I'm Running Out of Ways to Cook Chicken

Seriously. I have no idea how does the mums doing it. Kudos to all the mum  of well-fed children in the world. I now understand the occasional temptation of calling fish sticks dinner.

Trying to come up with different sets of menu to please people everyday is hard. Cooking for a person who is undergoing chemo and stem cell transplant are pretty challenging.

The thing is... I gotta at least try to keep it healthy. The holy trinity of good food: greens, protein and complex carbs (he is losing weight way too quickly) have to somehow be intertwined within an exciting menu.

Oh and not to mention that the hospital will sanitize your food by blasting them off in a microwave for 5 minutes. Have you seen microwaved meat? Just like the witch from Snow White - shriveled, dry and pure evil.

There are a couple of things that I learned to be very helpful. Yes, I am not a mum (yet) but you know, I found this out along the journey so I thought I'll share it. This is what I have learned so far in feeding someone who is on a mend.

1. Always have options of plain food. Saltines are your best friends. Good nuts like almonds and pistachios are plain enough for bitter mouth but give them the good fat and protein.

2. Eggs are protein that can be easily hid in stir-fry. Instead of thickening soup with cornstarch, throw an egg in. Voila.

3. Know that one or two bites is still ok. In a sense, don't panic if they refuse to it. They are attached to a saline bag. Yes. Food is good but when your tummy tends to expel its content, food can be pretty traumatizing.

4. When your food is in the drain (mostly because their palate's are off or stupid nausea) know that it's not personal. It's not that your food is not good. It's just...vomit happens, okay?

5. If your hospital does have an all-hot food policy (to avoid infection) do NOT put any sugary food/nuts/stuff in the microwave. Burnt smell in your microwave is not fun.

6. When they are out of the hospital, have splurge/cheat day. Seriously. YOLO.

7. Seeds are great for hiding and adding that extra protein here and there. Sprinkle it over ice cream. They won't know (kidding)

8. Blueberry and mangoes cover all sins... I mean...greens. Seriously. They won't taste the spinach in the smoothie if you put that extra dose of blueberry in it. Promise.

9. Frozen banana whizzed with cocoa is a great ice cream replacement. Just saying.

10. If you still want to sneak in fruits and your hospital have an all-hot-food policy, stewed  fruits are great. Just make sure they don't have added preservatives and sugar in it.


That's all I learn so far. Just take it easy. 

Auds xx