food - nutrition - recipies

 

 

 

books and articles

 

BOOKS

Easy-to-Swallow, Easy-to-Chew Cookbook


Over 150 Tasty and Nutritious Recipes for People Who Have Difficulty Swallowing
Donna L. Weihofen, R.D., M.S., Anne Robbins, PhD., CCC-SLP, Paula A.
Sullivan, M.S., CCC-SLP
PART ONE: Understanding Swallowing and Swallowing Difficulties.
1. How We Swallow.
2. Swallowing Safely and Easily.
3. Tailored Food Textures and Nutrition Tips.
4. Tips for Easy Swallowing.
PART TWO: The Recipes.

The Cancer Survival Cookbook


200 Quick and Easy Recipes with Helpful Eating Hints, Roche Laboratories
Donna L. Weihofen, Christina Marino

Eating Well Through Cancer

Easy Recipes & Recommendations During & After Treatment
Holly Clegg, Dr. Gerald Miletello

 

INTERNET

National Cancer Institute - Eating Hints for Cancer Patients: Before, During, and After Treatment

 

Articles with Food Hints

EATING GOOD FOODS, STAYING HEALTHY

Pat Sanders

As cancer patients and survivors, we want every chance at good health that we can provide for ourselves. We get most of our nutrition, that will build our immune systems, by eating the basic three times a day, but there are some foods that are better for us and help to keep us in good health. We have to count snacks and drinks, which for most of us add calories, fat, and not much else. Let’s see if we can get what we need and not too much of what we don’t.

Early on, we have been on a liquid diet due to surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy, so let’s start with some help for people who are doing that now. You may have a liquid drink that the doctor has prescribed. The worry is getting enough nutrients for your body to have strength to regain health. The blender is the handiest tool in the kitchen for this time. Milkshakes can be made with powdered protein supplements, which you can buy at the drug or health food store, added to the liquid diet, milk, ice cream, or yogurt. Do NOT add raw eggs since uncooked eggs often harbor salmonella and you don’t need a stomach upset from that! Most likely, citrus fruits will irritate, but there are juices that are not so acidic, such as pear, black cherry, grape, apple or apricot, that you might tolerate well and some juices can be added to a milkshake to cut their acidity. Clear broth is available, chicken, beef or vegetable.

Hopefully, you will soon reach the stage of swallowing very soft foods. The first of these should be foods that slide down without much effort. Egg custards, puddings and even gelatin, which has a low nutritional value, will taste good and swallowing will be easy. Cream of wheat or similar cereals can be thinned with milk and be almost liquid. Try mashed potatoes with milk, butter and sour cream and mashed baked sweet potatoes are great. Applesauce, avocado and yogurt are smooth and nourishing. Some like baby foods as their first semi-solid food and can get a good variety at the super market.

The next step follows easily with the addition of bananas, peanut butter, ripe melons, cottage cheese, canned fruits, soft scrambled eggs, oatmeal, grits, creamed soups and macaroni & cheese. Melted cheese can be added to eggs, grits, or soups. Vegetables should be cooked to the point of softness and mashed with a fork. You can use a blender for creaming if you’re not ready for a little chewing.

Baked fish or chicken should be the first meats to try because of the texture. You can start with very small bites. A sauce or gravy helps if you have a dry mouth. Most vegetables are fine, if cut very small and cooked to the point of softness. Baked potatoes, pasta and well cooked rice with whatever flavorings you wish can be tried and you will find out which are the best for you. If something is hard to swallow, try mashing, blending, or cooking longer.

Now that you are eating more and more of a regular diet, it is time to quit thinking of, "What can I swallow?" and start thinking of. "What is good for me in what I swallow?"

When you have cancer, beating the disease is the first concern and you don’t count calories because losing weight can be a problem and keeping your weight up is regarded as desirable. As I was recovering from cancer, it was the only time in my life that a doctor congratulated me on gaining several pounds. When I made this comment to the doctor, he laughed and said, "It means you’re eating."

