Celebrity Chef Aaron McCargo Jr. and Fresenius Medical Care Offer Delicious Football-Season Recipes for Dialysis Patients

Football season is back in full swing, and Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA), the nation’s leading network of dialysis facilities, is once again teaming up with celebrity chef Aaron McCargo, Jr. to help dialysis patients share the excitement – and the fabulous food – that goes with America’s favorite sport. FMCNA is bringing chef McCargo to several U.S. cities this fall to demonstrate his recipes for delicious, game-time dishes that dialysis patients can enjoy, while staying within their dietary guidelines.

Celebrity Chef Aaron McCargo, Jr. will be visiting three U.S. cities with Fresenius Medical Care this fall to share football-season recipes for dialysis patients and their families. (Photo: Business Wire)

More than 450,000 Americans depend on regular dialysis treatments to remove waste products and extra fluids from their blood after their kidneys have failed. And because it is difficult for them to eliminate excess potassium, phosphorus, and salt, dialysis patients have to limit their consumption of many foods containing those substances – including bread, cheese, milk, nuts, tomatoes, sweets and salty snacks – while also consuming enough high-protein foods to remain healthy and strong.

Chef McCargo – host of Food Network’s “Big Daddy’s House” cooking show – will visit several FMCNA clinics in the coming weeks to share cooking tips, recipes, and food samples with dietitians and local media. He’ll talk about some of his tastiest kidney-friendly dishes, such as smoky salmon dip, spicy turkey chili, and jalapeno, lime and smoked mozzarella turkey burgers. McCargo’s fall tour will start in Charleston, S.C., on Sept. 17, and continue in Reno, Nev., on Oct. 4 and 5, and in Baltimore, Md., on Oct. 10.

For the past three years, McCargo has worked with FMCNA’s dietitians to develop recipes that can be enjoyed by dialysis patients and their families alike, thanks to his signature “flavor of bold” cooking style, which features fresh ingredients and flavorful seasonings such as ginger, lemon zest and cayenne pepper.

“We’re very pleased to be sponsoring chef McCargo’s football-season tour,” says Robin Russell, lead dietitian for FMCNA’s North Texas region, who has collaborated with the chef on several recipes. “Football games are a favorite time to socialize with friends and family, whether at home or at the stadium, and people living with kidney failure need to learn how they, too, can participate in the fun by preparing healthy, kidney-friendly foods.”