My Eighty-first - Hot Pastrami Sandwich -100 Meals You Never Thought You Would Eat Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer patients

My Eighty-first - Hot Pastrami Sandwich -100 Meals You Never Thought You Would Eat Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer patients

I've always been a huge fan of Pumpernickel bread, and I know a lot of people are die-hard Rye bread fans - so let's just agree to disagree.

My son and I are the two that love pastrami and corned beef in my house.  So when he comes home from college, I like to purchase it and send him back to school with the extra, which never happens, because we will gladly eat the meat without any bread, mustard, or sauerkraut.  This is why it makes the list of 100 meals you never thought you would eat pureed.


2 parts bread (toasted)
2 parts Pastrami
dash of course mustard
2 parts sauerkraut/coleslaw
1 part cheese
Hot Water


HOT WATER
This meal is mostly about aroma, and the hot water releases the aroma of the meat, cheese and mustard.  You can use warm water if you pre-steam the meat.   

MUSTARD AND VINEGAR WARNING
Just a reminder, the vinegar and mustard can burn a mouth with sores.

CHEESE
Although I prefer Swiss cheese, because it is aromatic, you can also use Havarti and American cheese.  The hot water also helps the swiss cheese be more aromatic.  

TOAST
There is a certain extra yum about bread being toasted that seems important in a puree.  If you are the type of person to grill your sandwich - do it.

CABBAGE
Cabbage "in a form" is key to a great pastrami sandwich.  Sauerkraut is the top option, although it might burn your mouth, which is why I mention coleslaw, which can be made without a vinegar ingredient. I've even used sliced red cabbage without seasoning.  

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My Eightieth - American Goulash or American Chop Suey -100 Meals You Never Thought You Would Eat Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer patients

My Eightieth - American Goulash or American Chop Suey -100 Meals You Never Thought You Would Eat Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer patients

Always popular in American school lunches because it is easy to make a large pot and slop it out onto the trays.

Both dishes are similar and there are hundreds different variations.  If you haven't heard of either of these before they are basicly macaroni, tomato sauce, and typically ground meat.  Seasoning ranges from Italian to Hungarian spices.  

I view it as that pasta version of chili.  The biggest difference between Hungarian Goulash and American Goulash is stewed meat vs. ground beef.

This is my GO TO when people are having pizza, because pizza is very hard to puree easily.

1 part Goulash/Chop Suey
2 parts Warm water

Option
1 part Sour Cream

WARM WATER
Yup this one need to be served warm.  Not only for the comfort, but because there is typically cheddar cheese, and you want to make sure it doesn't stick to your mouth or the tubing.

TOMATO WARNING
Just a reminder, the tomato sauces can be a problem with both mouth sores, and stomach upset.  Make sure you have no mouth sores.  If you are not sure, don't do it.  Tomatoes have a way of finding sores you didn't know about.

CHEDDAR CHEESE
Go light on the cheddar cheese, a little cheese goes a long way on strong taste.  I always recommend sharp cheddar, so you can use less, for the same taste level.

SOUR CREAM

Just to add a little fat in your diet.  I also finds it helps calm my stomach.

ADD MEAT LATER
Turns out I make a lot of meatless dishes, and then add my own pre-cooked meat later.  Last night, I added pre-cooked swordfish to my Goulash.  It was a nice change of pace.

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My Seventy-ninth - Chicken Marsala -100 Meals You Never Thought You Would Eat Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer patients

My Seventy-ninth - Chicken Marsala -100 Meals You Never Thought You Would Eat Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer patients

So, in cleaning out the kitchen cabinets, I found a bottle of Marsala wine in the back.  It has probably been there for over 6 years.  I haven't made Chicken Marsala since well before my first oral cancer treatment in 2010.  I love chicken Marsala.  But, I'm the only one in my house that does.  As I held the bottle in my hand, I thought about all the meals that require a little bit of liquor / liqueur like cognac, Cointreau, red wine, beer, etc.

For many cancer treatment people, these are strictly forbidden, because of the alcohol.  However, for cooking there are often non-alcohol alternatives, like flavored extracts, or non-alcoholic beer and wines.

