookies can be high in sugar, sodium, phosphorus, or even potassium. Some of these snack foods also lack important nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and fiber but are full of calories and fat. These are known as empty calories, and while everything is okay in moderation, when consumed too often, these foods can leave our bodies depleted of the important nutrients we need. While snacking can be beneficial, avoid these common snacking pitfalls:

  1. Filling up on empty calories: leaving our bodies deprived of the important nutrients we need.
  2. Overeating at snack time: Reducing hunger for the next healthy balanced meal.
  3. Not using portion control: Nuts are the most common snack to overeat, trust us, we’re guilty too! And while they are so delicious, they are extremely calorie dense so if you are watching your weight it’s best to stick to one serving of nuts ( 1 ounce/28 grams, or a small handful) at snack time.

Our top snack foods for a Renal Diet!

Fruits and Veggies

If you are familiar with our philosophy at the KidneyRD, then you’ll know that we’re big proponents of including lots of plants! That’s because plant foods have been shown in research to promote kidney and cardiovascular health, support gut health and positively effect the microbiome. Eating more fruits and vegetables was also shown to decrease the incidence of metabolic acidosis.

Snacking on fruits and vegetables is a great way to reach your goal of at least 3 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruit per day. Use the handy guide below from the American Heart Association to help determine what counts as a serving size of fruits and veggies!

American Heart association infographic on  fruit and vegetable serving sizes for renal diet snack options

Managing the renal diet while snacking on fruits and vegetables:

Wondering about how to manage potassium while increasing your overall intake of fresh fruits and vegetables? You may need to be mindful of the potassium content of fruits and vegetables if your doctor has mentioned you have high potassium. Not everyone with CKD needs to limit Potassium. We may sound like a broken record but it’s important to monitor your potassium trend and talk with your Doctor and an expert Renal Dietitian to find out if you need to limit potassium.

Featured Low Potassium Fruits:

Canned fruits:

Most canned fruits are acceptable for people watching potassium. One of the highest canned fruits in potassium on the market is the tropical fruit blend but is still less than 200mg/serving (150mg per 1/2 cup).  We recommend choosing canned fruit packed in water instead of syrup to limit added sugar.


Dried
fruits:

Many dried fruits can be very high in potassium, for example: 1/2 cup of dried apricots contains 756 mg potassium, Yikes! However, there are two great low potassium options for dried fruits:

  1. Dried Apples
  2. Dried Cranberries

Some of our favorite ways to use dried fruits include, combining them with nuts for a homemade trail mix to take on long trips or while hiking. We also love adding them to muffins or quick breads and can even be tossed in your favorite salad as a nice sweet flavor boost.

Be mindful of added salt and sugar in dried fruits. Some dried apple brands (namely Great Value at Walmart) have added sodium (180mg/20 pieces).  Look for brands that do not contain added sodium and added sugar.

Fresh fruits

When it comes to fresh fruits that are low in potassium, there are so many options! Check out our Printable Low Potassium List that you can keep on hand when headed to the grocery store. Fresh fruits make wonderful finger foods for parties, especially when dipped in our sour cream fruit dip Remember, fresh fruits have more nutrients than canned or dried because they have not been processed.

Sliced apple, pear, clementine wedges and small glass bowl of dried cranberries on a glass plate for renal diet snack options
FruitPotassium (mg)Carb (g)Fiber (g)
Fresh
Pineapple (1/2 c chunks)90111
Apple (1 med -3 ” diameter)195254
Blueberries (1/2 c)57112
Grapes (1/2c ~8-10grapes)8580.5
Mandarin Oranges (1 small)125101.5
Raspberries (1/2 c)9374
Strawberries (1/2 c)11561.5
Canned   
Mandarin Oranges (1/2 c)13091
Tropical Fruit Mix (1/2 c)160191
Fruit Cocktail (1/2 c)115141
Pineapple, canned (1/2 c)110141
Dried   
Apples (1/4 c)100142
Cranberries (1/4 c)20332
Nutrients analyzed using Cronometer software

Vegetables, the ultimate snack food!

Veggies, whether you like them, tolerate them, or even despise them, we should all learn to love them a little more.  That’s because they are one of the most nutritious foods! Here are just a few of the many of the reasons why vegetables make the perfect snack:

1. Most veggies are low in carbohydrates– great for Diabetics because they do not increase blood sugar.

2. They are low in calories– perfect for when you’re watching your weight.

3. They are nutrient dense– great for everyone thanks to all the vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

4. They are naturally low in sodium and phosphorus– great for everyone but especially for people with Kidney Disease and Hypertension.

