Need recipes with lots of calories

[Verjuice]

If your friend's husband's appetite is poor and he can only manage small portions, then I suggest foods that keep well for a day or two in the fridge, and are relatively easy to digest. Salmon and avocado are two of the most nutritious, wonderful foods I know. Salmon, mashed potatoes and an avocado and tomato salad with lots of olive oil, for example, for a meal. Soft foods that are easy on the digestive system, like mashed potatoes, hot cereal with lots of Grade B maple syrup and nuts if they don't give him gas, veggie purees, dumplings, risotto, fruit smoothies, thick, smooth soups.

Since chemotherapy and many pain medications associated with cancer treatment can complicate digestion (nausea and constipation for some, vomiting and diarrhea for others), I'd recommend cautionary use of dairy, and perhaps wheat as well. Just a thought.

Edited September 17, 2005 by Verjuice (log)

[mizducky]

All best wishes to your friend's husband, and your friend.

The only suggestion I can come up with that hasn't already been mentioned: provided your friend and her husband would be comfortable with the idea, this is a situation in which the judicious use of medical marijuana could be very helpful, both in encouraging appetite and in fighting the nausea associated with cancer treatment. There are bunches of recipes for pot brownies and such on the web; they all have in common the fact that the active ingredients in the herb are fat-soluble, so the basic strategy is to simmer the herb in melted butter over low heat, and then strain and use the butter to make various baked goods.

(Note that I live in a state that has legalized medical marijuana ...)

[DTBarton]

My father in law has been battling metastasized lung cancer all year. He's been through 3 courses of heavy duty chemo after an intense radiation course on his brain. Been tough and he's mostly survived on Ensure. He found that almost everything tasted horrible and he couldn't tolerate anything chunky or salty. He's getting a little better, the only thing I've made that he's enjoyed somewhat are cream soups. Cream of mushroom was the biggest hit, sauteed button and oyster mushrooms with a little shallot, a little marsala, and some half and half pureed in a blender. He actually ate a whole cup of that. Cream of asparagus was OK, but he liked the mushroom better.

Good luck and best wishes to you.

[divalasvegas]

So sorry to hear about this Isabelle.  Are there any other issues we should keep in mind, such as lactose intolerance, vegetarian, or adverse reactions to any medications the person is taking?  I know, for instance, that the husband of a friend of mine takes Beta-Blockers and can't have grapefruit or grapefruit juice.  Blocks the effectiveness of the medication which could be deadly for him.

Anyway, as for calorie dense items:

- Cheesecake and Milkshakes (obvious)

- Spinach/artichoke dip: this is definitely a dish with a lot of iron and vitamins, and the way I make it, has a lot of calories too -- chopped spinach (I used frozen), roughly chopped artichoke hearts, onions and garlic sauteed in butter, cream cheese instead of a roux, tabasco sauce, a squirt or two of lemon juice, salt & pepper. Drain spinach after briefly cooking (leave a couple of tablespoons of water in so it isn't too dry), combine with the rest of the ingredients and layer in a casserole dish with your grated cheese of choice between each layer of spinach (I like parmesan, but I've also used other grated/shredded cheeses), top with a layer of grated cheese with or without bread crumbs and bake at 325-350 for about 1/2 hour to meld the ingredients.  Serve with crackers or small party size bread rounds.  Forgot to say one box frozen spinach and one small jar of artichoke hearts for each 8 ounces of cream cheese.

- Mashed Potatoes and Gravy.  All kinds (homemade, of course). The richest gravy I've ever had was the gravy I made of drippings from a roast goose, dark and very rich........  God that was awesome.

- Meatballs or Meatloaf that incorporates sausage, with lots of homemade sauce and crusty bread.

- Oxtail and Whitebean soup.

- Will he/she eat grits?  Makes a great foundation for a multitude of fattening things.

- Chicken and Dumplings.

Hope this helps.

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Edited to say: In my haste, I screwed up and I apologize. I should have said TWO packages of spinach and TWO small jars of artichoke hearts for every 8 ounces of cream cheese. I mean, I like rich, creamy stuff, but really............................. Still hope this helps.

[LoriZig]

Ah, yes- avocadoes!

The richest sandwich I've ever had was an egg salad/avocado sandwich. It was delicious, rich and protein and calorie-filled.

Which brings to mind salads made with mayonaise:

- Chicken salad made with thigh meat

- Egg salad

- Ham salad

- Crab salad

- Tuna salad melts

- Adding olives to salads and other dishes is another way to up the calories, fat, and general yumminess.

I also started thinking about breakfast foods:

- Stuffed french toast (stuffed with a cream cheese/brown sugar/cinnamon mixture)

- Omelets/fritattas/quiches made with cream and butter, and stuffed with cheese and meat

- Pancakes

- Sausage, ham, bacon

- Cereals with cream and brown sugar

[scott123]

I'll second the medical marijuana recommendation. My lighting up days are long gone, but if I found myself getting treated for cancer, I'd seriously consider imbibing again. It's phenomenal for combatting nausea.

There are many theories on nutrition, and I'm certainly not an expert, but I have found that sugar on an empty stomach doesn't work for me. Sure, I'm energized/happy for a few minutes, but once the sugar burns off, I crash... hard. But that could be just me. I guess if it's a choice between eating something sweet or nothing at all, something sweet might be the lesser of two evils. Still though, if you could possibly entice the patient towards real food, something nutritionally sound, that would be ideal. Fructose metabolizes differently than regular sugar, so maybe fruit might be a better choice.

Broccoli is a superfood and has known cancer fighting compounds. Cream of broccoli soup made with heavy cream, broccoli and chicken stock.

One thing that I notice about high-fat foods is that they taste very rich/heavy. The one exception I have found to this is sour cream. I can have a bowl of chili that's greasy as heck, but with a dollop of sour cream, it tastes less rich.