Food Before and After Treatment

Hondo
Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
edited February 2011 in Head and Neck Cancer #1
I was hungry a little while ago and found myself in the Kitchen looking something to eat. There was all kinds of stuff I loved at one time in my life but find it does not quite taste the same any more, then I found myself eating something I never did like before C but love it now.

This led me to wonder about the foods I use to love to eat, and the foods I love to eat now. Anyone else had this problem, what did you love to eat before C that you don’t like anymore


Hondo
«1

Comments

  • Hal61
    Hal61 Member Posts: 655
    Biscuits and gravy
    Hi Hondo, my taste has come back to degree, but things I like still change on a regular basis. I could eat and enjoy biscuits and gravy during a lot of treatment, but lately it doesn't taste like much. I liked about anything before c. Now I find myself in the kitchen tasting to see if anything is on the menu. I've mentioned before that eggs have been the exception (so I might be a vegetarian, but never a vegan). I can always enjoy eggs. Breads are an ongoing problem. Loved dark rye, now I don't. Potatoes too, I hardly eat them now. Lots of things I can tolerate now, that's the big difference from during treatment, but it still changes from one day to next.

    keep tasting, Hal
  • MarineE5
    MarineE5 Member Posts: 1,030 Member
    Good Topic
    Hondo,

    I find myself tasting different things at different times because it seems my taste changes every so often. Like Hal said, his taste changes day to day.

    I think I create some of my own problems though. I stumble on to something that I can taste and then I eat it so much that I become sick of it and then have to find something else that I can taste : ) As Homer Simpson would say " Duh ". I did that with Yogurt not too long ago. Found the fruit on the bottom yogurt tasted pretty good and eat it everyday. Now I can't look at it....

    My Best to You and Everyone Here
  • sweetblood22
    sweetblood22 Member Posts: 3,228
    MarineE5 said:

    Good Topic
    Hondo,

    I find myself tasting different things at different times because it seems my taste changes every so often. Like Hal said, his taste changes day to day.

    I think I create some of my own problems though. I stumble on to something that I can taste and then I eat it so much that I become sick of it and then have to find something else that I can taste : ) As Homer Simpson would say " Duh ". I did that with Yogurt not too long ago. Found the fruit on the bottom yogurt tasted pretty good and eat it everyday. Now I can't look at it....

    My Best to You and Everyone Here

    My taste buds are still out
    My taste buds are still out of whack. I don't have taste fully back yet and you can clearly see that my tongue is shiny and glossy and smooth. Where before it had a lot of taste buds and looked different. There are many foods that no longer taste right to me, plus many that burn now. Apparently I was a super taster before treatment. I don't like bitter stuff like kale, radicchio, grapefruit (blech!!!), coffee (must have a ton of milk for me to drink it) green tea, soy products, artificial sweeteners (such as aspartame or saccharin), chili peppers - capsaicin burn is more intense in supertasters,
    tonic water - quinine is more bitter to supertasters, olives - for a given concentration, salt is more intense in supertasters, and also very sugary foods I wasn't fond of. I didn't really go for sweets. Only exception was chocolate. Olives I sort of liked as I grew older. Sort of kept at them til I liked them.

    Article on super tasters:

    http://supertastertest.com/

    Now, I can taste sweet better than anything else so I do find myself liking and eating sweet things now. I can eat sweet potato, ice cream and I really didn't do that before rads. I also found I don't mind brussel sprouts, Swiss cheese, sourkraut, and fresh peas which I really never ate before.

    I have been eating Swiss cheese last couple weeks and it tastes kinda good and a little nutty to me. I hated Swiss so much before that it made me gaggy. Go figure.
  • JUDYV5
    JUDYV5 Member Posts: 392

    My taste buds are still out
    My taste buds are still out of whack. I don't have taste fully back yet and you can clearly see that my tongue is shiny and glossy and smooth. Where before it had a lot of taste buds and looked different. There are many foods that no longer taste right to me, plus many that burn now. Apparently I was a super taster before treatment. I don't like bitter stuff like kale, radicchio, grapefruit (blech!!!), coffee (must have a ton of milk for me to drink it) green tea, soy products, artificial sweeteners (such as aspartame or saccharin), chili peppers - capsaicin burn is more intense in supertasters,
    tonic water - quinine is more bitter to supertasters, olives - for a given concentration, salt is more intense in supertasters, and also very sugary foods I wasn't fond of. I didn't really go for sweets. Only exception was chocolate. Olives I sort of liked as I grew older. Sort of kept at them til I liked them.