Marsala does not have an alternative. But you can cook the alcohol out of it. by boiling the water on the stove, and add the Marsala wine to boiling water, and turning the heat off, and letting the water cool down a bit before adding it to the blender.  There is a little magic required trying to estimate how hot the water should be compared with the cold items in the blender.

This recipe is for people like me, where no one else in the house will eat it.

1-part pre-cooked chicken

1-part starch

1/2-part mushroom

1-part cream

4 parts warmed chicken stock 

warm water

Dash of Marsala wine

WARM LIQUID

The key to this dish is to make it warm enough that the Marsala wine gives a nice fragrance.  It is also a dish, where you need to feed it to lip sippers in a small portion, so that you can make sure that they always have a warm cup in front of them.  It will lose all its charm when it is cold.  Yes, I would not start with this dish, as the first one I make for a patient.  Maybe the twentieth and thirtieth, once I've gained their trust.

PRE-COOKED CHICKEN

This is a perfect example of a dish where I keep unseasoned pre-cooked meat in the refrigerator. Some call it leftovers, I call it life.  When I cook myself a meal, I typically cook the meat unseasoned, and then pull half of it out and store it in the refrigerator for a meal for the next day.  Most of the issue with pre-cooked meat, is the texture - pureeing solves that problem.

LIQUEUR

The beauty of liqueur is they add a lot of aroma.  Liqueurs remind the patient of good times, and good days.  

Remember, it takes very little liqueur to add a lot of flavor.

STARCH

Some like Chicken Marsala with rice, others with pasta.  I like mine with egg noodles.  It's a personal preference. 

CREAM

I've had chicken Marsala without cream - it is a little too intense of a flavor for my taste.  Typically, the patient needs to put on weight, so cream is good.

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Surprising Foods that burn your mouth -100 Meals You Never Thought You Would Eat Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer patients

Surprising Foods that burn your mouth  -100 Meals You Never Thought You Would Eat Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer patients

CAREGIVERS
Since most of the readers are CareGivers, I wanted to take a moment and give you a quick list of foods to either avoid or be wary of them.

Remember, this blog is about cancer patients who have lost the love of food, and are not getting the proper nutrition.  This blog is less about the nutrition, and more about trying to keep the cancer treatment survivor engaged with "eating" so they will also consume the foods that your nutritionist recommends.

A patient in pain will look for any reason not to have food pass their lips.  So I have asked actual Cancer Treatment patients their thoughts.  After the list of foods, there are some quotes from Survivors at the end

BANANAS
Number one most surprising food that burns the mouth of patients going through Cancer treatment.  No one knows why.  But burns like nobody's business.  I was 6 months into treatment and my wife was making me a smoothie and completely forgot and dropped a banana in the blender . . . DANNNNNGGGG
If the product you purchase says SMOOTHIE of JUICE - read the label.  Even A little bit of banana burns.  

STRAWBERRIES/KIWIS
Not everyone burns from strawberries, or their kin, kiwis, but those that do, complain bitterly.  Personally, I only had an issue when I had open sores in the mouth,  but then again, that seemed like most of the time.

MINT / PEPPERMINT
You won't see this in food that much; however, it is in all the health and beauty aids.  Worst offender is toothpaste.  It was nearly impossible to find a toothpaste without either mint or strawberry.  There is a toothpaste by prescription called Fruitastic, and Tom's of Maine has some varieties.  If you think getting a patient to eat is hard, try getting them to brush their teeth.  I recommend magic mouthwash before brushing.
Also check your cough/cold/liquid "aspirin" because it might be mint flavored.

TOMATOES
Yup once again open mouth sores can really sting from tomatoes - either raw or cooked.  Sometimes, it is not the tomatoes, but the spices added with the tomatoes - think chillis or pasta sauces.  The point being once the person accuses tomatoes as being the culprit, they will never eat tomatoes again.

ONIONS
This is more common than you might think.  The more cooked the onion the better chances it won't burn.  I talking about both green and bulb onions. Onions are often in tomato based foods, so tomatoes take the rap for it, when it was actually the little bit of green onion of chive sprinkled on the top.

KETCHUP / VINEGAR / SAUCES
Once I put vinegar in here, you probably thought, DUH, but other sauces like BBQ, Catsup, steak sauce, etc all contain a little vinegar.  This is the one that you might add that you didn't think might burn their mouth, because you just added a little.  I harp back to the patient is looking for any reason not to put the food past the lips.   Don't tempt the Fates - they be bitches that way . . . 

