What’s the idea behind my recipes?
I was determined to stay well and eat well during my chemo.
So I started looking for the most effective breast cancer-fighting food and recipe ideas.
The more I read about what’s safe to eat and what’s not, the more worried I was.
I came across a lot of ‘you can’t eat this’, ‘you can’t eat that’ advice and started panicking, as everything sounded very confusing.
After reading about various restrictions and foods to avoid, I wondered:
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Is there really any safe food left to eat?
Yes, of course, there is! And plenty of it!
There’s no doubt that there are foods that should be avoided while being on chemotherapy and foods that are beneficial.
For instance, some foods can help reduce inflammation and damage to the body, boost the immune system and slow, or even stop tumour growth.
Most importantly, there are also foods that can make some chemo drugs more effective.
There has been a lot of scientific research done to support this.
That is to say, under no circumstances do I back nor endorse any idea of using any supplements, nor relying on the health benefits of just one single or a couple of ingredients consumed in access.
The real key to success is a combination of ingredients possessing cancer-fighting qualities.
But, eating healthy, cancer-fighting, and often organic foods is not enough.
What’s equally important is the method of cooking them, and this is quite often overlooked.
Grilled, chargrilled, deep-fried, roasted, smoked and barbequed food may not be safe.
Therefore, I don’t use any of these cooking methods in my recipes at all.
Well, you might ask:
How do I cook my food then?
The answer is simple: there are much more ‘gentle’ ways of cooking food and here’s a list of the ones I use:
- boiling
- stewing
- steaming
- poaching
- steam-frying
- slow baking
- slow cooking
I designed all my breast cancer-fighting recipes as foods for purpose, and I have:
- researched every single ingredient that goes into my food, making sure it has lots of health benefits and, most importantly, the anti-tumour and anti-inflammatory properties
- picked the most powerful ingredients
- created recipes based on these ingredients
- used the most suitable cooking methods
- tested all the recipes on me
- and eliminated ingredients that could be potentially harmful
How did I categorise my recipes?
Well, I had very little idea of what I could eat during my chemo and how sensitive my stomach was going to be.
Have to admit, my first round of chemo did not go as well as I expected.
Trust me, no one can prepare you for that.
I had lots of healthy ingredients in my fridge but was unable to eat them. The meals I cooked with them did not agree with me, and I was starving.
During my second round of chemo, I began to see a pattern there.
So I started writing down everything I’ve eaten, together with detailed comments on if I could digest, smell or taste it.
And that’s how my detailed meal plan slowly came together.
I created meals for every part of my chemo cycle and split them into 3 main categories, making sure that I was getting as many nutrients as possible into my body from the very start of each chemo cycle, all the way through, until its end.
The main characteristics of each category are:
CATEGORY 1 – the start of the chemo cycle:
Symptoms – nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhoea, weakness, tiredness
Food – completely bland and simple, very well cooked through, smaller portions and food that doesn’t upset the stomach
CATEGORY 2 – mid of the chemo cycle:
Symptoms – very low immunity, nausea, constipation, diarrhoea, weakness, tiredness
Food – more varieties, cooked with more flavoursome ingredients and eaten in bigger portions
CATEGORY 3 – end of the chemo cycle:
Symptoms – constipation, diarrhoea
Food – cooked as well as raw food full of flavour with the addition of different spices and even larger portions
Now, that my chemo and various treatments ended, and after everything I learnt about food, I just can’t go back to what I used to eat before I was diagnosed.
The question is: what food I should eat when I’m on very little or no medication at all?
I have to face the rest of my life and do everything I possibly can to prevent cancer from coming back. While dealing with all sorts of changes to my body that my cancer drugs triggered, including the dreaded menopause.
It never really occurred to me, but this is when the real fight begins.
So I had to re-think my meal plan once again.
There’s much more food and dishes I can cook and eat now, all of them are designed to stay healthy and reduce the chance of cancer coming back.
I created one more category with recipes that are suitable for healthy people as well as breast cancer survivors.
CATEGORY 4 – post treatment and Cancer Prevention:
Symptoms – menopause and postmenopause
Food – cooked and raw food, lots of flavour, lots of spices
In addition, all my breast cancer-fighting recipes are:
- sugar-free (with no added sugar nor any sugar substitute)
- gluten-free
- dairy-free
- lacto-free
- soy-free
- packed with cancer-fighting properties
- high in vitamins and nutrients
Who may benefit from my recipes?
- breast cancer patients
- people undergoing their breast cancer chemotherapy
- breast cancer survivors
- people looking after breast cancer patients
- seniors
- people wanting to lose weight
What are the benefits of my food?
- recipes are easy to follow and prepare
- rich in vitamins and nutrients
- improves immunity
- anti-inflammatory
- improves digestion
- every single ingredient is in the dish for a reason/has its purpose
- to make cancer treatment more effective
- tasty
- filling
- lowers cholesterol
- lowers blood sugar (diabetes)
- supports weight loss for overweight & stops weight loss for underweight (corrects weight?)
- increases people’s chance of survival
- increases quality of life