It is not necessary for most of us to change our diets completely. Let’s take one step at a time and reduce some of the things we know are bad for us while substituting things that are good for us.

FATS - Cut back on animal fats. Trim the fat from roasts. Don’t eat the skin of chicken. Drain fat before making gravy. Substitute liquid vegetable oils for meat fats where some fat content is needed. Use bouillon cubes for flavor instead of bacon drippings in beans or greens. Use a lower fat milk and try some of the low-fat or no-fat products like salad dressings, yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream, ice cream, or frozen yogurt.

SWEETS - Use one spoon of sugar instead of two in your tea or coffee. Cut down on desserts or make them with less sugar. Substitute water, herb teas or fruit juices for colas.

SALT - Since most of us lose some of our taste capabilities, we tend to use more salt. Try using a "Lite Salt" which tastes the same but has less sodium content. A dash of flavored vinegar or a squeeze of fresh lemon can add taste without adding salt. Herbs and spices used freely while cooking can replace salt or fats. Many people believe onions and garlic are cancer fighters and they certainly won’t hurt you, so load up on both of them.

VEGETABLES - You can double up on most of these if they are cooked without Fats, Sweets or Salt. Eat them raw or cooked in salads, but watch the calories in salad dressing. Roast them in the oven, steam them on stove top or in the microwave. Go back for a second helping and cut back on meat and dessert. Especially recommended are the orange and dark green vegetables. They are well known as………the cancer fighters!

SHADOW OF A TASTE

Pat Sanders

Since we have lost most of our sense of smell, which affects our taste, we need to be looking for things that will make food "taste" more like it used to. While there are four acknowledged taste bud sensations, sour, sweet, salty and bitter, some authorities feel there is a fifth, savory (herbs, for instance), which reacts more to aroma. The aroma moves up into the area behind the nose and thus allows a stronger "flavor". Experiment with herbs by putting a little bit of dried herb on your tongue and nibbling at it with your front teeth and you should get a strong flavor, often too strong to be pleasant. The dried herbs taste a lot different and a lot better cooked with foods. Chewing a few leaves of a fresh herb, such as mint or basil, will taste good and fresh herbs can be added plentifully to raw salads and cooked dishes.

Suggestions from other laryngectomees and from nutrition magazines have made possible the following ideas to help make food a pleasure, even with less smell and taste:

Cook freely with herbs and spices and use lots of onion and garlic. You may find that chicken is tasty again if cooked with tarragon or dill. Italian seasonings and salsa perk up flat dishes. Mashed potatoes with a dash of Cajun seasoning are delicious. Grits, rice or pasta dishes made with Jalapeno cheese are very flavorful but be careful of the hot pepper until you know it won’t burn your mouth and throat.
Vary the texture of your foods. A bowl of ice cream with a crisp cookie. An apple with yogurt. Have a salad "with" your meal instead of "before", or nibble on raw carrot sticks when you are having soft cooked vegetables. The texture of food has been part of the enjoyment all along. We just don’t think of that.
Vary the temperature of your foods. A sliced cold tomato with hot vegetables. The contrast seemingly adds different flavors.
Add a squeeze of lemon juice, a flavored vinegar or a mustard sauce to a baked potato or vegetables.
Alternate your bites with a different flavors, temperatures or textures.
Eat slowly, chew thoroughly, and savor each bite.
Try something different. Instead of a bland salad dressing, try Caesar’s or Italian or a make-your-own vinegar and herb. You might like a strong salad dressing sprinkled lightly over vegetables.
You will find that you like things you would not eat before and that you have more taste left than you thought you did. Thanksgiving turkey time is coming up. Try pouring apple juice or wine over the turkey and topping with a lot of different herbs and enjoy the aroma as it bakes. My family loves "blackened turkey", made by coating the turkey with Cajun seasoning and cooking long and slow.
Have a Good Thanksgiving!!!

 

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