Easy foods for chemo

cattlemom01

Hi! My name is Denise.  I was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and have went through two chemo sessions.  After the first chemo I was still able to eat a few things.  Jello tasted especially good (orange and grape) but after treatment #2 I cannot eat a thing.  I havent had much nausea but have a very acid stomach and diarrhea.  I can control this with my pills as long as I stay faithful to them but everything I eat tastes like baking soda and I gag on a lot of foods.  We are in a somewhat rural area and finding different kinds of foods is not always easy.  Does anyone have any suggestions on very easy simple foods that might work.  I have read many articles but most things dont work.  Would love to hear what other people are eating.  Water does not even taste good.  Sorry I sound like such a "Debbie-Downer" but it is getting frustrating.

button2

Dear Cattlemom, I live in a

Dear Cattlemom, I live in a rural area too and actually grow many of my own vegetables. I forced myself to eat during chemo so I wouldn't scare my kids with too much weight loss. Everything tasted like cardboard, but I ate anyway. One thing I did actually like was grits! I'm a former southern girl and plain grits with a tiny knob of butter really helped my nausea. Please remember this is all temporary. When you stop the chemo, your hunger and sense of taste will come right back. Take care, Anna

GlowMore

Foods

I remember not being able to eat because I just COULD NOT stand the smells ....let alone the taste.  I was totally shocked when I couldn't even stand chocolate ....       All I could eat was scrambled egg and toast and skim milk.  I bought a lot of the Ensure Drinks ...but had to get the vanilla and still didn't like them much.  Lost a lot of weight and got weak and had to use a cane to walk for a little while...but made it through all the chemo/radiation & appetite finally came back.    Sending you prayers for courage and strength...seems like I liked grits too .....  and oatmeal  and tapioca......drank lots of water to help wash out the toxins.  They told me to stay away from all acidic food and not to get around plants or bushes for some reason.  Hope you are able to find something....perhaps if you talk with your Oncologist's Nutritionist?  Hang in there girl....we are all pulling for you. 

joannstar

I know what you mean...

The only thing I wanted to eat was pasta with butter and garlic.

Although not much tasted good, I gained quite a bit of weight.

I used plastic utensils and paper plates.

Good luck.

JoAnn

 

jessiesmom1

Eating during chemo

Hi Denise,

I began chemo in March 2010 and finished in August 2010. I had 16 total rounds. At first I was able to eat small amounts of very bland things such as plain boiled pasta, matzoh balls, and baked potatoes. I went ballistic when my teenage son ate a dumpling I had been saving! There was so little I could eat. After that I was unable to eat ANYTHING. I couldn't even manage to get down the Ensure or Boost drinks I purchased. Now those companies make a clear drink which may go down more easily than the creamy drinks. There was a point where I ate absolutely NOTHING for 30 days. Obviously that is not optimal but that's what it was. The oncologist said that a person can live quite a while without eating but I absolutely had to remain hydrated. In order to do that I used juice bars a lot. Not the ones that are primarily corn syrup or fructose but those made out of real juice. In addition, I bought a clear quart-size drink bottle and drank on a schedule - 1 cup every hour or something like that. It often took a mighty effort to even get down the liquids but I didn't want to end up in the hospital with dehydration issues or miss a chemo treatment due to poor blood counts. I never missed a round of chemo but was given some I.V. fluids during 2 rounds of chemo.

Don't worry about being a Debbie-downer or whining. We have all been there and can relate all too well. I wish you the best of luck. Please keep us posted.

IRENE

Puffin2014

post chemo foods

I wasn't nauseated, but  agree with a previous comment, most of my food tasted like wet cardboard, no flavor, and had to just make myself eat. My absolute favorite food was watermelon, I could go through a watermelon all by myself in 2 days. Good thing it was summer and they were available. I also happened to find that lemon was the one flavor I could still taste so I had lemon flavored pudding cups, lemonade, lemon suckers, etc. I was tired of drinking water that I started added a slice of lemon to my water bottle and that helped.

I also liked mashed potatoes, even the instant ones. The only way I could drink the whey protein shakes and cover up that terrible aftertaste was to add some vanilla ice cream, a hand immersion blender was great for those.

cattlemom01

Thanks everyone for your

Thanks everyone for your comments.  I think I will try the fruit pops and the corn syrup ones do not work.  They did the first chemo but after the second one they also taste like baking soda. I did find today after I posted that Lipton Soup packeages that you add to boiling water are not too bad so we will keep with those for a while as well as Ginger Ale I just got a small bottle at the convenience store.  I will get through this just very frustrating.  I hope by summer I can taste all the good things like corn on the cob and steak on the grill.  I absolutely love grilled food when I am healthy.

 

GMcD

cattlemom01 said:

Thanks everyone for your

Thanks everyone for your comments.  I think I will try the fruit pops and the corn syrup ones do not work.  They did the first chemo but after the second one they also taste like baking soda. I did find today after I posted that Lipton Soup packeages that you add to boiling water are not too bad so we will keep with those for a while as well as Ginger Ale I just got a small bottle at the convenience store.  I will get through this just very frustrating.  I hope by summer I can taste all the good things like corn on the cob and steak on the grill.  I absolutely love grilled food when I am healthy.

