Planning for breakfast and snacks for kidney patients is quite a task. They may have restrictions on certain nutrients like – potassium, sodium, phosphorous, protein, and fluid. But they need to consume high-energy food to cope up with the disease. So here are the 28 Indian breakfast/ snack ideas suitable for kidney patients.
Patients have restrictions on protein consumption. Intake of fat is also limited for them. Therefore carbohydrate is the best option to fulfill the high energy demand.
Quick tips before you start cooking –
- Sodium restriction is must for kidney patients. Don’t add any salt while cooking. Yes, cook food without salt and then try this trick to satisfy the salt need.
- Wash food well before cooking
- Chop vegetables in small pieces.
- Don’t forget to boil the vegetables with excess water twice before using them in cooking. This will help to reduce the potassium content of the food.
- You may use 1 tsp of sugar in a day. So use it wisely.
- Soak dal overnight and wash thoroughly before cooking
- Soak grains and wash well before cooking
- Don’t use same grain more than 2 times a week. Bring variety.
Plan your breakfast/ snack around a particular grain. Add measured amount of milk/ dal/ vegetables/ groundnut as per the recipe demand.
Ingredients safe to use for making breakfast/ snack for Kidney patients
| Category | Amount to use | Safe | Safe if washed, soaked, boiled, cooked well |
| Grain and grain products  | 2-3 handful | Rice, Maida, Murmura, Suji, Buckwheat, Whitebread  | Dalia, Chirwa, Sabudana, Ragi, Oats, Corn  |
| Pulses/ Dal | 1 handful | Green peas | Masoor, Moong, Tur, chana, soybean |
| Vegetables |  Plenty | Beetroot, pink radish, methi, Bottle gourd, broad bean, cucumber, mango green, parwal, snake gourd, tinda, ridge gourd  | Bitter gourd, brinjal, cauliflower, French bean, ladyfinger, plantain flower, green tomato, cabbage, broccoli, carrot, onion, white radish, Potato, Amaranth, coriander, drumstick, spinach |
| Fruits  | 1-2 no | Apple, ripe banana, guava, orange, ripe papaya, pear, pineapple, grapes, |  |
| Nuts | 1 fistful | Groundnut, Walnut, Sesame seed | Â |
| Cow’s milk | 1 cup – 150 -200 ml | Curd, chena, milk |  |
| Egg | 1 no |  |  Hardboiled egg, omelet (in limit – as a part of the well-planned diet) |
Kidney patients are either diabetic or hypertensive. So you need to plan the menu accordingly.
Indian breakfast/ Snack idea for kidney patient – Recipe idea with refined flour –
It’s surprising but true that refined flour is a very safe grain choice for breakfast/snacks for kidney patients.
 Don’t forget that kidney patients are generally diabetic or hypertensive. Therefore, refined flour may be safe in kidney disease, but for diabetes, it’s not a good option.
Therefore the recipe should accommodate an ample amount of well-treated vegetables to improve its nutritional profile.
1. Maida roti and sabzi
- Prepare usual roti with the refined flour
- Have it with a good portion of vegetables
- Don’t forget to wash, cut into small pieces, boiled twice with excess water and then cook the sabzi for making it safe for kidney patients
2. Pancake/ Golaroti/ Chilla
- Take 2 tablespoon of maida in a bowl
- Add 3-4 tablespoon of chopped and boiled vegetables
- Mix well
- Grease the pan with oil
- Pour the mixture
- All it to cook for few minutes
- Flip to cook the other side
- Serve hot
Indian breakfast/ Snack idea for kidney patient – Recipe idea with White bread
3. Grilled Sandwich
- Make the sandwich filling with chopped and boiled vegetables and little spices
- Put it in between two white bread
- Grill it and serve hot
Indian breakfast/ Snack idea for kidney patient – Recipe idea with rice
Fermented rice batter can be used to make dosa, idli, uttapam as per the patient’s choice. You may give these 1-2 times a week, not on a daily basis.
4. Dosa / Idli/ Uttapam
- Follow the usual method of making dosa/ idli or uttapam
- Add only boiled chopped vegetables in uttapam, not the raw one
- Serve dosa with samber but don’t forget to soak the dal overnight before cooking. Add boiled veggies in samber
- You may give little bit of coconut chutney along with these
Indian breakfast/ Snack idea for kidney patient – Recipe idea with Noodles/ Pasta
Pasta is made up of suji and noodles are either with rice or with flour. All the basic ingredients are safe for kidney patients. You may consider preparing it once a week.
5. Noodles/ Pasta
- Boil noodles/ pasta well with excess water
- Boil finely chopped vegetables again in excess water
- Add noodles/ pasta with veggies
- Prepare seasoning with garlic, onion, black pepper powder
- Toss it with the noodles/ pasta and vegetable mixture
- Serve hot
Indian breakfast/ Snack idea for kidney patient – Recipe idea with Murmura
Murmura is a good choice for evening snacks. Since it is a safe option, you may consider making murmura based snacks 3-4 times a week.
