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Help! Need quick and easy recipe ideas for DD who is doing chemo and has lost her appetite.

36 replies

hazlinh · 12/06/2013 11:25

DD(9) has just finished her first round of chemo and I have to cook fresh meals for her for the next 4-6 months as her immunity is very low right now, so we have been told to only feed her food that has been freshly-cooked and not sat for more than one hour so she has been forbidden from eating takeouts unless we know it is freshly-cooked. This is a huge challenge for me as I am not much of a cook and we are used to eating out or having takeaways (yes bad mummy I know).

To make it more complicated, the chemo has caused DD to lose her appetite and she doesn't want to eat her usual favourites, like pasta, cheese, salmon...

Has anyone had this before? Any recommendations for any (quick and easy!) recipes that are tolerated by chemo patients? I also don't have an oven :(

OP posts:
BlingLoving · 12/06/2013 11:29

My word, I don't know about chemo patients but what about things that are easy to eat? Soups for example? I can give some good easy recipes.

I'd imagine she wants things that are easy to eat because she gets tired easily? So maybe things like shepherds pie or other mince/rice type stuff?

NeverQuiteSure · 12/06/2013 11:32

Poor DD Sad

I'm sure you'll get better suggestions than this, but when my fussy DD is poorly, the one thing she'll usually eat is something we call 'cheese and potato pie'. In not even sure if it qualifies as an actual dish, but here it is:

  1. Peel & boil some potatoes
  2. Pour 1 tin of baked beans into an oven type dish and stick in the microwave to warm
  3. Mash the potatoes (adding a small splash of milk if needed)
  4. Chuck at load of grated cheese in with the potato and mash together
  5. Spoon the potato over the beans and serve

It really is that simple. You can serve with sausages or with bacon on top if you have a grill.

Hope your DD starts to feel better very soon

MyLittleDiva · 12/06/2013 11:33

I know when a relative was going through chemo she liked to eat ready brek with syrup, would she like something like that to help build her up to full meals?

Soup and bread to dip or egg and soldiers.

I wish your dd all the best in her recovery x

shelldockley · 12/06/2013 11:39

Have the doctors told you any particular foods she should/shouldn't be eating?

Theas18 · 12/06/2013 11:40

tricky... TBH I'd just cook normal family foods and not make her feel her eating makes her even more different...

My dad has had radiotherapy recently and his eating went right off. Things he managed to get calories in were little sponge puddings with custard, yoghurts - the greek style ones or fromage frais ). Some soups etc and everything still has added calories- a dollop of double cream or butter in nearly everything.

Dad had a lot of hot chocolate ( he didn't know but they had stir in complan in, were made with full cream milk, and had a dollop of cream on top!).

Little temping bits often seemed to be the answer. Eating lots of veg etc is going to be an uphill struggle so whilst the " cook fresh and healthy" is a great idea I'm not sure that balances with not really wanting to bother to eat or just not having the energy to do so. I'd suggest a multivitamin too. Chewy kids ones for instance.

Dad has fortisips but they aren't very pleasant and we almost " threaten" if he won't eat- well if you wont then you really must have a fortisip. Sounds mean but it works! I wouldn't rush into supplements for a child.

NeverQuiteSure · 12/06/2013 11:44

Another really quick and easy one: basic carbonara.

  1. Stick some pasta on to cook
  2. Make some white sauce (using the mumsnet 4 minute microwave method for ease!)
  3. Stir some grated cheese into the white sauce
  4. Drain the pasta and add the sauce
  5. Add peas/ham/cooked bacon etc and serve

I'm on my phone so can't link to the white sauce recipe, but it's just a tiny bit of butter and flour, plus milk and stirring every minute. Very easy. You should find it with a search.

BlingLoving · 12/06/2013 13:15

Also what about smoothies? Yoghurt/ice cream based for calories and flavour but you can add fruit and veggies to them too?

hazlinh · 12/06/2013 15:39

BlingLoving, soups would be great! She asked for cream of mushroom soup today. Never made them from scratch before, so that would be nice.
Unfortunately she is not allowed yoghurts, or anything with live bacteria as her immunity is low. Shepherds pie would be nice too, do you have no-bake recipes, as I do not have an oven unfortunately..

NeverQuiteSure, thanks! That sounds like an easy and yummy recipe. Will also try to search for the white sauce recipe. Yumms. However, I do not have a microwave..but I suppose I can cook it on the hob?

MyLittleDiva, readybrek sounds good. She did ask for wheaties but I need to get small packets as she cannot eat from a big opened box as they will have bacteria in them apparently.

Shelldockley, she can't eat raw food and veg for example sushi and salads, and no yoghurts.

