8/2016 Update: I own a Vitamix now which is perfect for blending and pureeing. I don't use the immersion wand anymore. However, I will leave the directions as originally written, for those who do not have a blender strong enough
Preface:
When they told me that I had to have a stomach peg, and that I would have to pour 10 cans a day of brown nutrients down the tube, my wife, Randi, was horrified. Randi is an organic general vegetarian and nothing on the side of the Abbott Laboratories Ross Nutrition Jevity 1.5 Cal high-protein nutrition with fiber sounded anything like “ORGANIC” or “NATURAL”. I personally have a fondness for Food Network and Whole Foods produce, so I wasn’t excited either. Suppose you wanted organic? S’ppose you wanted Natural? S'pos? Hence, Randi made the first batch of SPOS. Now SPOS did not replace the Jevity, but it did give me the sense of real food I needed to recover. I am convinced that between the SPOS and the Jevity, I kept my body healthy and could endure the months of Radiation.
DEDICATION: this soup is dedicated to Sue Broderick, another Cancer survivor, who provided me with many homemade soups during my cancer Treatment.
STOMACH PEG ORIGINAL SOUP™ RECIPE (Basic Stock)(1)
7 leaves of Kale Chopped
7 finely chopped carrots
2 turnips finely chopped
1 Onion finely chopped
2 celery stalks finely chopped
1-2 teaspoons of turmeric
1 DASH of Bell’s Seasoning
1 teaspoon of salt (2)
4 tablespoons of Soy Powder
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Mystery vegetable (finely chopped) (3)
Set a pot on the stove capable of holding over a gallon of liquid, fill the pot ¾ full and turn the stove onto HIGH. Chop and add all the vegetables. When the pot comes to a boil add the salt, Bell’s, and turmeric. Stir pot to mix spices and then turn the heat down to simmer for one to two hours (4). When the vegetables are all tender to the point of mushy, turn off heat, and use an Immersion Hand Blender to puree everything in the pot (5). The soup should be thick but not as thick as pea soup
Now that you have a big pot of Basic SPOS you can add starch, protein, and other items (see later post on my BLOG)
To use SPOS you will still need to run the stock through a strainer to remove the pieces too large pieces which won’t fit through the tube. As a rule of thumb, I used about two cups of SPOS at any meal. I would ladle 2 cup worth of SPOS into a microwave safe measuring bowl and then use a hand strainer into another measuring bowl. If the soup is thicker than your nutritional supplement, thin with water or boxed chicken/vegetable stock.
After straining SPOS, heat it in the microwave until finger touch warm (6). Give a quick stir to even the temperature out. You find that room temperature or warmer liquids settle in the stomach better.
Enjoy
Jeff Scott Hoyland
(1) In subsequent blogs I will post variations of the soup. My wife, Randi can attest that it is very heartbreaking caring for a loved one like me for two reasons – there is not much you can do, and I was grumpy as a bear. Taking the time to make home soup was as comforting to her as it was to me.
(2) Talk with your doctor/nutritionist about the amount of salt you should use. Its soup! It has to have some salt.
(3) What looks great in the produce aisle, remember you can only taste this soup when you burp. The goal is to pack as much nutrition into the soup, so pick one great looking vegetable
(4) The softer the vegetables are, the smaller they can be pureed and the more nutrition you can pour down the tube. Yea, the chef in me hated the fact that I over-cooked my vegetables.
(5) Don’t puree the soup while its boiling hot, but I found I could get better results while the soup was still warm
(6) It just like warming milk for a baby. Follow the same rules of thumb or nipple as the case might be.
COMMENTS
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Just before Cancer Treatment
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