Ear infections worry me the most because she was diagnosed with FSGS three years ago shortly after she had a horrible, resistant ear infection. Doctors don't know what causes FSGS and don't know if the ear infection had anything to do with it. When there isn't an underlying disease, they believe FSGS is auto-immune based. Naturally, when she was first diagnosed I was searching for answers. I remember thinking, maybe, that infection derailed her immune system.
It also happens to be World Kidney Day. So before I forget about this basic but healthy soup I made the other day, I thought I'd share it today. After all, her kidney disease is mostly the reason for starting my blog. It changed the way we think about food. Food was the only way I could help her other than making sure she took her medicine. We always ate well - I love to cook. But I admit we had some processed foods around. Now, we try darn hard to eat mostly organic fresh food every day. It isn't easy. The food I make doesn't always look fancy. But we are surely nourished.
To make this chicken soup, I broiled chicken thighs in the oven until done. I broiled it because if I boiled it, the stock would have been fatty (needing refrigerating and skimming) and I wanted to serve the soup right away. Dark meat is good but it's supposedly more nutritious than white meat (plus it's what I had at the time). I added water for moisture and seasoned the chicken with Mrs. Dash Onion & Herb seasoning. I learned about Mrs. Dash seasonings when she was placed on a low-sodium diet three years ago. I use it sometimes for quick flavor. Dried Italian seasoning or herbs de Provence would work well instead.
I cut the chicken into bite size pieces and shredded a little with a fork.
To make this chicken soup, I broiled chicken thighs in the oven until done. I broiled it because if I boiled it, the stock would have been fatty (needing refrigerating and skimming) and I wanted to serve the soup right away. Dark meat is good but it's supposedly more nutritious than white meat (plus it's what I had at the time). I added water for moisture and seasoned the chicken with Mrs. Dash Onion & Herb seasoning. I learned about Mrs. Dash seasonings when she was placed on a low-sodium diet three years ago. I use it sometimes for quick flavor. Dried Italian seasoning or herbs de Provence would work well instead.
I added what I thought looked like a good amount of chicken to one quart of low-sodium chicken stock, with some frozen peas, frozen corn, and a can of drained no-salt cannellini beans, her favorite (things I usually keep for on hand). Other vegetables would work, like: broccoli, cauliflower, chopped string beans or asparagus. I cooked the vegetables until just tender and while they still had their color. I added about 1/4-1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon and, just before serving, some chopped fresh parsley.
I served the soup on a tray with fresh fruit and lots of love!
Here is a link I like to superfoods for healthy kidneys: http://www.yourkidneys.com/kidney-education/Diet-and-nutrition/15-super-foods-for-kidney-health/2924
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| www.nephcure.org |
