Kidney Conscious Memorial Day Munchies May 22, 2019 by wpengine Memorial Day is quickly approaching and what better way to celebrate than with delicious, low-sodium, kidney conscious recipes that will taste as good as they sound? From the main course to sweet desserts we have recipes for you. To start off the ‘unofficial start of summer,’ you’ll need an appetizer. For this pre-dinner course, we have provided a recipe for a refreshing zippy strawberry salad. You can taste the summer fruits and flavors with this dish that will make everyone at your party go for seconds. Zippy Strawberry Salad Dressing: 1⁄2 cup vegetable oil 1⁄3 cup white wine vinegar 1 garlic clove, minced 2 tbsp. brown sugar 1 tsp. curry powder 1 tsp. soy sauce (low sodium) Salad: 10 cups torn salad greens 1 ⁄ 2 cup slivered almonds, toasted 1 cup grapes (red/green), halved 2 cups sliced strawberries 1 ⁄ 2 cup crushed, unsalted pretzels 2 cups mandarin orange segments Directions: 1. Combine all dressing ingredients and shake well. Set aside. 2. Toss together salad greens and strawberries with dressing. 3. Sprinkle with almonds and pretzels. Serve immediately. Now that you have had a snack to hold you over until dinner, you can start prepping your meal by getting the grill ready for some delicious BBQ salmon. This recipe is sure to satisfy while remaining low-sodium and low-protein. This will have your guests so impressed they will be waiting to see what is for dessert. BBQ Salmon Ingredients: 4, 3 oz salmon filets, deboned 1 lemon, sliced 1/4 Cup fresh dill, chopped 1 Tbsp whole grain dijon mustard 4 Tbsp olive oil 1/4 tsp black pepper Directions: 1. Heat the BBQ to medium-high heat 2. Place each fresh or frozen salmon filet on a piece of aluminum foil 3. Drizzle with 1 Tbsp of olive oil 4. Add a small squirt of Dijon mustard (1/4 Tbsp), pepper to taste, 1/4 of the fresh dill, and a few slice of lemon 5. Wrap with the aluminum foil, making sure to seal the edges well 6. Add the salmon over direct heat. I prefer my salmon cooked well-done, and this takes only about 5-6 minutes but it would only take around 4-5 minutes for medium. Feel free to open up the aluminum foil to check on the doneness! To finish it all off, the grand finale is a raspberry cheesecake mousse. This cold desert will cool everyone off after having fun in the sun. You will be able to taste the variety of flavors without guilt as it will fit your dietary needs and fill your stomach after a long day. Raspberry Cheesecake Mousse Ingredients: 1 cup light, whipped topping 1 8oz pkg. cream cheese, room temperature 3 ⁄4 cup Splenda, Granular 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries Directions: 1. Beat cream cheese until fluffy and beat in 1 ⁄2 cup Splenda Granular until melted. Stir in lemon zest and vanilla. 2. Reserve some raspberries for garnish. Crush remaining raspberries with a fork and stir in remaining 1 ⁄4 cup Splenda Granular until melted. 3. Fold light, whipped topping into cream cheese mixture and gently but quickly fold in crushed raspberries. Spoon mousse into 6 serving glasses and chill until ready to serve. 4. Garnish mousse with fresh raspberries and a sprig of fresh mint before serving. We hope everyone has a safe, happy, and healthy Memorial Day weekend.