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These tips may help your child eat better. Although eating as
well as possible is important for children with cancer, don't
make food a battleground. And always talk to the health care team if
you are worried that your child isn't eating or drinking enough. They
can help you with this before it becomes a serious problem.
- Serve your child small meals and snacks rather than large
ones. Good snacks are things like peanut butter and crackers, cheese
sticks, puddings, fruit roll-ups, and cereal and milk
- Let your child eat whenever she feels hungry and be sure to
include high-calorie, high-protein foods. Don't worry about the amount
of fat. High-fat items such as hamburgers, fries, pizzas, and ice cream
give her calories, protein, and other key nutrients.
- Have your child eat her biggest meal when she feels
hungriest. For example, if she is hungriest in the morning, make
breakfast her biggest meal.
- Use the My Pyramid Food Guidance System as a guide for good
nutrition. You can learn more about this at www.mypyramid.com.
- Try to get your child to drink most of her fluids between
meals instead of with meals. Drinking fluid with meals can make her
feel too full.
- Use colorful cups, mugs, and straws to encourage your child
to drink fluids throughout the day.
- Use cookie cutters to cut shapes from sandwiches, gelatin,
meats, and cheeses.
- Make faces out of fruits and vegetables. (Many children's
cookbooks have examples.)
- Serve food in unusual containers or on cartoon character
plates.
- Have picnics. (You can even use the backyard, the living
room, or even the attic.)
- Let your child help prepare the food.
- Invite your child’s friends to share meals.
- Plan ahead for meals missed because of things like
doctors’ appointments and treatment appointments. Take along
juice packs, plastic bags with snacks, and non-perishable foods, such
as fruit cups, puddings, and cheese and crackers.
- Talk to your child's teachers about letting her eat or
drink in the classroom.
- Encourage your child to be physically active. Activity may
increase appetite.
- Encourage your child to eat more when he or she feels well.
Call the doctor or nurse if your child has treatment-related
problems, such as constipation, diarrhea, or vomiting.
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How to add protein to meals and snacks*
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Milk
products: Eat cheese on toast or with crackers. Add
grated
cheddar cheese to baked potatoes, vegetables, soups, noodles, meat, and
fruit. Use milk instead of water when cooking hot cereal and cream
soups. Include cream sauces on vegetables and pasta. Add powdered or
undiluted evaporated milk to cream soups, mashed potatoes, puddings,
and casseroles. Add yogurt or cottage cheese to favorite fruits or
blended smoothies.
Eggs:
Keep hard-cooked eggs in the refrigerator. Chop and add
to salads, casseroles, soups, and vegetables. Make a quick egg salad.
All eggs should be well cooked to avoid the risk of harmful bacteria.
Meats, poultry, and
fish: Add leftover cooked meats to soups,
casseroles, salads, and omelets. Mix diced and flaked meat with sour
cream and spices to make dip.
Beans, legumes,
nuts, and seeds: Sprinkle seeds on desserts
such as fruit, ice cream, pudding, and custard. Also serve on
vegetables, salads, and pasta. Spread peanut butter on toast and fruit
or blend in a milkshake. |
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High-calorie foods
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Butter
and margarine: Melt over potatoes, rice, pasta, and
cooked vegetables. Stir melted butter or margarine into soups and
casseroles and spread on bread before adding other ingredients to your
sandwich.
Milk products:
Add whipping cream to desserts, pancakes,
waffles, fruit, and hot chocolate, and fold into soups and casseroles.
Add sour cream to baked potatoes and vegetables.
Salad
dressings: Use regular (not low-fat or diet) mayonnaise
and salad
dressing on sandwiches and dips with vegetables and fruit.
Sweets:
Add jelly and honey to bread and crackers. Add jam to fruit, and use
ice cream as a topping on cake. |
*Adapted from Eldridge B, and Hamilton KK, Editors, Management of Nutrition Impact
Symptoms in Cancer and Educational Handouts. Chicago, IL:
American Dietetic Association; 2004.
Recipes to try
If, for some
reason, your child's doctor suggests lowering the fat in your
child’s diet, you may use low-fat products for milk, ice
cream, sour cream, peanut butter, yogurt, cookies, etc.
Fortified milk
Drink or use in
place of milk in any recipe to add protein
1 quart whole or low-fat milk
1 cup powdered non-fat dry milk
Blend and chill at least 6 hours. Can also be made with
buttermilk or dry buttermilk.
Approximate nutrients per 1
cup serving: 211 calories and 14 grams of protein
Banana berry shake
4 scoops vanilla frozen yogurt
10 fresh strawberries
½ banana
Rinse strawberries. Put all ingredients in a blender and blend
until smooth. Makes 2 servings.
Approximate nutrients per
serving: 198 calories, 7 grams protein, 2 grams fat
Chocolate cocoa drink
1 ¼ cup vanilla ice cream
½ cup whole milk
1 package of hot chocolate mix
2 teaspoons sugar
Place all ingredients in a blender container. Cover and blend on high
speed until well mixed.
Chill drinks before serving. Makes 2 servings.
Approximate nutrients per
serving: 600 calories and 24 grams of protein per serving
Taco dip
1 16-ounce container sour cream
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 head lettuce, shredded
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 package tortilla chips
Combine sour cream and taco seasoning in a small bowl and chill for 1
hour.
Take a large shallow dish and layer the ingredients, one by one, in the
dish in the following order: sour cream mix, lettuce, tomatoes, and
cheese.
Serve with tortilla chips for dipping. Makes 8 servings.
Approximate nutrients per
serving: 483 calories, 10 grams protein, 31 grams fat
Peanut butter, banana, and raisin sandwich
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1 small banana, sliced
4 slices raisin bread
Spread peanut butter on 2 slices of bread. Arrange banana slices on top
and cover with remaining bread.
Cut into quarters and serve. Makes 2 servings.
Approximate nutrients per
serving: 278 calories, 9 grams protein, 11 grams fat
Peanut butter and jelly rounds
4 teaspoons creamy peanut butter
2 teaspoons grape jelly
8 Ritz® crackers
In a small bowl mix some peanut butter and jelly together until smooth.
Spread onto a Ritz® cracker and top with another cracker to
make sandwiches. Makes 2 servings.
Approximate nutrients per
serving: 140 calories, 4 grams protein, 9 grams fat
Worms in the dirt
2 small (4 oz.) packages chocolate pudding mix
3½ cups milk
1 tub frozen whipped topping
10 Oreo® cookies, crushed
bag of gummy worms (about 21 pieces)
8 small clear plastic cups
Prepare pudding mix according to directions, using the milk. Fold in
whipped topping.
Fill each cup about a quarter of the way with pudding mixture.
Add some crushed cookies and gummy worms, more pudding, and end with
crushed cookies to look like dirt.
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Makes 8 servings.
Approximate nutrients per
serving: 396 calories, 5 grams protein, 12 grams fat
No-bake granola balls
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup honey
½ cup granola
½ cup crispy rice cereal
½ cup raisins
½ cup crushed graham crackers
Heat peanut butter and honey in a pan over low heat until creamy.
Remove from heat and pour into a bowl to cool.
Add granola, cereal, raisins and graham cracker crumbs to the peanut
butter mix, and stir it all together.
Roll into balls and set on wax paper.
Refrigerate at least one hour before eating. Makes 12 servings.
Approximate nutrients per
serving: 152 calories 3 grams protein, 6 grams fat
Last Medical Review: 02/06/2009
Last Revised: 02/06/2009
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