Pediatric cancer recipes and meal plans
“Your child has cancer.” Forty-three American families hear these words every day, pushing them into the scary and uncharted territory of pediatric oncology.
Finding meals that are both enjoyable and good for your child’s health can seem almost impossible. Check out some tips and recipes to inspire and assist with one of the most stressful parts of implementing change: nutrition.
Below is an excerpt A parent’s guide to childhood cancer By Dr. Dagmara’s legs. It has been adapted for exploit on the Internet.
Develop a nutrition plan
Our food crisis is real. In the United States, most grocery stores are filled with highly processed junk food, there are lines at speedy food restaurants at all hours of the day, and many people have little knowledge of what real food is, let alone how to prepare it. The standard American diet is not only nutrient-deficient, it also often contains known carcinogens.
Even parents who think they’re feeding their families a “fit” diet often have no idea what they’re putting into their children’s bodies. For example, a child who eats a frozen waffle for breakfast starts the day with bleached flour, processed seed oils, and high-fructose corn syrup. Lunch may consist of a salami and cheese sandwich on whole grain bread, exposing it to pesticides in the grain, processed seed oil in the bread, refined sugar, nitrates, antibiotics and hormones. Spaghetti and meatballs with a spinach salad for dinner is about the same thing, unless the spinach is organic and the meat comes from grass-fed animals raised by a conscientious farmer.
Where is the fit fat needed for brain health? Where is the diversity of plants and high-quality proteins for cell growth and fit functioning?
For a child with cancer, nutrition is the cornerstone of treatment, so starting today, it’s time to get sedate about your family’s nutrition and the quality of food delivered to your home. By the end of this chapter, you’ll know how to start a nutrient-dense diet so that your macronutrient profile is least conducive to cancer growth while also protecting fit cells.
But most of all: if you do nothing else, feed your family real food.
Real food is uncomplicated to recognize: it has one ingredient. The next step will be to feed your family organic food, free from pesticides and herbicides. This is made more complicated by the confusing USDA certification system. While the best choice will generally be certified organic foods rather than foods without a certified organic label, this is not universally true. Not all certified organic foods are fit; Many packaged organic products are full of refined sugar and other ingredients that you don’t want in your baby’s body, whether they are organic or not. These organic cookies? Leave them on the supermarket shelf.
On the other hand, many excellent medicinal products will not carry an organic label because, just as a carrot from your home garden will not carry an organic label, some organic farmers forgo the costly organic certification. Just because something isn’t labeled organic doesn’t mean it isn’t organic, especially if you’re buying from a tiny, local producer.
Conclusion? Always buy real food as locally as possible, get to know your farmers, ask questions, and when in doubt, spend the extra money to buy certified organic, herbicide- and pesticide-free produce.
Meal plans for children with cancer
Meal planning can be overwhelming for any family, even if cancer is not a factor. In my experience, nutrition is often the most stressful part of implementing changes.
I have found that having the right tools in our kitchen is crucial.
Invest in a good quality blender like a Vitamix. Buy a stainless steel sluggish cooker and an electronic pill crusher. Write down a list of your child’s favorite foods for each meal, then look for recipes to make them healthier.
You may be looking for a grain-free version, such as paleo or keto pancakes. This way, you still provide your child with their favorite foods, but with healthier ingredients.
Involving your child in meal plans
I have found that if you involve your child in preparing food, they are more likely to eat it.
There are many nutritious “keto” desserts that you can make and enjoy together. I cannot emphasize enough the value of preparing food as a family. Fun plates, music and chef hats come in very handy.
Sample recipes and meal plans
Each of these recipes is a single serving and they are prepared in the same way: Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until sleek.
Simple Breezy Super Soup (feeding tube only)
- 2 cups of homemade bone broth
- 1/2 avocado, sliced
- 1 tablespoon of MCT oil or olive oil if you are allergic to coconut
- 1 scoop of high-quality collagen powder
- 1 serving of beef liver capsules, removed from capsules
Anti-cachexia cocktail
- 2 cups of filtered water with ice, herbal tea or homemade almond milk
- 2 tablespoons of high-quality collagen powder
- 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds
- 1 tablespoon of MCT oil
- 1/4 to 1/2 avocado, sliced
- 2 tablespoons of protein supplement, such as PaleoProtein
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla
- 1 teaspoon of omega-3 oil
- 1 teaspoon of amino acid powder