 

Hi.  I think we are all

Hi.  I think we are all different in what tastes okay during chemo.  I also found it very frustrating that I couldn't stand a lot of my favorite foods.  I was lucky that within a few weeks of ending treatment my taste buds returned to normal.  There are still a few things I don't eat because they tasted so awful during that time.  I also found lemony things quite good.  Best of luck to you and by no way should you feel like a downer.  This group was so helpful to me.  I would ask what I thought was a stupid question only to find that many others had the same one.

morgamed

GMcD said:

Hi.  I think we are all

Hi.  I think we are all different in what tastes okay during chemo.  I also found it very frustrating that I couldn't stand a lot of my favorite foods.  I was lucky that within a few weeks of ending treatment my taste buds returned to normal.  There are still a few things I don't eat because they tasted so awful during that time.  I also found lemony things quite good.  Best of luck to you and by no way should you feel like a downer.  This group was so helpful to me.  I would ask what I thought was a stupid question only to find that many others had the same one.

No chemo for me but lost taste after surgery

I'm a coffee holic.  Morning noon and night but lost all taste right after a bilateral surgey.  Everything tasted like tar..yes road tar.  Three weeks of me eating lemons with salt on them my husband had had enough.  So we went on a food crawl.  4 resturants a night and ordered four or five things and tasted everything on each plate until something suited me.  Well after almost two weeks of this I started getting my taste buds back.  However I was having way to much fun with this food crawl thing never did tell hubby when I got my taste buds back.. to this day he still likes doing the food crawl thing. 

Give it a few weeks but in the mean time taste foods till you find something you think you recognize or like.  Who said fried pickles with mustard and soy sauce didn't taste good?

Eat, Drink...it is only temporary...

1surfermom

morgamed said:

No chemo for me but lost taste after surgery

I'm a coffee holic.  Morning noon and night but lost all taste right after a bilateral surgey.  Everything tasted like tar..yes road tar.  Three weeks of me eating lemons with salt on them my husband had had enough.  So we went on a food crawl.  4 resturants a night and ordered four or five things and tasted everything on each plate until something suited me.  Well after almost two weeks of this I started getting my taste buds back.  However I was having way to much fun with this food crawl thing never did tell hubby when I got my taste buds back.. to this day he still likes doing the food crawl thing. 

Give it a few weeks but in the mean time taste foods till you find something you think you recognize or like.  Who said fried pickles with mustard and soy sauce didn't taste good?

Eat, Drink...it is only temporary...

Chemo foods

I could only tolerate soft foods while on chemo. I know this was probably the worst thing for my body but when I couldn't even look at food I found that I could eat a plain Arbys Roast Beef sandwich and keep it down. I also developed a craving for ice cream( plain vanilla )the coolness of the food  was soothing.Do you have a blender or a nutri bullet? Perhaps a homemade protein shake with fruit and yogurt would help and give you the norishment you need . I  also found that chemo made me really sensitive to scent. If the smell of food makes you sick keep a lemon nearby, I used to hold the lemon up to my nose when I smelt anything offensive and having two boys (one a teenager at the time) playing baseball and football the lemon was a godsend. I hope that you will find what works for you and remember you will get through chemo and when you do I will be holding the light at the end of the tunnel. Love Surf

tasha_111

Food....

Hi there.  I found food nearly impossible when I was doing chemo.  I was lucky as I could drink milk, I got through 4-6 pints a day (twice that amount of beer too)  Any food was either tasteless and a horrible texture, or tasted like poison and a horrible texture.  I found baked tates with butter was tolerable.  Also, couldn't eat with metal , had to use plastic knives and forks, or just hands.   I too loved coffee before chemo, now 5 years later, cannot even stand the smell of it, a lot of your taste bud changes will stay for a long time.     Good luck hun, it is a trial.  

 

 

Double Whammy

tasha_111 said:

Food....

Hi there.  I found food nearly impossible when I was doing chemo.  I was lucky as I could drink milk, I got through 4-6 pints a day (twice that amount of beer too)  Any food was either tasteless and a horrible texture, or tasted like poison and a horrible texture.  I found baked tates with butter was tolerable.  Also, couldn't eat with metal , had to use plastic knives and forks, or just hands.   I too loved coffee before chemo, now 5 years later, cannot even stand the smell of it, a lot of your taste bud changes will stay for a long time.     Good luck hun, it is a trial.  

 

 

Ice cream!

Luckily my taste and appetite was pretty much ok until rounds 3 and 4.  The first two I just didn't find food very interesting, but nothing tasted bad.  Then it hit me hard.  I found ice cream, milk shakes, and smothies (with yogurt) to be most helpful.   Ever so often I'd get a hankering for something and my husband would provide it only to have me be unable to eat it.  It was actually pretty awful as I recall, but I forced myself to eat for nutrition and calories.  Small amounts, often.  Good luck.  It is temporary.

Suzanne

Lilly9

Double Whammy said:

Ice cream!

Luckily my taste and appetite was pretty much ok until rounds 3 and 4.  The first two I just didn't find food very interesting, but nothing tasted bad.  Then it hit me hard.  I found ice cream, milk shakes, and smothies (with yogurt) to be most helpful.   Ever so often I'd get a hankering for something and my husband would provide it only to have me be unable to eat it.  It was actually pretty awful as I recall, but I forced myself to eat for nutrition and calories.  Small amounts, often.  Good luck.  It is temporary.

Suzanne

Italian Ice!   I went through

Italian Ice!   I went through box after box of them!    Watermelon also     Just keep trying things - anything to keep your strength up!