Kidney Friendly Pasta

Pasta is one of the most popular and accessible foods around the globe. Each country has their own unique recipe using this staple food item. The mix of flour, eggs and water transformed into a variety of shapes and sizes to create fresh or dry pasta allowed for thousands of versatile dishes. So let’s dive into kidney friendly pasta.

Types of Kidney Friendly Pasta

The two major ways of classifying pastas are fresh versus dried.

Dried pasta is dried for several days until all moisture evaporates to create a shelf-safe product. While fresh pasta is cooked while still like a dough and must be made immediately or stored in the refrigerator.

The types of pasta are limitless with over 400 different shapes! Some of the most popular being spaghetti, fettuccine, linguine, penne, rigatoni, macaroni, lasagne and the list goes on.

Health Benefits of Carbohydrates

Pasta is a great source of carbohydrates that are necessary to fuel the brain, kidneys, heart muscles and central nervous system. This food can certaily be included in a kidney-friendly diet. This energy-dense food will keep you full for hours and fuel you with the energy you need. The glucose provided by carbohydrates from the pasta are converted into energy to aid in the support of bodily functions and physical activity. If you have diabetes, choosing whole grain pasta provides you with more fibre to help control blood sugars. Check out this post for more details on what you can eat with diabetes and CKD.

Using Fresh Pasta

Fresh pasta can be refrigerated for two to three days after being made. If you are making fresh pasta and plan to eat it after a few weeks or a month it is best to freeze it to preserve the flavour and texture and ensure it is safe to be consumed. Try freezing it on a baking sheet for 1 hour, then put in freezer safe bags or containers for longer storage. Freezing for 1 hour before storage helps to keep them separate and in their own shapes.

Enjoying Kidney Friendly Pasta with CKD

If you have chronic kidney disease and prefer store bought prepared pasta sauce, look out for anything high in sodium. But making your sauce at home can be super simple and is a great way to limit how much sodium you are consuming. Try adding olive oil, minced garlic, black pepper and chilli flakes to a skillet for an easy Pasta Aglio e Olio. Or roast some fresh tomato, red peppers, garlic and onion then put them into a blender for a yummy red pepper tomato sauce!

The veggie options are limitless and up to your personal preference. The best part is you hide vegetables in your pasta sauce or cook them add and add it into your dish. Mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, spinach, broccoli are all nutritious and delicious additions to any pasta dish!

Print

Kidney-Friendly Fresh Pasta

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 1.5 cup All purpose flour
• 3 Eggs, large
• 1.5 tsp Olive Oil

Instructions

• Mix the dough. Place flour into a pile on counter, make a well and add eggs and olive oil. Whisk egg and oil lightly together with a fork. Gently bring in flour into the egg mixture and combine to form a dough.
• Knead the dough. Once flour is combined with egg and oil, form it into a ball and knead the dough with your hands for about 5 minutes. The dough should form a smooth ball. Let rest in plastic wrap on the counter for 30 minutes.
• Roll out the dough. Flour counter and roll out pasta dough into a thin sheet. Loosely fold the pasta strip like an accordion, be sure to add more flour so it does not stick.
• Cut the pasta. Use a sharp knife, cut into thin strips. Let sit to dry for 15 minutes.
• Cook the pasta. Bring water to a boil and cook pasta for 3-4 minutes.

Notes

 Makes 4 servings. Per serving: 9.6 g protein, 35 NET carbohydrates, 48 mg sodium, 97 mg potassium, 115 mg phosphorus

This article was written by Deanna Najar, Nutrition Student Volunteer.
This article was reviewed by Emily Campbell, RD CDE MScFN.