PICKLES
They are packed in vinegar.


COMMENTS FROM REAL SURVIVORS:

Anything sweet is out for me right now.

Kiwi fruit is painful

Strawberry was painful to me while in treatment

Anything heavy seasoned for me or spicy too

citrus fruits, pickles, anything with black pepper on it.

Bananas, and avocados both were irritating to my mouth back then. I remember being surprised, because they've pretty much always been staples in my diet.

I used to pour so much black pepper on top of my potatoes and gravy that it was entirely pitch black on to now if put just a few grains it can turn out to be so spicy that I can't eat it.

I'm 3 years out and the only thing I have trouble with is chilli and curry...doesn't stop me eating it though.

Chocolate always burned my throat, add chocolate to that , hellfire

I'm seven months out and still can't touch anything w/vinegar, pepper or any kind of drinks w/carbonation in them.

Carbonated drinks were impossible. Couldn't eat any fruit or pies or anything similar yuk.

Everything. Five years out and most things still do. Tomatoes, strawberries, ice cream, all things cold, unfortunately these are among the few things I'm able to swallow. Luke warm coffee is somewhat soothing after I eat something that burns.

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My Seventy-eighth - peanut butter and jelly sandwich PB&J -100 Meals You Never Thought You Would Eat Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer patients

My Seventy-eighth - peanut butter and jelly sandwich PB&J -100 Meals You Never Thought You Would Eat Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer patients.

APOLOGY

I need to apologize.  I started this blog and wanted to create of 100 meals that would inspire oral cancer survivors and others who thought because of cancer treatment they would never have their favorite foods again because they couldn't chew.  As I went on this journey, I thought about how I was very American cuisine centric, and hoped to add additional ethnic foods to the list.

This past weekend, my daughter metaphorically slapped me across the face and she didn't even know it.  We were at a group event being held a the grounds of an American Summer Camp.  It is a gathering of friends, and not a formal occasion, so she I will will help prepare food in the kitchen.

The Head Chef knows my daughter is a vegetarian, and that many of the others gathered there have food allergies, so she is well versed in handling special food request - like lactose intolerance, and gluten allergies.  When she asked my daughter if she was hungry, my daughter replied, “I really want a PB&J on white bread."  My daughter turned to me and smiled, "they have the peanut butter and jelly that mom won't let us buy."  On a side note, we never buy white bread either, because my wife doesn't eat bread, I usually don't puree bread, and that would leave my daughter to eat a whole loaf of bread before it goes bad.

And so I apologize to all the children who have been going through cancer treatment, that I have neglected to add only the most important meal you never thought you would eat pureed - peanut butter and jelly sandwich on white bread.

CONFESSION

I've never eaten a whole PB&J.  Not that I haven't tried.  I love peanut butter.  I love grape jelly.  I love white bread.  But I do not like the texture of the three together, and I do not like the way it sticks to the roof of my mouth.  Besides when you grow up with seven brothers and sisters, there are always other options for school luncheon sandwiches in the refrigerator.  I never had to force myself to like it.  And so, PB&J would never make my personal list of foods I miss.

RECIPE

one PB&J with the crust cutoff

one to two cups of milk

CRUST

OK, if we are going to add this recipe to the list, we are going to do it right - and the crust has to go.  The only reason you need the crust in a sandwich is to help scrape the PB&J off the roof of your mouth while chewing.  Since we are pureeing, that point is moot.  However, I will admit there are a group of people who love to eat the crust, so go ahead, I won't judge.

MILK

You have to have milk with a PB&J.  I've seen enough peanut butter commercials to know this.  And yes, this is a second confession, I have not tried this puree.  I just can't bring myself to making a puree for this - just being honest.  But I welcome the feedback.

Now the reason the amount of milk is so varied, is that, the amount of peanut butter you spread on the bread, matters.  Some people like a thin spread, some like a thick spread.

PEANUT BUTTER

Use creamy peanut butter, unless you are a lip sipper.  The small bits of chunky peanuts can clog a g-tube, unless you strain the puree

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My Seventy-seventh - Pumpkin Spiced Quick Oatmeal -100 Meals You Never Thought You Would Eat Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer patients

My Seventy-seventh - Pumpkin Spiced Quick Oatmeal -100 Meals You Never Thought You Would Eat Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer patients.