Featured low potassium veggies

When it comes to snacking, fresh is best! Some of our favorite low potassium veggies for snacks are:

  1. Sweet bell peppers
  2. Carrots
  3. Celery
  4. Cucumbers
  5. Jicama
  6. Red cabbage (trust us on this one, it’s perfect for dipping)
  7. Snow peas
Low potassium vegetables,, low sodium diet, low potassium, kidney diet, renal diet, renal snacks, snacks for kidney disease, low sodium, dip for kidney disease, ranch dip for kidney disease
Low potassium fruits and veggies with Mrs. Dash Ranch Dip
Fresh Vegetables
1/2 c servingPotassiumCarbFiber
Cabbage, Purple10811.50.95
Carrots195221.7
Celery131.560.8
Cucumber90.55.50.5
Green Pepper130.53.51.25
Jicama905.53
Red Pepper1574.71.55

Tips for veggie snacking success!

We get it, life can get pretty hectic and you might be wondering, “how am I going to find the time to cut vegetables to include at snacks?”. Fortunately, there are some great convenience items available at in the produce aisle that help minimize chopping time. For example, Bagged ready to eat baby carrots, sugar snap peas, and even celery. Carrots and celery can also be found in single serving size packages. We also love the mini baby bell peppers, no chopping required!

Single serving bag of green Giant Baby carrots, perfect Renal Diet snacks!

Another strategy for success is to prep ahead of time. Keeping washed and cut vegetables ready to go in the fridge makes munching on veggies much more doable. We recommend finding time that fits your life and schedule. For instanct, some people find the weekend the best time, or when you’ve got the cutting board and knife out while making dinner.

Pairing raw vegetables with delicious dips!

If the idea of plain raw vegetables has you feeling bored, why not pair them with a delicious dip? Keep in mind that dips may add extra calories, fat, and potentially more sodium, potassium, and/or phosphorus. However, dips may also help make eating raw vegetables much more tasty and can help to add more nutrients. The fat found in many dips can also help our bodies absorb more of the vitamins that are found in vegetables.

Our top 5 dips for a Renal diet to to pair with fresh veggies:

  1. Hummus- Commercial hummus can be high in sodium. Try to choose the lowest sodium option or better yet, try our homemade low sodium hummus!
  2. Pesto mayo– Just mix homemade pesto or store-bought pesto with a little mayonnaise and voila! This is a great way to add some extra fat. For an even healthier option opt for vegan mayo.
  3. Guacamole– Avocado is high in potassium, however, not everyone with kidney disease needs to limit potassium. Avocados are a great source of heart healthy fat boosting the absorption of certain vitamins!
  4. Nut or seed butters– Nuts and seeds do contain some phosphorus and potassium, but the phosphorus is poorly absorbed because it is a plant source. One of our favorites is celery dipped in Sun Butter!
  5. Ranch dip– Some ranch dip can be high in sodium, we recommend trying Mrs. Dash’s Classic Ranch salt free mix

Fruits and vegetables are a top choice for snacks for a healthy Renal Diet!

In conclusion, our top choice for the heathiest snacks for a Renal Diet are fruits and vegetables! We hope you found some tips and tricks to include more of them in your repertoire of go-to snack foods. Stay tuned for the Best snacks for a Renal Diet part 2 where we’ll highlight some more great options to make eating with kidney disease both livable and lovable!

Want to learn more about delicious nourishing foods that support kidney health?


We are here to help! To find out how we use the power of nutrition to preserve kidney function, join our free monthly class. Prefer a one-to-one setting? Consider scheduling a consultation with one of our expert Renal Dietitians.

5 thoughts on “The best snacks for a Renal Diet Part 1: Fruits and Veggies!”

  1. THE DOCTOR TOLD ME THAT THE KIDNEYS FUNCTION IS 50% THE BEST TO EAT FOR MY KIDNEYS TO GIVE THEM HEALTHY FUNCTION

  2. I WENT TO THE DOCTOR FOR A CHECK UP MY KIDNEYS, AND HE SAID THAT THE KIDNEYS
    ARE FUNCTION 50% BUT HE SAID YOU HAVE BEEN 20 YEARS WITH THIS CONDITION.
    CAN YOU HELP ME TO INCREASE A HEALTHY KIDNEYS PLEASE ?

  3. HI Alfred, Thanks for visiting KidneyRD. Nutrition is sooo important when it comes to slowing progression of kidney failure. I work with private clients virtually. You can also visit National Kidney Foundation’s website and look up a local renal dietitian who can help you with a personalized nutrition plant: http://www.kidney.org/ckdrd.

  4. This nfo has really been interesting to me as a new dialysis patient. I had to re read the nfo twice & took notes of what I read. Will definitely keep researching from the site that’s mentioned here in. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

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