    Article on super tasters:

    http://supertastertest.com/

    Now, I can taste sweet better than anything else so I do find myself liking and eating sweet things now. I can eat sweet potato, ice cream and I really didn't do that before rads. I also found I don't mind brussel sprouts, Swiss cheese, sourkraut, and fresh peas which I really never ate before.

    I have been eating Swiss cheese last couple weeks and it tastes kinda good and a little nutty to me. I hated Swiss so much before that it made me gaggy. Go figure.

    Supertaster
    I don't know about supertaster, but I had the ability to taste the difference in sweet things. I was told that only a small percentage of the population had that ability. I used to make money doing market reasearch for a local company.
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    Hal61 said:

    Biscuits and gravy
    Hi Hondo, my taste has come back to degree, but things I like still change on a regular basis. I could eat and enjoy biscuits and gravy during a lot of treatment, but lately it doesn't taste like much. I liked about anything before c. Now I find myself in the kitchen tasting to see if anything is on the menu. I've mentioned before that eggs have been the exception (so I might be a vegetarian, but never a vegan). I can always enjoy eggs. Breads are an ongoing problem. Loved dark rye, now I don't. Potatoes too, I hardly eat them now. Lots of things I can tolerate now, that's the big difference from during treatment, but it still changes from one day to next.

    keep tasting, Hal

    Biscuits
    Hal
    I am with you on Biscuits but don’t like gravy on it unless it is with potato’s, that’s weird. Funny how out taste can changes so much.

    All the best
    Hondo
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    MarineE5 said:

    Good Topic
    Hondo,

    I find myself tasting different things at different times because it seems my taste changes every so often. Like Hal said, his taste changes day to day.

    I think I create some of my own problems though. I stumble on to something that I can taste and then I eat it so much that I become sick of it and then have to find something else that I can taste : ) As Homer Simpson would say " Duh ". I did that with Yogurt not too long ago. Found the fruit on the bottom yogurt tasted pretty good and eat it everyday. Now I can't look at it....

    My Best to You and Everyone Here

    Marine
    I know the problem, after my last treatment I loved eating Ritz crackers; I ate them for years sometime a box a day, can’t look at them now. I also love Avocado and ate them all the time, but I only eat them now and then as I don’t want to do the same as with the Ritz’s.

    Take care
    Hondo
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member

    My taste buds are still out
    My taste buds are still out of whack. I don't have taste fully back yet and you can clearly see that my tongue is shiny and glossy and smooth. Where before it had a lot of taste buds and looked different. There are many foods that no longer taste right to me, plus many that burn now. Apparently I was a super taster before treatment. I don't like bitter stuff like kale, radicchio, grapefruit (blech!!!), coffee (must have a ton of milk for me to drink it) green tea, soy products, artificial sweeteners (such as aspartame or saccharin), chili peppers - capsaicin burn is more intense in supertasters,
    tonic water - quinine is more bitter to supertasters, olives - for a given concentration, salt is more intense in supertasters, and also very sugary foods I wasn't fond of. I didn't really go for sweets. Only exception was chocolate. Olives I sort of liked as I grew older. Sort of kept at them til I liked them.

    Article on super tasters:

    http://supertastertest.com/

    Now, I can taste sweet better than anything else so I do find myself liking and eating sweet things now. I can eat sweet potato, ice cream and I really didn't do that before rads. I also found I don't mind brussel sprouts, Swiss cheese, sourkraut, and fresh peas which I really never ate before.

    I have been eating Swiss cheese last couple weeks and it tastes kinda good and a little nutty to me. I hated Swiss so much before that it made me gaggy. Go figure.

    Sweet
    That is the first I heard of Supertasters, I always wonders how some people could taste the different in wines and other food, for me it all use to taste the same, and still does.