Theas18, ooh sponge puddings, I can try those. I have been trying to bribe her with hot chocolate which she normally likes but she doesn't really want them now. Maybe I should try adding cream to everything..Hope your dad is feeling better. Unfortunately her doctor has advised us not to give her vitamins or supplements for now as they may (or may not) interfere with her chemo...

OP posts:
HuevosRancheros · 12/06/2013 15:50

It's a million miles from your poor DD having chemo, but when I got gastritis from some painkillers, and completely lost my appetite, the only thing I fancied was my mum's creme caramel. It is really easy to make (you need a steamer though), and is just eggs, milk and sugar, so quite nutritious.

I can dig out the recipe if you like?

JamNan · 12/06/2013 16:28

Cooking without an oven is not easy - I sympathise as I mine has gone kaput.

Have you thought of buying a slow cooker? They are about £10-20 for a basic model in Tesco. You can make a wide variety of meals in it.

This link to MacMillan might be helpful. There are recipes on the left hand side and information about special conditions and how they can be alleviated. Smoothies, soups and sorbets might be appetising. You could try long life or UHT yoghurt as the bacteria has been killed.

shelldockley · 12/06/2013 17:02

How about a risotto? You can add cream to make it more calorific too, add seeds/nuts, or have some bread with it.
I have a lovely butternut squash recipe that you could make on the hob:

BUTTERNUT SQUASH RISOTTO
Servings: 4 Preparation Time: 50 minutes Cooking Time: 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 large butternut squash
salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 bunch of oregano
2 tbsp Olive oil
1 litre chicken stock
50g Butter, softened
300g Risotto rice
40ml extra dry vermouth
85g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
small handful of toasted pumpkin seeds, to garnish

Method

  1. Cut the squash in cubes and shallow fry in olive oil until cooked through. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and scatter with chopped oregano. Leave to cool.
  1. To make the risotto, heat the chicken stock and keep warm.
  1. Melt 25g of the butter in a large frying pan over a moderate heat. Add the rice and stir off the heat until all grains are coated. Return to the heat and add 2 ladles of stock, enough to cover the rice and simmer until the rice has absorbed all the stock. Repeat this process until the rice has absorbed nearly all the liquid. This should take about 15 minutes. Stir in the remaining butter, the squash, vermouth and Parmesan and stir briefly. Serve immediately, garnished with the pumpkin seeds.

(The alcohol would be cooked out so I assume would be ok for DD? It defo adds flavour!) HTH

WilsonFrickett · 12/06/2013 17:04

Poor DD. Does she like eggs? A boiled egg smashed up in a cup with butter?

I think shop bought smoothies (eg innocent) have been pasteurised so she would probably be OK with them, buy the sachets rather than the big bottles though. At least she'll be getting some fruit then. Likewise the fruit puree pouches you get for babies, they have been pasteurised.

You can get sachets of instant porridge, ready break etc too.

mignonette · 12/06/2013 17:05

My best advice is to consult with your hospital dieticians. They are a goldmine of advice and support and may be attached to the Oncology department. They can help address taste bud distortion, mouth and alimentary symptoms and food hygiene education.

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 12/06/2013 17:07

Oh your poor dd.
Trying to think of things which won't need an oven -

Smoothies are a good idea, and maybe you could freeze some to have as lollies too?
Porridge with syrup and banana, and maybe some nuts and cream too?
Soup - lentil and sweet potato, with a few spices and some coconut cream?

If she likes mushrooms, you could do mushroom omelettes, perhaps with some cheese added too?

BaconKetchup · 12/06/2013 17:17

Couscous could be really good, technically you're supposed to do it properly in a pan but usually I just pour hot water from the kettle on it which does the trick just fine! Add cherry tomatoes, bits of vegetable, maybe some feta cheese.

I have gastritis a lot which makes me lose my appetite (obviously not comparable to your poor DD) and porridge is usually what I have when I know I need to have something but don't want to.

Simple things like cheese on crackers for snacks (although may not work if she's gone off cheese).

Egg & soldiers

Couscous is the best one I can think of really!

BaconKetchup · 12/06/2013 17:21

Sorry, just noticed the detail that she can't have raw vegetables. Cooked vegetables could be added to couscous too, which would be nice.

coffeewineandchocolate · 12/06/2013 17:26

homemade fish fingers, chips and peas/ beans?
homemade pizza that she could make herself ( if you can't make the base yourself use a pitta bread?)
curries?
stir fry?
Make lots of bubbly bits like flap jack/ buns/
beef casserole and mash?
toasties with soup?
scrambled egg on toast
peanut butter and banana sandwiches

OldLadyKnowsNothing · 12/06/2013 17:42

One of my favourite recipies, cream of onion soup.

Serves 3-4.

