Recipes to try

If, for some reason, the 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

1¼ 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 1 hour before eating. Makes 12 servings. (Caution: Not for children under 1 year or people with low white blood counts because honey isn’t completely cooked.)

Approximate nutrients per serving: 152 calories 3 grams protein, 6 grams fat

Nutrition for Children with Cancer

The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team

Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as journalists, editors, and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.

Last Medical Review: June 30, 2014 Last Revised: June 30, 2014

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