    Thanks
    Hondo
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    JUDYV5 said:

    Supertaster
    I don't know about supertaster, but I had the ability to taste the difference in sweet things. I was told that only a small percentage of the population had that ability. I used to make money doing market reasearch for a local company.

    Hi Judy
    That is amazing to find out that only a small percentage of the people have that ability. The article that Sweet posted also said that supertasters are at risk for certain cancers because they don’t like the bitter taste in foods with compound’s that can protect against some cancers. Now I know why Mama would make us all sit at the table and eat all that stuff we did not like to eat. lol

    All the best
    Hondo
  • rozaroo
    rozaroo Member Posts: 665
    Hondo said:

    Marine
    I know the problem, after my last treatment I loved eating Ritz crackers; I ate them for years sometime a box a day, can’t look at them now. I also love Avocado and ate them all the time, but I only eat them now and then as I don’t want to do the same as with the Ritz’s.

    Take care
    Hondo

    food
    Loved mushroom soup prior to treatment. No longer on my fave list. Chocolate is slowly coming back. Love salmon but carefull as to who I buy it from as there is a difference & I
    sure do notice it. Cake not so much but banana bread is good lol! Pie a big yes but in moderation. Alcohol burns except for beer, however, I choose the alcohol free for now. Bread
    is iffy! Salad is wonderfull torn into little bits & veg chopped fine with ranch dressing.Beef is now not one of my faves, chicken turkey dark meat only. Gravy has to be fresh not jarred. I am pickier yes, but that is a good thing!
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    Ice Cream
    For a long time, a lot of things tasted nasty that I use to like a lot. My wife makes awesome soups, chicken noodle, beef stew, chili, even spaghetti.

    For a long time those all tasted nasty, within the last few months, they are probably 90% as good as before...chili especially. About a month ago, I think we made chili four times in two weeks, LOL.

    I always lived ice cream before, mainly anything with nuts in it. I had lost the ability to taste sweet flavors for many months after treatment. Dairy in general was slow coming back, I'm a big milk drinker, that has improved 90% also.

    It has slowly started to improve the last time I tried it. For whatever reason (weight mainly, LOL)...I haven't tried it for awhile.

    I might just need to give it another shot before long.

    Cherry pies or turnovers have always been a treat also, that taste has finally came back also as of the Holidays...:)

    Best,
    John
  • ekdennie
    ekdennie Member Posts: 238 Member
    food
    before treatment you couldn't pay me to drink a glass of milk, during treatment I couldn't taste it so I drank it for calories, now the taste is so strong it tastes worse than it did before cancer. I used to eat cheese in just about everything, now i have to be careful of the brand of cheese, some mild cheddars are so mild I can't taste them at all, some mozzarella taste like dirty sweat socks, and some other cheeses are just so strong I can't take more than a bite. it makes for interesting dining...I never know if what I am about to try will taste good or not be worth the effort.
    fruits and veggies taste stronger, but when cooked to the correct texture for me they still taste pretty good, but I can not eat very much fruit or it burns too much. as for spices, I eat just about everything with almost no pepper and extra salt (I didn't use much if any salt before treatment). spicy food still tastes amazing, but I have to be careful...more than one bite and I can't eat for three days! sometimes it is worth it though...Oklahoma Dynamite Sushi rolls (cooked crab and shrimp with spicy mayo in a roll with cucumber...yum). I loved shrimp before, now i can't stand it. I still love pizza, but I only like my homemade recipe that I had started making years ago to actually know what was going into my favorite food. I don't eat nearly as much pasta...it has either too much basil or is so bland I can't bring myself to waste something I know is good.
    I now eat because I must or I will lose weight...I don't eat for enjoyment. I know it will come back eventually...I can wait...I have the time!
  • luv4lacrosse
    luv4lacrosse Member Posts: 1,410 Member
    FOODS I LIKE
    I have found being 90+ days out, the things I used to eat regularly just will not go down. I was a big BBQ afficionado, but cannot chew meat, pork or chicken to the point that I can swallow it. I even tried a grilled ground beef patty that tasted great, but got stuck in the back of my throat.

