Need some nutrition advice

Hi Niki
Well, the one thing Lee has found appetizing is a cereal called Vector. It's loaded with good stuff, and it's marketed as a "meal replacement" I would assume it's available in the states. (We're in Canada) He's also eating other cereals, but this one seems pretty healthy, and has over 200 calories per serving, plus the milk.

I know you said nothing too sweet, but I've been making him smoothies with vanilla Carnation instant breakfast, vanilla whey, benefiber, milk, ice cream and a frozen banana. We have a magic bullet blender, and it makes wonderful smoothies and shakes, easy and no mess.
It's great for making soups as well. Unfortunately with the heat, soup is not too appealing to him right now, but he's loving the smoothies.

I have no idea if they make unflavoured whey, where we went to get it, they only had chocolate, vanilla and berry kinds. Most likely you could find it somewhere though.

Sorry I could not be of more help, I know how frustrating it can be, you both know that he needs to eat, but his body is telling him otherwise. I posted the same question a few months ago, Lee's eating has been mostly great, but with a few bad days here and there. On the good days, have him eat like a horse!

Chantal

paul61 said:

Here are some supplement ideas
Niki,

Here are some calorie supplements along with recipes that Jeff may find helpful. The first is a calorie supplement called BeneCalorie. It is available at Walmart or most drug stores.
A web site reference with recipes is:

http://www.nestlenutritionstore.com/cancer-nutrition/cancer-recipes.asp

A second idea is BeneProtien. This is a high protein supplement that can be added to various foods. The web site is:

http://www.nestlenutritionstore.com/resource-beneprotein.asp

You will also find this site helpful for menu ideas in general while undergoing chemotherapy.

Hope this helps.


Best Regards,

Paul Adams
McCormick, South Carolina

DX 10/22/2009 T2N1M0 Stage IIB
12/03/2009 Ivor Lewis
2/8 through 6/14/2010 Adjuvant Chemo Cisplatin, Epirubicin, 5 FU
6/21/2010 CT Scan NED
3/14/2011 CT Scan NED

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance!

I second the Benecalorie and
I second the Benecalorie and Beneprotien. My husband wouldn't touch Boost or Ensure after he started chemo the first time. When he had a recurrence in December and had chemo and radiation on his neck, he really struggled to get things down. The Bene products were a lifesaver! Check with the nutritionist at your cancer center -- it's likely he/she has samples so you can see how it works for your husband before you buy it.

Best of luck!

Mary

NikiMo said:

Hi Chantal
Thanks for the suggestions, I will need to look up Vector and see if we can get it down here. Jeff is on oxiliplatin which means cold foods are out, so smoothies and milkshakes are out too. It has been very challenging to figure out the cold liquids thing, which sounds silly but harder than you might think. He also can't do anything with citric acid in it, and since that is used as a preservative in many fruit juices my options are narrowing. I just pray that he doesn't get a lactose intolerance, he has been good about drinking carnation instant breakfast mixed with whole milk and microwaved for a few seconds. I am complaining when I should be looking at the positives, he is able to swallow and until just very recently his appetite was good.

Thanks again for the suggestions. Niki

hi again
I totally understand....
Lee went through the same type of thing, first he'd only drink room temperature drinks, then he'd only drink sweetened iced tea. Now he's on an orange juice kick.
He has been reading all the postings here, and read yours, and said to mention that he tried visualizing what he thought he'd be able to eat. Every day, for every meal, he has to sit and think about different foods that might appeal. It usually works, although we've had many a wasted meal. It also means frequent trips to the grocery store, but it's worth it. We've also had many meals of bizarre foods, and not so healthy foods, for example, he seems to like 'crunchy' things like tacos, nachos etc. Also pasta with tomato sauce seems to work.
I think trying the bene calorie and protein would be a great idea, we do the bene fibre (for constipation issues) and whey powder. He also is mostly able to swallow, but has been avoiding breads and things like french fries, which seem to get 'stuck' a lot.
good luck my friend,
Chantal

I know exactly how you feel,
I know exactly how you feel, as Rickie did not get a feeding tube until May, so I have struggled to find things he can or will eat. He has never been a "fruity" kind of guy, so smoothies, yogurt, and that kind of stuff do not appeal to him. I talked to the nutritionists several times at MDAnderson, but I was already doing the things they suggested. I purchased some whey protein either at The Vitamin Shopp or GNC called Any Whey. It is suppose to be virtually tasteless, optimized for cooking, and can be put into foods and beverages. I added it to pancakes and scrambled eggs. I also did smoothies with chocolate flavored whey powder, peanut butter, chocolate syrup and milk. A good way to add calories is to add powdered milk to regular whole milk. For every 1 cup of milk add 2-4 tbls. powdered milk, this adds 66 to 132 calories and 6 to 12 grams of protein. I would mix it up in a pitcher and keep it in the fridge. Then when he eats cereal or drinks a protein shake, he is getting extra calories. You can also use it in your cooking or to make pudding with. Rickie also likes the power bars that are made by Supreme Protein and the flavor is Peanut Butter Pretzel Twist. I guess they have a salty/sweet taste. I use all butter in my cooking, heavy cream or half and half, and lots of olive oil as well. When you make soups, the Italian way of cooking is to drizzle olive oil on top before serving. That's a calorie adder there! Avocados are in season here in south Texas, and they are also loaded with calories and good fats. Mash them up with some of that olive oil and add salt and pepper and they are great. We like to eat them just like that. My daughter came home for a weekend and made some black bean soup that was wonderful and so easy. She just sauteed some chopped onion (in olive oil of course!), then added a big can of black beans,and a little canned salsa and cooked till hot. The she pureed it adding chicken broth to help thin it out. Added sour cream and avocado on top and it was yummy. Good served hot or cold. Lots of protein and fiber. Actually Rickie has been on a bean and cornbread kick for about a month now. As he was having more trouble getting things down he found that pinto beans slow cooked in the crockpot and served over cornbread would go down easily for him. There were a few weeks there that seems like all we ate. Took me back 35 years to our "early marriage" days! He also has found that he can eat a baked potato with chopped beef BBQ on it if the meat is chopped up fine and he adds extra BBQ sauce. Believe it or not Pork tenderloin was something he could get down until just recently, but meatloaf would get stuck. It amazes me what will and wont go down. Hope these suggestions help. Sometimes we just need some new ideas.
Cheryl