I Hate Vegetables But I Have To Eat Them for Chemo

My husband doesn't normally eat vegetables.  He will eat spinach salads.  He will eat broccoli with a cheese sauce.  He will eat green beans sauteed with onions and garlic.  He will eat raw carrots.  He has NEVER eaten brussel sprouts or cauliflower.  I did switch to leafy green lettuce years ago, when I found out the "other kind" we all ate for years had no nutritional value.

So here I am trying to change our lifestyle due to cancer, and you can imagine the struggle. The first thing I am going to tell you about food is to buy the book, The CHEMO therapy DIET, by Mike Herbert, ND.  Not only does it give you guidelines for eating, but it has a chapter on detoxification baths.  We had our first one yesterday.  He tells you that since your skin is your biggest organ, soaking in these solutions in HOT water until the water cools, actually works.  Hubby soaked in the pure apple cider in water soak.  His last bath was when he was 7 years old.  (It took ALL OF MY SELF CONTROL not to take a picture).  Since the soaks are at LEAST 45 minutes, we set up the laptop in the bathroom and played a movie for him.  

BACK TO THE FOOD...I am going to list the FOODS TO AVOID DURING CHEMO, AND WHY TO AVOID THEM.

• Alcohol--it turns to sugar immediately.  Cancer LOVES sugar.
• All processed foods--changes vitamin levels and strips foods of nutrients.
• Anything with artificial color or flavor--affects your gut.
• Deli meats and cheeses--the risk of cancer is even greater than eating red meat.This idea is still being debated, but two oncologists and our holistic doctor told us no red meat or deli. 
• Caffeine--dehydrates
• Dairy--huge world study shows CASEIN  from cow's promotes cancer. No milk, soft cheeses, cream cheese, butter, ghee, ricotta, yougurt, ice cream, gelato, condensed or evaporated milk.
• No barbequing.  No cooking foods at high temperatures or frying.  No barbeque sauce.
• No white flour, bread, pastries, cakes, cupcakes, etc.  WHOLE GRAINS are okay.  Don't panic. 
• Soy sauce--proven to add estrogen to your system, and a no-no for guys also. 

• Microwaved food--it takes the B vitamins out of your food.
• No peanuts--they can have mold.
• No unwashed green leafy vegetables--better not to have them at a restaurant. Buy a salad spinner. 

So...after reading this, I had at least THREE panic attacks.  I even had to go on long walks.  I am a processed food person.  I love the convenience.  My cupboards USED to be filled with canned soups, and beans, and...... They no longer are.  

What am I going to feed him, I shouted in my head?  I can't do this.  It's too much work cooking everything from scratch.  Are you panicking with me?   
But...as I started researching and starting finding fun wholesome recipes that EVEN I COULD MAKE....and my friends and family started bringing over wholesome bean and vegetable soups to give me a break....I am on the road.

The next posts will give you the EASY recipes I am using.  Last night we had "Chicken Fried Rice."  The family RAVED about this.  I crock-potted the chicken the night before. I bought Uncle Ben's wild whole grain rice and used my rice cooker for the first time EVER.  I bought it a year ago.  It cooked the rice exactly right.
I added frozen, then cooked peas.  I added the seasonings packet that came with the rice.  I had sauteed onions and fresh garlic (from a jar) and ginger spice in olive oil (as this is your new best friend) and two eggs.  Once rice and chicken were cooked, it only took minutes to put this recipe together.  Rachel Ray showed me how (on television) to cook fish in a parchment bag you make.  She made a soy sauce that's LEGAL on the diet.  I will give you the whole recipe for the fish in another post, so that you aren't overwhelmed. 

The sweet and sour sauce goes:  2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar, 1/2 tsp of sesame chili sauce, 2 teaspoons of honey. Squeeze a little lemon juice in if you want.  I did. Yes, honey is sugar, but I haven't been able to bake or cook without it yet.  I use the pure kind. I tried a new product called SWERVE which has no aftertaste in baked goods, is FDA approved, and has no glycemic numbers on the package.  When I made a whipped pineapple sorbet, there was an aftertaste.  So I made it again last night with honey and everyone loved it.  I am using ALMOND MILK for my baking.  

Update:  I tried a Pinterest recipe.  It was SPINACH CAKES.  Everyone in the family loved them.  Heat your oven to 400 degrees.  Wash a bag of baby spinach (safer for chemo if it comes in a bag).  Put the spinach in your food processor just long enough to chop it up.  Transfer spinach to a bowl and add:

• 1/2 cup hand grated cheese.  I used 1/4 cup Parmesen and 1/4 cup Romano 
• 3 fork beaten eggs
• 2 cloves of garlic.  I used 2 teaspoons crushed garlic in a jar.
• salt and pepper

Bake in cupcake tins that have been oiled.  I used Bakers Joy.  Bake for ABOUT 25 minutes.  Watch them until they are set.  Then leave them on counter for about 7 minutes to finish setting up.
THESE ARE DELICIOUS.  I will add a photo with the next batch, because they were snapped up so quickly. 

Pesto and Chicken Pizza

 

Are you exhausted reading this?  Remember, the purpose of these posts is to follow along with me.  Wait until you see the recipes I found last night.  We had a whole wheat pizza with grated hard cheeses and vegetables...and hubby LOVED it.  There is hope.  Well...you knew that. Oh, you wanted a PICTURE of the recipe.  He had an allergic reaction to CIPRO right before dinner.  Sorry...he came first.