    I can however successfully eat just about any type of grilled/broiled white flaky fish with out much problem. As soon as it gets any breading on it, it will not go down.
    I find myself eating allot of oatmeal, canned soft pasta, soups, canned chilli ETC.

    Taste wise, i will eat something knowing what it should taste like, but it usually falls short of that.

    Eatimg used to be a pleasure for me, now it is just s chore. If I do not want the frustration or letdown of eating, I just tube feed.

    Mike
  • ratface
    ratface Member Posts: 1,337 Member

    FOODS I LIKE
    I have found being 90+ days out, the things I used to eat regularly just will not go down. I was a big BBQ afficionado, but cannot chew meat, pork or chicken to the point that I can swallow it. I even tried a grilled ground beef patty that tasted great, but got stuck in the back of my throat.

    I can however successfully eat just about any type of grilled/broiled white flaky fish with out much problem. As soon as it gets any breading on it, it will not go down.
    I find myself eating allot of oatmeal, canned soft pasta, soups, canned chilli ETC.

    Taste wise, i will eat something knowing what it should taste like, but it usually falls short of that.

    Eatimg used to be a pleasure for me, now it is just s chore. If I do not want the frustration or letdown of eating, I just tube feed.

    Mike

    Spanish peanuts are impossible now
    I've found that my eating has gotten pretty boring and routine. Breakfast is typically oatmeal with fruit and nuts. Occasionally cereal. Lunch is always a salad heaped with dressing, blue cheese or french. A normal size bottle of dressing typically will last 3-4 salads. I just need the moisture to help with chewing. Dinner is varied among a fairly wide spectrum though, say 20-30 recipies from braised beef to salmon, soups, stews, and pastas. I don't do breads, and rice dishes and snacking on Spanish peanuts is just impossible. Pizza is challenging but doable but has lost it's flavor and appeal.
  • sweetblood22
    sweetblood22 Member Posts: 3,228
    ratface said:

    Spanish peanuts are impossible now
    I've found that my eating has gotten pretty boring and routine. Breakfast is typically oatmeal with fruit and nuts. Occasionally cereal. Lunch is always a salad heaped with dressing, blue cheese or french. A normal size bottle of dressing typically will last 3-4 salads. I just need the moisture to help with chewing. Dinner is varied among a fairly wide spectrum though, say 20-30 recipies from braised beef to salmon, soups, stews, and pastas. I don't do breads, and rice dishes and snacking on Spanish peanuts is just impossible. Pizza is challenging but doable but has lost it's flavor and appeal.

    I miss pizza so much!
    Things I miss the most:

    Spaghetti and meat sauce
    Pizza
    Steak (wasn't a big steak or meat eater before)
    BBQ chicken wings (my father calls his Mother Clucker's Famous Wings)
    Fried chicken
    Cheesesteaks
    Pesole (a pork, chicken and hominy slow cooked yummy stew like dish ~ south west yummy)
    Lamb chops
    Crusty bread

    One thing I do when I make my small ice cream cone almost every night is I use two flavors. I fill the cone part with one and top with a spoonful of the other. I think it makes it more enjoyable. After a bit the ice cream doesn't taste as intense, I think switching up the flavors makes it more enjoyable. I figured that out when all I had one night was a tiny bit of chocolate and a tiny bit of pumpkin ice cream left. It was suprisingly really good. I always put the most intense flavor on the bottom.

    I'm using a lot more fresh herbs these days. Trying anything to amp up some flavor to make my food tastier. I find I like the taste of thyme a lot now. Which is good because it lends itself well to mushrooms which I make a lot in lieu of meat, since I can't swallow much meat. I can also taste basil and so I use that as well. For dried spices cinnamon is finally better for me. I loved it and couldn't eat it for a long time. Glad that I can tolerate it now. I think I love curry powder even more now than I did before.

