Food - any tips

Hi Ninsi

I am sorry to hear that you are not feeling like eating. I felt the same when I was diagnosed last year and also through some of the treatments. I understand the stress part though- the first thing that went for me was my appetite and I would "forget" meals. 

One thing I found that helped was flat lemonade- I don't know why but it really helped. I went off tea to drink. Just didn't fancy it. Tried decaf and herbal but it was the sharpness of the lemon that helped. I also had sparkling water and would put a slice of lemon in it and sip during the day. The sharpness I think is refreshing.

I ate snacky meals rather than bigger meals and sometimes would get those child size ready meals for the freezer so I had a variety in, just in case I fancied something different. I went off bread but would have a crumpet sometimes. Also I bought a blender and would try different smoothies. At one point the nurses suggested Complan meal replacements- they did offer some from the hospital but I didn't like the taste whereas the strawberry complan were ok. I also used to put veg in the slow cooker and blend to make some soup. In that way I knew I was getting some vitamins etc. 

I also would drink at breakfast and then try and have an early lunch and make that my main meal of the day. I found I was more likely to eat it at lunchtime than later in the day. Sometimes I would just have rice crispies at tea time so for me it was sometimes rearranging what I ate and when. Cheese and plain crackers/cracker bread I could manage. Sometimes I would split meals down so I would have a bit of plain rice and some veg and then have a piece of chicken later. 

I also found picky food better/ like buffet type- little bits of what you fancy. Sometimes it was easier to graze on that rather than focus on bigger meals.

When I felt well enough a gentle walk would help make me feel a bit more like eating.

Hope this helps a bit. 

Jane

This is amazing help than you so much. smoothies could work well for me. Im not great with milk but smoothies I like. I fancy a crumpet - not had one in years, another to try and not as heavy as bread. Might try tuna with cucumber tomorrow just on its own i used to like melba toast to that could becan option

hi Ninsi,

found i ate less it all tasted bleh or not nice. try to avoid favourite foods as it may put you off,

on the first rounds i found old fashioned lemonade was drinkable, as Jane said sour agreed w me, lemon water, plain greek yoghurt, oats were blech. and curries agreed w me. loved a veggie curry, had them a bit but didnt like pasta sauces much. totally went off chicken.

i craved beef for some reason, but flavours were so off. had an occasional burger but it was never very nice.

sweet was horrid, water tasted terrible. eat what you can, some people loved mashed potato, one day i ate crisps as its all I fancied

 vegetables went down ok, spinach, courgette green things, and apples

its better to eat something than nothing, one day i craved mackerel in tomato sauce so had a tin, it was not as nice as ihad hoped but was good for me

Thanks Djct, did eat a pack of crisos out of the blue today so its very random  but fruit and veg seem better than meat and just picking on random things to try seems to sometimes pay off with me eating

Morning - eating isn’t enjoyable atm - it’s like being pregnant again and don’t necessarily fancy anything or it tastes horrible 

For breakfast I am forcing myself to have porridge or yoghurt.

If I fancy a snack I will have a piece of toast with some ginger jam on it - no butter as it’s disgusting !

Lunch I’m getting cuppa soups or if I’m feeling really good I have made some soup & spiced it up.

Dinner is hit or miss 

Believe it or not my dentist recommended icecream or ice pops - they’re great for a sore mouth too x

I tried to look at it as what I had eaten throughout the day in total rather than do meals. Also ate when I fancied something rather than ate because it was a meal time.I also took vitamin supplement. I found drink like Complan, smoothies, soup easier than solid food at time. I sometimes used tinned fruit to add to smoothies. Other than the Complan- which I made with part milk, part water- I seemed to go off dairy. Sometimes I would have a plain jacket potato with a knob of flora. 

Sometimes I would eat a bit more if I was sat on the sofa with it on my knee rather than sat at a table. You'll get there- you just need to find out what works for you and share how you are feeling to try to reduce the stress a bit.

I found after diagnosis there was that feeling of being in limbo but once I had a plan and the treatments started I did feel a bit less anxious. My nurses just said to try to go with the flow a bit and keep fluids up and just eat what you fancy really. I've just had some krackerwheat with peanut butter on for breakfast- something I fancied but not something I would have had before the cancer.