Chop an onion and one or two cloves of garlic. Sweat, with a knob of butter and a wee gloop of oil, in a lidded pan over a low heat, until the onion is translucent. Add a tablespoon of pinhead oatmeal (don't think porridge oats would work Grin ) and stir. Slowly add a pint of hot vegetable or chicken stock (made from stock cubes is fine) and stir lots; the oatmeal will clump and stick. Bring back to the boil, and turn heat as low as will maintain. Cover, and simmer for 20 minutes or so, stirring often.

Remove from the heat and blend to a smooth consistency, either with a stick blender (which you can get for £5-10 in supermarkets) or other machine. Add half a pint of milk or a milk/cream combo, stir well, and reheat. Eat.

Onions and garlic both have antiseptic properties, and oatmeal releases energy slowly, so I think this soup should be OK.

Best wishes to you and dd.

BlingLoving · 13/06/2013 11:25

Hazlinh I feel like I want to come over there and cook something for your dd! Grin but in the absence of that, here are a few ideas:

Cream of mushroom soup (I don?t cook this because I try to avoid cream, but this is what I would do):
Punnet of mushrooms, wiped and chopped
Small white onion, finely chopped
Small leak or stick of celery, finely chopped
Garlic clove, peeled.
Herbs ? I?d use a little fresh thyme leaves I think.
Vegetable or chicken stock (probably quite weak so that it?s not too strongly flavoured or salty).

I would fry the vegetables in a little olive oil until nicely soft. Remove the garlic clove at this point, add the thyme leaves then cover with the stock (I would be inclined to keep the stock on the lower side on the basis that a) mushrooms are watery and b) you want to be able to add a generous amount of cream at the end) and simmer for about 15 minutes. Use a hand blender to whiz it up then stir in a generous amount of cream.

Easy but delicious Butternut soup
This soup is my standby and everyone loves it.

1 butternut, roughly chopped and pealed (leaving a bit of the skin on won?t cause in any harm but do peel at least some as the skin makes the soup heavier).
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
½ yellow/red pepper, chopped
1 small leak, chopped
Dried rosemary
Cinnamon
Chicken/vegetable stock
Milk
Honey/lemon

Fry the onion, carrot, pepper and leak in some olive oil until softened. Add the butternut and stir as well as the rosemary (if making for adults, I also add chilli but I doubt that?s what she feels like). Cover with the stock. You want the stock to easily cover all the vegetables by a few centimetres. Simmer for about 25 minutes, until your butternut is all soft.

Allow to cool for a few minutes (just so that you don?t get burnt if any splashes happen while you?re blending) then use a hand blender to whiz it all up. Add milk (you could add half milk/half cream if you want to beef up the calories) to the consistency you want.

now the very important part : Add a good drizzle of honey (is she allowed honey?), a few squirts of lemon juice, and a good slug of cinnamon. Stir and taste. You will probably now need to add some salt. Taste again. If it seems a bit bland, toss more honey, cinnamon and lemon in. Stir, and serve.

When you say she can?t eat yoghurt, can she have yoghurt in food and heated up? If so, I will post my spinach and pea recipe which is absolutely delicious, packed with goodness and very very easy to make with all ingredients from the freezer except the yoghurt.

BlingLoving · 13/06/2013 11:27

Oh, and on your query re shepherds pie, I would not worry about the lack of oven. If you have a grill, pop it under the grill before you serve it. But if you don?t have that either, I?d serve it sort of like bangers and mash: Make your mash and your mince then put a dollop of mash on a plate, top with the mince then perhaps sprinkle some cheese on top to melt in to make it look a little more appetising.

BlingLoving · 13/06/2013 11:28

And one final idea, what about fritters? Would she like those do you think? A nice sweetcorn and courgette fritter is quite good on calories but easy to make?

And on that theme, what about french toast with syrup?

LoveSewingBee · 14/06/2013 22:54

Chicken soup with veg

Boil 1 chickenbreast in 1 litre of water. When boiling add 1 bay leaf, generous pinch of thyme, some milled black pepper, 4 pieces of mace and all finelychopped 1/3 of a carrot, 1/3 of celery stalk, piece of cauliflower, 1/4 leek. Let simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours. Fish out the chickenbreast and shred it and add shredded meat back to the soup. You could during the last 10 minutes add vermicelli (pasta for soup). Serve with french bread.

Lots of well wishes for your dd.

EMUZ · 14/06/2013 23:14

If she likes soup, how about cauliflower cheese soup? You can load it with cheese, put crispy bacon bits on top

Mumzy · 14/06/2013 23:26

Double check with hospital dietitians/ microbiologist but we use to allow dcs on 'clean diets' to have food and drinks freshly purchased from MacDonalds as the micro count was within the acceptable range, kids would eat it and it was all very high in calories

lisad123everybodydancenow · 14/06/2013 23:55

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