6. Murmura mix
- Roast murmura and ground nut separately
- Mix them together
- Serve
- You may add little fried onion, black pepper powder to it as well for enhancing the flavour
7. Murmura- curd-banana mix
- Take murmura in a bowl
- Add 2 table spoon of homemade curd
- Add a small mashed banana to this bowl
- Mix well and serve
Indian breakfast/ Snack idea for kidney patient – Recipe idea with buckwheat (kuttu)
Buckwheat is popular grain for use during fast. It is also very good for kidney patients.
8. Buckwheat flour dosa/ idli/ uttapam
- Take buckwheat flour, add little water to it
- Try to mix well
- Prepare a paste like consistency
- Leave the batter for 15-20 minutes
- After a while try to adjust the consistency to a thick liquid
- You may add little water if needed
- Grease the pan, and follow the usual method to prepare dosa/ Idli or uttapam
- Use boiled vegetables to make samber and serve with idli/ dosa
- You can make usual coconut chutney and serve with uttapam
- If making uttapam, use finely chopped boiled vegetables.
9. Buckwheat upma
- Soak buckwheat grains overnight in excess water
- Discard the water next morning
- Wash it thoroughly for 3-4 times
- Heat oil in pan, add chopped boiled vegetables to it
- Add soaked and washed buckwheat grains
- Add turmeric and other spices
- Mik well and allowed to cook for few minutes
- Serve hot
Indian breakfast/ Snack idea for kidney patient – Recipe idea with Suji
Suji is another wheat product that is safe for kidney patients. You can use suji in many ways – porridge, upma, chilla, pancake – etc. It can be consumed 3-4 times a week.
10. Suji porridge
- Soak 2 tablespoons of suji in water for 30 minutes
- Wash it well
- Heat little ghee in a pot
- Add one crushed elichi to it
- Add the soaked suji to it
- Stir well
- Boil it with desired water
- Stir well to prevent lump formation
- Add little milk, 1 tsp of sugar/ jaggery in it
- Add some crushed walnut/ peanut powder on top
- Serve hot
11. Suji upma
- Soak 2 tablespoons of suji in water for 30 minutes
- Wash it well
- Heat oil
- Add suji and chopped, boiled vegetables to it
- Mix well
- Add little more water to boil further
- Boil for few more minutes
- Stir well
- Add the usual seasoning
- Serve hot
12. Suji chilla
- Soak 2 tablespoons of suji in water for 30 minutes
- Wash it well
- Add 2 tablespoon of curd in it
- Mix well
- Leave the mixture for 30-40 minutes
- After that, add chopped boiled vegetables
- Mix well , make it a semi liquid consistency
- Grease the pan with oil
- Pour the mixture
- Spread it over
- Allow to cook one side
- Wait for few minutes
- Flip it and cook the other side
- Serve hot
13. Suji pancake
- Soak 2 tablespoon of suji in water for 30 minutes
- Wash it well
- Add 2 tablespoon of milk in it
- Mix well
- Leave the mixture for 30-40 minutes
- After that, add mashed banana, saunf, pinch of black pepper
- Mix well , make it a semi liquid consistency
- Grease the pan with oil
- Pour the mixture
- Spread it over
- Allow to cook one side
- Wait for few minutes
- Flip it and cook the other side
- Serve hot
Indian breakfast/ Snack idea for kidney patient – Recipe idea with dalia
14. Dalia porridge
- Soak 2 tablespoons of dalia in water for 30 minutes
- Wash it well
- Heat little ghee in a pot
- Add one crushed elichi to it
- Add the soaked suji to it
- Stir well
- Boil it with desired water
- Stir well to prevent lump formation
- Add little milk, 1 tsp of sugar/ jaggery in it
- Add some crushed walnut/ peanut powder on top
- Serve hot
15. Dalia upma
- Soak 2 tablespoons of dalia in water for 30 minutes
- Wash it well
- Heat oil
- Add dalia and chopped, boiled vegetables to it
- Mix well
- Add a little more water to boil further
- Boil for few more minutes
- Stir well
- Add the usual seasoning
- Serve hot
Indian breakfast/ Snack idea for kidney patient – Recipe idea with ragi
16. Ragi flour dosa/ idli/ uttapam
- Take 2 table spoon of ragi flour, 1 table spoon of suji and 1 tablespoon of rice flour in a bowl
- Add 1 table spoon of home set curd
- Try to mix well, use water as needed
- Prepare a paste like consistency
- Leave the batter for 15-20 minutes
- After a while try to adjust the consistency to a thick liquid
- You may add little water if needed
- Grease the pan, and follow the usual method to prepare dosa/ Idli or uttapam
- Use boiled vegetables to make samber and serve with idli/ dosa
- You can make usual coconut chutney and serve with uttapam
- If making uttapam, use finely chopped boiled vegetables.
