Skip to main content
Developed by CORU registered kidney (renal) dietitians

Prepare Your Stock Cupboard For Winter

From Storm Abigail to Katie, the tumultuous winter weather and the chaos it causes can make access to Kidney friendly meal options more difficult. In 2016, Storm Barney left twenty five thousand people without power, roads were blocked and there was a status yellow Met Eireann wind warning advising us all to stay indoors.

This reminded me of the importance of having a well stocked food cupboard for winter with suitable no cook staples for those occasions when you have no electricity and sufficient non perishables and perishable items if you are confined to your house due to the weather.

With many stock cupboard items such as packet soup and tinned beans off the menu for those who need to watch salt, potassium and phosphate intake, some careful planning is required to stock your cupboard whilst sticking to your kidney (renal) diet.  Some more suitable stock cupboard items are detailed in the table below. Utilising the Scout motto of Bi Ullamh (Be Prepared), winter storms will not hinder your ability to stick to your kidney diet.

In the Press

In the Fridge & Freezer

  • Flavourings such as pepper, herbs and spices
  • Rice / Pasta / Noodles / Cous Cous
  • Cereal (e.g. porridge, Weetabix, cornflakes)
  • Bread / Crackers / Bread Rolls / Pitta Bread / Bread Sticks
  • Tinned fruit (e.g. pears, mandarin oranges)
  • Vegetables tinned in water (e.g. tinned carrots in water, whole green beans in water)
  • Tinned fish in water or oil (e.g. salmon or tuna tinned in oil)
  • Low salt stock cubes
  • Jam / Honey
  • Vinegar
  • Potatoes
  • Biscuits
  • Lemon Juice
  • Keep a spare loaf of bread in the freezer
  • Egg Mayonnaise
  • Cream Cheese
  • Mayonnaise / Spread
  • Milk (keep an extra frozen carton of milk in the freezer)
  • Fresh or frozen meat, chicken or fish
  • Keep fresh vegetables in your fridge to increase their shelf life.

Some light meal ideas

 

1)      Scrambled Egg and Toast

2)      Tuna and mayonnaise sandwich

3)      Creamy salmon and pasta (a small amount of melted cream cheese makes the sauce)

4)      Porridge with tinned mandarins

5)      Poached egg with Cajun pepper on toast

6)      Crackers served with cream cheese and cucumber

 

Theresa Rennick, Senior Dietitian in Nephrology, (Midland Regional Hospital at Tullamore)