Jeff, what an odd selection to add . . . so let me explain.

Oatmeal is a popular Fall breakfast food our house, especially on rainy school days like today.  When I don't have the time to apple crisp for my daughter, I saute one diced green apple in butter, add a little pumpkin spice and brown sugar.  When the apples are browned, I make a packet of instant oatmeal right on top.  Usually, there is enough left over to make myself my own puree. If you have a high school aged son, you might have to double the recipe if you want any left over.

It is important to note that the smell is also enticing, for someone who has lost the love of eating.

Having tested Steel cut oatmeal, and long-cooking oatmeal.  Instant oatmeal is the best for puree, because you don't have a lot of lumpy mess at the bottom of the blender.

The nice thing about oatmeal is that you can cook up the size you want and puree it.  I view oatmeal as my substitute for coffee.  Whatever flavors you put in your coffee, you can add to Oatmeal.

PUMPKIN SPICE
Really easy to find at my local grocery stores right now.  I have plenty in the house, so I usually wait until the end of "Pumpkin Spice Season" and refresh the pantry.  I often use pumpkin spice for sweet breakfast breads right through the New Year.  Pumpkin spice has a long lasting aftertaste, so it really satisfies my favor tooth.

FRENCH VANILLA
OH yea, vanilla extract and I are good friend.  We have a long happy relationship from waffles to egg nog.  Make sure you add yogurt or cream to your oatmeal

POACHED EGGS
Love a poached egg in my oatmeal.  I typically add a little hot water from the pot to the puree so it's nice and warm.  Sipping cold oatmeal can be a bit frightening

PROTEIN SUPPLEMENT
Great time to add a protein supplement to your puree.  Chocolate and pumpkin go well together.  Vanilla and Pumpkin go well together. Hemp protein and Pumpkin Spice - NOT SO MUCH.  It is right up there with things to avoid like a peanut butter and tuna fish sandwich . . .

DRIED FRUIT
I recommend soaking the dried fruit overnight in the refrigerator, so that they puree easier.   I recommend cherries, blueberries, and cranberries.

MOUTH SORES
Oatmeal can be an interesting issue with mouth sores.  Some people like it some people hate the feeling in the mouth afterwards.  Oatmeal tends to leave a texture in the mouth for quite a while.  Don't be offended if the oatmeal gets pushed to the side.

PUMPKIN SPICE CINNAMON ROLLS
Just another option

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My Seventy-sixth - Duck L'orange -100 Meals You Never Thought You Would Eat Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer patients

My Seventy-sixth - Duck L'orange  -100 Meals You Never Thought You Would Eat Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer patients

It dawned on me as I head into my last 25 recipes, that I should indulge myself and include some of my personal favorites, which might not be so wide spread.  Duck L'orange is one of them

This also stems back to my youth when I worked at the Versailles restaurant and they used to duck a dozen ducks at a time.  I loved the smell of the kitchen on those days.  When my wife and I would go in for dinner, I usually had either the duck L'orange or the Duck au Poivre.  YUM!  Today, the biggest issue is that there is no reason for me to purchase a whole duck, and you can't find cooked duck on the grocery store hot food line.

Since I don't have a family that eats duck here is what I do:

Bell and Evans offers duck fillets so I don't have to buy a whole duck.  I roast it for an hour out on the grill under medium heat, but not on direct flame.

1 roasted duck breast
1/2 cup cooked rice or wild rice
one peel of an orange slice
1/4 up of orange marmalade
one cup beef stock (chicken stock is you are desperate)
dash of cream, or plain yogurt
2 to 3 cups of water

OPTION
1/2 roasted carrot

QUANTITY
OK this will make about 5 cups of puree, so I don't recommend this for people who are currently under treatment, because that is a lot of puree, for someone who my have problems swallowing.  If there mouth is clear of sores, or they have a stomach peg, 5 cups is not so bad.  Some days,  I will puree the duck, rice and carrot, without flavoring, and then pour off half to make Duck Poivre (See Steak Poivre recipe).  Then the 1/2 still in the blender, I will make Duck L'orange.


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