Indian breakfast/ Snack idea for kidney patient – Recipe idea with poha
17. Vegetable Poha
- Wash 2 tablespoons of poha well
- Heat oil, add the seasoning
- Add onion, groundnut to it
- Fry it well
- Add poha and chopped, boiled vegetables to it
- Mix and cook well
- Serve hot
18. Poha porridge
- Wash 2 tablespoon of poha well
- Add 2 tablespoon of curd in it
- Add one mashed banana
- Mix well
- You may add crushed walnut to it
- Serve
Indian breakfast/ Snack idea for kidney patient – Recipe idea with sabudana
19. Sabudana khichri
- Wash 2 tablespoons of sabudana well
- Soak them overnight in excess water
- Discard the excess water the next morning
- Heat oil, add the seasoning
- Add onion, groundnut to it
- Fry it well
- Add soaked sabudana and chopped, boiled vegetables to it
- Mix and cook well
- Serve hot
20. Sabudana porridge
- Wash 2 tablespoons of sabudana well
- Soak them overnight in excess water
- Discard the excess water next morning
- Add 2 tablespoons of curd in it
- Add one mashed banana
- Mix well
- You may add crushed walnut to it
- Serve
Indian breakfast/ Snack idea for kidney patient – Recipe idea with whole wheat flour (atta)
21. Atta roti and sabzi
- Prepare usual roti with the atta
- Have it with good portion of vegetables
- Don’t forget to wash, cut into small pieces, boiled twice with excess water and then cook the sabzi for making it safe for kidney patients
22. Pancake/ Golaroti/ Chilla
- Take 2 table spoon of atta in a bowl
- Add 3-4 table spoon of chopped and boiled vegetables
- Mix well
- Grease the pan with oil
- Pour the mixture
- All it to cook for few minutes
- Flip to cook the other side
- Serve hot
Indian breakfast/ Snack idea for kidney patient – Recipe idea with oats
23.Oats porridge
- Wash 2 tablespoons of oats well
- Soak them overnight in excess water
- Discard the excess water the next morning
- Add 2 tablespoons of curd to it
- Add one mashed banana
- Mix well
- You may add crushed walnut to it
- Serve
24. Oats upma
- Wash 2 tablespoon of oats well
- Heat oil, add the seasoning
- Add onion, groundnut to it
- Fry it well
- Add oats and chopped, boiled vegetables to it
- Mix and cook well
- Serve hot
25. Oats chilla
- Soak 2 tablespoon of oats in water for 30 minutes
- Wash it well
- Add 1 tablespoon of besan in it
- Mix well
- After that, add chopped boiled vegetables
- Mix well , make it a semi liquid consistency
- Grease the pan with oil
- Pour the mixture
- Spread it over
- Allow to cook one side
- Wait for few minutes
- Flip it and cook the other side
- Serve hot
26. Oats pancake
- Soak 2 tablespoon of oats in water for 30 minutes
- Wash it well
- Add 2 tablespoon of milk in it
- Mix well
- Leave the mixture for 30-40 minutes
- After that, add mashed banana, saunf, pinch of black pepper
- Mix well , make it a semi liquid consistency
- Grease the pan with oil
- Pour the mixture
- Spread it over
- Allow to cook one side
- Wait for few minutes
- Flip it and cook the other side
- Serve hot
Indian breakfast/ Snack idea for kidney patient – Recipe idea with makhana/ popcorn
27. Roasted makhana/ popcorn
- Roast makhana in 1 tsp of ghee and sprinkle some black pepper power for flavour
- You can make popcorn at home, but avoid using instant popcorn
- These are good snacks option for the evening
Indian breakfast/ Snack idea for kidney patient – Recipe idea with fruits
28. Fruit as mid morning snack
Fruits are always a good option as a mid-morning snack. A low potassium fruit is going to be the best choice. You may feel free to give apple, ripe banana, guava, orange, ripe papaya, pear, pineapple, grapes, etc in moderation. Focus on variety. Don’t just depend on a particular type of fruit for every day.
Bottom line
Follow the tips like washing, peeling, chopping, boiling, soaking, etc before cooking. That helps to eliminate potassium, phosphorous to a large extent. Therefore the patient has more choices of food than before. Bring variety in breakfast and snacks. Do not serve the same food more than 2 times a week. Follow the Indian breakfast/ snack ideas suitable for kidney patients and also to make your life easy. All the best.
ALSO READ
Indian diet for kidney patients NOT on dialysis
Indian diet for dialysis patients
Cooking tips for kidney patients
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