    Some spices are really good for you and high in antioxidants. Cinnamon, turmeric, Ginger, garlic, cumin, cloves, chili powder and black pepper (can't do the pepper yet) Curry which contains a lot of the above is like a super duper spice. I am glad that I can enjoy more herbs and spices now. I also hated pumpkin pie spices and carrot cake and pumpkin roll before treatment. Now I don't mind that spice combo and kinda like it.
  • abbimom
    abbimom Member Posts: 87 Member
    spicy
    I use to love spicy foods but that is out of the picture. I also use to like cereal but most of them taste metallic to me now except when I was pregnant it tasted good. I loved steak even cold in the morning but now it is too hard for me to eat. I miss being able to eat and not have to take a drink after every bite. I also miss being able to eat a slice of pizza in less than 20 minutes. So many changes. I also miss gum and hard candy they either sting or get stuck in my teeth. In general I miss eating food that was not drenched in sauces or gravy. But I'm still lucky because I'm here and I can still eat just very slowly.
  • rozaroo
    rozaroo Member Posts: 665
    abbimom said:

    spicy
    I use to love spicy foods but that is out of the picture. I also use to like cereal but most of them taste metallic to me now except when I was pregnant it tasted good. I loved steak even cold in the morning but now it is too hard for me to eat. I miss being able to eat and not have to take a drink after every bite. I also miss being able to eat a slice of pizza in less than 20 minutes. So many changes. I also miss gum and hard candy they either sting or get stuck in my teeth. In general I miss eating food that was not drenched in sauces or gravy. But I'm still lucky because I'm here and I can still eat just very slowly.

    Ice cream tip!
    Sweet I appreciate your idea of making a double scoop cone with two different flavour's. I noticed after a bit the flavour has disappeared. The light bulb in my head suddenly clicked
    on after looking at your post. Thank you for your great cooking & eating tip's!
  • rozaroo
    rozaroo Member Posts: 665
    abbimom said:

    spicy
    I use to love spicy foods but that is out of the picture. I also use to like cereal but most of them taste metallic to me now except when I was pregnant it tasted good. I loved steak even cold in the morning but now it is too hard for me to eat. I miss being able to eat and not have to take a drink after every bite. I also miss being able to eat a slice of pizza in less than 20 minutes. So many changes. I also miss gum and hard candy they either sting or get stuck in my teeth. In general I miss eating food that was not drenched in sauces or gravy. But I'm still lucky because I'm here and I can still eat just very slowly.

    Ice cream tip!
    Sweet I appreciate your idea of making a double scoop cone with two different flavour's. I noticed after a bit the flavour has disappeared. The light bulb in my head suddenly clicked
    on after looking at your post. Thank you for your great cooking & eating tip's!
  • Kent Cass
    Kent Cass Member Posts: 1,898 Member
    rozaroo said:

    Ice cream tip!
    Sweet I appreciate your idea of making a double scoop cone with two different flavour's. I noticed after a bit the flavour has disappeared. The light bulb in my head suddenly clicked
    on after looking at your post. Thank you for your great cooking & eating tip's!

    Not cool-
    to have been a Burger King Whopper fan, but I used to really really like them. Bigtime. It was maybe some 7 months, post-treatment, that I dared on a Sunday to celebrate with a Whopper= not good. Think I tried just one other time, and still not good. Perhaps it is a blessing, considering the Nutritional value of the Whopper.

    kcass
  • sweetblood22
    sweetblood22 Member Posts: 3,228
    Kent Cass said:

    Not cool-
    to have been a Burger King Whopper fan, but I used to really really like them. Bigtime. It was maybe some 7 months, post-treatment, that I dared on a Sunday to celebrate with a Whopper= not good. Think I tried just one other time, and still not good. Perhaps it is a blessing, considering the Nutritional value of the Whopper.

    kcass

    You're welcome, Roz. :)
    You're welcome, Roz. :) You know me. Food obsessed. ;-)

    Kent hoping someday that you can eat and enjoy a Whopper. They are pretty caloric. Maybe try one every year or so. Lol
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    Kent Cass said:

    Not cool-
    to have been a Burger King Whopper fan, but I used to really really like them. Bigtime. It was maybe some 7 months, post-treatment, that I dared on a Sunday to celebrate with a Whopper= not good. Think I tried just one other time, and still not good. Perhaps it is a blessing, considering the Nutritional value of the Whopper.

    kcass

    BK Burgers
    Sorry you can't taste it or it being as good as before...

    Still a favorite of mine...actually the double cheeseburgers, and now the Steakhouse Stuffed with Cheddar and Jalapeños.

    JG