Need ideas for frozen meals for cancer patient

[twinmommy]

I am freezing meals to take up to my dad each week. He was just diagnosed with cancer and will need to have his freezer stocked with nourishing meals to get him through treatment. I've done some soups but need some ideas. Our preference is for vegetarian meals, legumes, or chicken/turkey, low sodium but big on flavor (this is where I really need some help- I can get carried away with the kosher salt). Thanks in advance for your ideas.

[miss louella]

twinmommy, I'm sorry to hear about your dad, but he's lucky to have you watching out for him. Soups worked great for my mom--as did scrambled eggs (sorry, doesn't help on the freeze ahead). Treatment actually changed her tastebuds and made it so flavorful things were distasteful, likewise anything with strong odors, so you might want to prepare some bland foods just in case. Careful with high-acid foods, some chemo causes mouth sores/tenderness.

Your dad may respond differently, but we found kid food worked well with my mom (and as a twinmommy, I'm guessing you've got that one nailed).

Good luck to you both and don't be bashful about asking the medical team questions.

PS get some yogurt (wide range of flavors) and those dietary supplement "shakes" to keep on hand.

[xtal]

The Canadian Cancer Society has a list of recipe suggestions, you could definitely use these as a starting point, and 'chowhound' them up as you go.

Good luck to you and your family.

www.cancer.ca > Canada-wide > Support/Services > Living with Cancer > Nutrition > Recipes

(Sorry, no direct linking to the site)

[PamelaD]

Something very mild and not too spicy or highly flavored is best.

I had a friend going through chemo. I made her a couple of loaves of banana bread (using slightly less cinnamon as usual). I sliced them into thick slices and froze them. She could reach in the freezer and pull out a slice whenever she was in the mood- quick defrost in the microwave does the trick.

Another idea is plain rice, maybe made with chicken broth and froze into individual portions in those ziplock (or whatever) storage containers.

Lentil soup/stew freezes well, and is healthy, esp if you add some veggies, but is not everyones favorite...but if your Dad likes lentils, it might be a healthy choice.

Another good snack when your tummy is not at it's best is sliced bananas drizzled with honey (not freezable, but easy to keep on hand).

I wish health to you and your father,
Pam

[janehathaway]

I'm sorry about your Dad and hope he recovers soon.

I always make red lentil dal when anyone in our home is sick. This recipe is not very spicy, but you could tone it down it tone even more if he's having an aversion to spices or smells. I omit the jalapeno most of the time anyway. I make huge pots of this and freeze it all the time. Good luck and best wishes.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/rec...

[janehathaway]

One more thing. The Mayo Clinic web site has wonderful, healthy recipes. I have their cookbook and love it. Here's a link to the recipe section of their site:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heal...

[ellaj]

There's a cookbook called "Cooking Well for the Unwell" that might be helpful to you. Offers practical advice as well as recipes.

When a family member was in treatment we blended a little bit of Ensure with a favorite sherbet and made pops for the freezer. They were nice to have around.

It's very true that things can taste different or "off" to chemo patients so you may have to tweak as you go along.

This does not answer your question but one small bit of advice is to reconsider portion size. Chemo patients often lack appetite and sometimes just seeing too much food can be a turn off and make it impossible to eat. A tiny bit of something served in a small dish is often much more appealing. One can always have more.

Best wishes to your Dad, and to you.

[laguera]

Sorry that your dad is sick, but he is lucky to have you help him through cancer treatement. As many of the other posters have mentioned, you dad might have severely decreased appetite, and his tastes may change. Though you will want to nourish him as optimally as possible (I had this same impulse, as i'm sure all other posters have also), it is most important to just get him as many calories as possible. The cancer docs will tell you that protein is very important, but often protein, even chicken, is unpalatable to someone who is going through chemo. The suggestions of rice (or maybe pasta) cooked with chicken broth, zucchini bread, and lentils (if that is a comfort food) are good. My dad never had a sweet tooth, but when he was sick, he only wanted fruit, sweet pastry, cake, cookies, ice cream. I tried to add protien powder to sweet yogurt and fruit smoothies and baked goods. Even though I do not like the taste of it, I found that my dad would eat sweets with the protein powder more readily than many savory items (and my dad was a big eater before he got sick!). The suggestion of making high-cal baked goods like zucchini bread and freezing them in small portions is excellent. Try to make foods that are very familiar to him, but make them more calorically dense by adding protein powder or fat (if he is losing weight) as he will tolerate those things. You will have to adjust your food prep strategy as you go. Good luck and let us know if you need more advice.