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Eating
enough when you don’t feel like eating at all:
Eat
larger meals earlier in the day.
Sip
high calorie drinks like milk shakes or smoothies through a
straw between meals.
Eat
small meals off of small plates – little portions are less
overwhelming.
Eat
baby food fruit for snacks – it’s high in calories,
vitamins, and minerals and it goes down easily.
Try
to eat when you are relaxed and eat slowly.
Eat
whenever you are hungry, not just at regular meal times.
Carry portable snacks with you wherever you go - in
your handbag, briefcase, night table drawer or car.
Try
foods that require less chewing like applesauce or yogurt.
Eat
with a friend.
Some
days may be better than others.
On days when you are feeling well try to eat as
healthfully as you can.
Strategies
for increasing protein:
Aim
to include at least one serving of meat, fish, poultry, eggs,
or dairy at every meal or snack.
Add
protein powder or dried milk to milk shakes, fruit smoothies,
puddings, yogurt, mashed potatoes, and cream-based soups.
Sprinkle
cheese on sandwiches, eggs, pasta, rice dishes, baked
potatoes, French fries, and casseroles.
Spread
peanut butter on sandwiches, bagels, muffins, and quick
breads. Use it as a dip for raw vegetables, pretzels or
apples.
Add
chopped ground meat to rice and pasta dishes.
Strategies
for increasing calories:
Top
desserts with a heaping spoonful of whipped cream.
Add
cream to soups, cereals, and hot chocolate.
Add
butter or margarine to mashed and baked potatoes, soups,
pasta, rice and vegetable dishes.
Spread
cream cheese on toast, bread, bagels, muffins, and quick
breads.
Use
extra mayonnaise for tuna and egg salad and on sandwiches and
burgers.
When
using salad dressings, opt for thick, creamy dressings such as
blue cheese or thousand island.
Use these dressings as a dip for chips and vegetables.
Add
extra sugar to coffee and on cereals.
Put
cheese on everything.
Choose
foods that are fried and sautéed, rather than those that are
baked, broiled or grilled.
Snack
on dried fruit and nuts.
Indulge
in milk shakes, ice cream and pudding.
Tips
for making meal planning and preparation as easy as possible:
When
friends and family ask how they can help, ask them to bring
you your favorite foods.
If you are not hungry when the food arrives, divide it
into individual portions, wrap it up, and freeze it for later.
If
someone else can help you with the cooking, shopping or
clean-up, let them do it.
If
you have access to take-out food, order in when you are tired
or don’t feel like
cooking.
Make
clean-up easy by using colorful paper plates and plastic
knives and forks.
Prepare
food like macaroni and cheese or pasta from mixes.
Fill
your freezer with lots of different frozen meals and pop them
in the microwave for a quick meal.
On
days that you are not feeling tired, call up a friend and cook
up a big batch of a favorite dish together.
Divide it up into single serve portions and freeze
them.
Make
a list of things that you like to eat.
Ask a friend or relative to buy the ingredients for
you, so that they will always be on hand for quick meal
preparation.
References:
Escott-Stump,
S. Nutrition
and Diagnosis-Related Care: 4th Edition. 1998. Lippincot
Williams and Willkins.
National
Cancer Institute. Eating Hints: Recipes & Tips for Better Nutrition During Cancer
Treatment.
Katzin,
C. The Nutrition
Handbook. http://www.cancernutrition.com
Johns
Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. Healthy
Directions.
http://www.jhbmc.jhu.edu/NUTRI/special/neutropenic.html.
Table
Of Contents
____________________________________________________________
AUTHOR: Karen
Ansel, MS, RD
The Cancer Information
Network
Date Modified: 04/20/02
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