Eating meat,fish etc.

I am curious at what point he was able to tolerate sauces again? Lasagne? That seems out of the question ever for me! I am only 4 months out from radiation.  Having trouble finding foods that I can eat.  I saw where mayonnaise was mentioned.  I can’t even tolerate that.  When will this get better? Any hope that it’s going to be soon? 

Hi it’s very difficult not being able to eat what you like, I’m almost 2 years down the line and still restricted with eating, lasagne and tomato sauces I put a bit of sugar in it takes the bitterness away, fish I find hard but plaice with mashed potatoes is manageable, skinless sausage with onion gravy, and homemade braising steak cooked for hours to make it as soft as possible, hope this helps and hasn’t made you feel any worse,everyone is different and have diff things reactions.

I completely understand your frustration and the fact there seems to be no rhyme or reason behind taste or the effects of eating.

I took me months for my taste buds to begin to accept a few flavours.  Most foods were out of the question either because of taste or texture.  And what worked one day didn't the next. 

The first foods other than tinned semolina, custard or Ready Brek I could really tolerate were carrots and pears.  Gradually I found I could introduce a few more vegetables but not potatoes as the texture was just too grainy whichever way I cooked them.  Strangely enough at one point I could eat a jacket potato but even that suddenly became unacceptable due to the texture.

I still can't tolerate anything tomatoey, meaty, salty, acidic.  So mayo, gravy, yogurt etc are all out of the question for me at the moment.   I can eat chocolate only in tiny amounts if I havn't eaten beforehand.  Feta, halloumi and goats cheese are OK in small amounts as is an extremely mild cheese sauce which I have to make myself.  Roasted vegetables are particularly good but most vegetables are now OK.  Pasta and pesto.  A crumpet or toasted teacake with butter.  Some soups.   Poached/boiled eggs and omelette.  Pears, melon, banana are the only fruit other than dried fruit.

I found the best way for me was to be totally flexible.  I try a one or two small amounts of something if it's new to see how it is.  It really has been and still is trial and error.  I'm 18 months down the line from finishing treatment so it really is early days for you still.

To be honest I really can't make head nor tail of why I can manage certain foods and not others.  I do know however that other people much further down the line are still seeing improvements in their taste so I havn't given up hope on that front.  As far as being able to swallow, I am finding small amounts more often works for me.

Good luck.

Hi Linda

i have to agree with you I am also 18 month post treatment, like you potatoes  used to be ok but now have gone off the boil ni pun intended ,but u can eat certain potatoes as chips home made Maris piper.Jacket potatoes in early days  with lots if butter fine now too grainy ! Don’t know about you but sometime see frustration on hubbys and daughters face yes I could eat xyz last week but not today .Its the little things that we can share on forum I think that’s stops us going mad ! Just knowing someone else is like you helps .

I luckily survive on cheese can do a mature cheddar as well plus tomatoes cooked are fine , home made mince dishes not really even if we get butcher to process it again ,but shop bought lasagna I can eat.

Fruit for me is bananas and blueberries anything else too tart I miss my fruit , roast vegetable s deffo good maybe it’s  the Olive oil that helps but leafy veg cabbage kale ni way .Oh the variegation s are endless but at least we can eat which is a bonus compared to some. To all the new ones  in treatment or who have  just finished you will get to our stages some time in the future just hang in there .

sending hugs on this dreary Saturday 

Hazel xx

Hi for me it was a good 12 month before lasagna came back into my diet even now I can’t tolertate much hime made min e dishes am ok with processed one side nit ideal but better than nothing. I used to use butter to help things slip down my throat if u was trying a cottage pie mark n spencer type add extra butter on top , I used to have small cakes with ice cream or cream on to get extra calories in. Poached eggs on toast with a smashed avocado on top of toast ok didn’t eat the crusts plus designer breads were out plain old white sliced ,now I have progressed into sour dough. .

Mayo for me can still be problematic I know some are ok with it , have you tried a thin home made leek and potato soup in early day so I could manage that on the Luke warm side .

It does improve it really doesn’t take time for some of us longer than others, niw I can go out for food as long as u am careful what I choose, puddings are always ok .

if you are  fish  I found cod much easier than haddock always in batter never breadcrumbs too harsh.

Hazel xx

I agree with you Hazel - I also find green leafy veg too difficult at the moment.  They tend to get stuck in my throat.  Sprouts though are great, especially roasted!  I can also eat chips made from Maris Piper potatoes but only a few.  

Olive oil has proved a bit of a saviour the last few months, especially as I can't eat dressings.  I seem to smother most foods in it!

Close family have begun to get used to my 'faddy' eating but most people really don't understand how food can be fine one minute but not the next.  Sometimes 2 mouthfuls is all I find palatable or can manage to swallow.  At least I have some regulars to fall back on!  And yes, I'm grateful every day that things aren't a lot worse.

Keep safe.

Linda x

Hi linda

Sprouts are deffo a step too far even on a good day  didn't eat them prior to treatment But roast cauliflower as a cauliflower steak is divine !!!

weve got a family birthday meal  coming up on Wednesday consensus is a Brazilian all you can eat meat fest so I expect your sympathy as I play with the food whilst thinking £27 for this lol  but  can’t dictate  all the time so will have an Ensure in my bag as well .

happy days Hazel xx

Hi

I am almost 4 months post RT and do find the whole food thing a rollercoaster. I couldn't get near tomato sauce during treatment, too bitter, but can now and find that homemade foods for me are better as ready meals tend to be more gloopy and resemble wall paper paste as a texture. Also, I found that the colder a food got, the harder it became to eat, which is all very well if you can eat at normal speed. So, I will leave half my baked sweet potato ( a godsend) in the oven until I've finished the first so that the fibres in the 2nd half are still warm and not dried out. Same with jacket potato which I smother with butter and sour cream, sour cream being a new go to for other dishes like lasagne, chilli etc, I find it less bitter than mayo. Think outside the box and have cream with things you wouldn't normally. I also found that at the pub, hubby ordering his own food and me perhaps a bowl of soup, meant I could steal bits of his food without feeling emotionally intimidated by a large plate, whilst being able to try many different foods. Cooks frozen meals (single portions) were good as hubby ate the majority and I got the saucy bits and just added extra cream if I had to and (as others mention) some roasted veg in Olive oil, tasty and easier to eat. Hope some of the above helps.