Cancer Survivors Network

powdered supplements or protein powder? Powdered egg mixed into like a pudding?

Layne did not have this problem... You can't swallow any of the things his surgeon mentioned like certain nuts. How about peanut butter shakes or something? Peanut butter if you can get it down is very high in protein and calories.

Or put peanut butter in your pancakes. My kids love those.

We'll keep you in prayer as you near surgery!

Dear Donna:

Can you eat mashed potatoes? Potatoes are one of the most nutritious foods there is. A friend of mine said she added "Cream Cheese" to make them even more nutritious for her grandkids. I'm sorry you are having that problem. I would think that something like creamy mashed potatoes would be good. Of course, Loretta would season them with Butter, Carnation milk, salt and pepper. I would think that "Instant mashed potatoes would be convenient. You could try some concoction with those and if it didn't work out, you wouldn't have used precious time and energy, peeling, cooking, mixing things up from "scratch". Your taste buds should be improving.

Of course, southern ladies always have "gravy" with their mashed potatoes. Just a thought, is there some kind of protein powder that could be disguised in the gravy? You could season the gravy with beef bouillon for flavor. Of course, you would want milk instead of water, as a base for the gravy. Loretta cooks from "scratch", so these are some of the things she would do. Of course, I haven't tried it myself. My appetite wasn't affected and I never lost any weight prior to my operation.

Another thing, Loretta skipped the "Junior Baby food" stage for our kids. She took some of the same things we adults ate. For instance, she would put pork chops, chicken, beef, or whatever meat we had and put it in the blender with gravy. She would spoon some of that mixture on top of creamed potatoes. The food was much better than the stuff you could buy in a jar. Just some thoughts.

You deserve a medal for surviving pre-op treatments. Wouldn't want you to not fare well in your operation because you were so weak". A prayer comes along with this thought from a Southern cook. By the way, sweet potatoes mixed with lots of butter and put in the blender would be tasty too.

William W. Marshall (& Loretta)
AKA "William66"
Virginia Beach, VA 23464