My Fortieth - Feast of the Seven Fishes for Christmas Eve - 100 Meals Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer Survivors

My Fortieth  -  Feast of the Seven Fishes for Christmas Eve

1 unit lobster

or

1 unit white fish

use bisque or chowder base

If you ever get a chance to go to a Feast of Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve - DO IT!  In the Boston area, this is a pretty common holiday.  However, it wasn't until my wife and I moved to Rhode Island that we got invited to a gift from heaven feast.  The Italians in RI know seafood.  It would be a shame for someone to miss this feast because they couldn't chew food.

The key is to make small batches (less than a cup) and wash the blender out immediately after blending.  Remember you may be making 7 cups of dishes, and the blender dries out quicker than you think, because you should enjoy the party too.

LOBSTER

Lobster linguine can easily be pureed into a Lobster Bisque.  I like to add a little extra butter . . . it's Christmas, add the extra butter.  I'm not against adding a little white wine.

BAKED COD

Baked Cod can easily be turned into a fish chowder by adding cream, and either pasta or potatoes (depending on what you have already cooked.

DEEP FRIED CALAMARI

 Fried dishes were well pureed.  You just have to add liquid, and puree a lot longer because squid and octopus are very firm.  

Remember the key is to think about inclusion as you make each dish.  For every fish, there is a soup alternative.

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My Thirty-Ninth - Potato Latkes - 100 Meals Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer Survivors

My Thirty-Ninth Potato Latkes


1 unit potato latke
1 dash of apple sauce for sweetness
1 dash of sour cream
hot water for right consistency

Last night, we had the family gather for Hanukkah, but we didn't serve a full dinner.  Sometimes just getting the family together is more important than having a full flung meal.  For dessert you can puree rugelach and milk.  It's the holidays, do something fun.


POTATO LATKE
Although, I was prepared to make potato latkes, my children are now older and the allure of grating potatoes and onions is lost.  Instead, the Ladies picked them up at Whole Foods - which I will admit are pretty tasty.  This year, I realized that pureed latkes are really potato soup.  Why mess up a good thing.  I actually like potato soup, which is why I'm posting a second meal with latkes.

In the cold of winter, when there is snow coming down, a cup of hot soup is just the right thing.  When you have lost a little taste in your mouth, potato soup is a nice alternative.

APPLESAUCE AND SOUR CREAM
These are really to taste.  The great thing is that they both can be added after the pureeing process and mixed in.  I like a lot of sour cream, so don't be shy.

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My Thirty-Eighth - Guacamole Nachos - 100 Meals Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer Survivors

My Thirty-Eighth Guacamole Nachos


1 unit Guacamole (or avocado and garlic)
1 unit mild salsa (or diced tomatoes and cilantro)
1 unit frozen corn (or soaked corn chips)
1 pinch cheddar cheese

I was at a Halloween party last night, and I didn't bring my G-tube supplies because I "ate" just before I went over.   However, while I was there we were gathered in the kitchen chatting, and I had the guacamole dip sitting right in front of me.  The kids kept coming up and dipping chips, and then they would run off.  There was always a fresh wiff of avocados.  I thought to myself - that is the secret ingredient I need to make pureed nachos.

My wife has been trying to get me to eat avocados again because of they are packed with nutrition.

CORN CHIPS
Corn chips are problematic because it takes so long for them to get soft.   Caregivers don't always have the time to so soak the corn chips in water to soften them up for the blender.  If you don't have the time use frozen corn.  If you use blue corn chips the color of the blend is a little unusual.

AVOCADOS
I recommend blending fresh avocados into your guacamole, because even mild guacamole tends to be a little spicy.  It you are at all concerned about spiciness - just use avocado and garlic)

MILD SALSA
This is where we tread into murky waters.  HOW MILD IS MILD?  Most patients have a sensitivity to spicy foods.  If you are at all concerned about spice, just dice tomatoes and cilantro.  Skip the onions too.   Remember we want this to be enjoyable.  If you have to eat pureed foods, you probably have an issue washing spiciness from your mouth.  Don't chance it.

CHEESE
Cheese is just for a little flavor - you don't need that much.


MEAT
Once you have discovered the proper mix of spices, you can add little bits of ground beef, shredded chicken, pulled pork, or over meats.  I know someone want to add rattlesnake.

NEWLY DISCOVERED PROBLEM
You might have to fight your daughter for the freshest avocados.  Tonight, we split the last one 50/50.

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My Thirty-Seventh - Veggie pizza - 100 Meals Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer Survivors

My Thirty-Seventh veggie pizza


1 unit pizza - no outside crust
extra red sauce
extra cooked veggies

or

1 hot rolls mix or pre made uncooked pizza dough
Marinara sauce or spaghetti sauce
veggies like olives, onions, and peppers
meat
cheese
lots of water


For a year, I have been trying to figure out how to make a good pureed pizza.  My family has been making homemade pizza for generations.  It wasn't until the other night that I finally figured how to make a good pureed version.  My wife is not a fan of pizza dough, and will gladly steal extra sauce and topping when she can.  I had made a pizza for my wife and daughter to eat when they got home, because I was going to the high school for a TED Talk.  When I came home half the pizza dough/crust was still there.  WOW THAT'S IT!  Skip the crust, and extra sauce and veggies.

There is enough crust under a piece of pizza you don't need the extra crust.  You do need extra veggies to add flavor.  The meat and sauce would otherwise overwhelm everything.


TOO MUCH CHEESE!?!
I've been asked about cheese being too sticky for G-tubes.  My experience is that if the cheese is not too hot it doesn't stick to the tubing.  Secondarily, it doesn't take much cheese to add flavor.  Cheese and tomato sauce can overwhelm any recipe.  Which is why it took me so long to come up with a good pizza recipe.  Most nutritionist will tell you that you don't need much cheese in your diet to remain healthy.  I agree.  In these recipes, you only need enough cheese to retain that pizza flavor.

OLIVES AND PEPPERS AND ONIONS
These three and great flavor to a pizza puree

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Supermarket food bars - 100 Meals Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer Survivors

A dozen years ago, I read a great article about using salad bars to purchase items that you only need a couple of them for a meal, and not a whole jar or can.  Sometimes you only need a couple of olives . . .

Last year, when I could drive, I would pick up my daughter from dance in the next town over.  Before I get her, I would pick her up a salad, and most importantly I would top it with "baby corn".   There is no way I would bring a jar home, because baby corn for one salad a week would take forever to use.  If we made a salad every night with baby corn, we would be bored of it soon enough.    So I use the fresh baby corn on the salad bar.

Nowadays, supermarkets have gone beyond the salad bar to full food bars.  The beauty, for us with pureed food issues, is that you can purchase small premade meals.   Most homemade recipes are designed for multiple people, and if you are reading this, you are probably already bored with your food options and you want to be able to change up your meals everyday - just like everyone else.

Many of the food bars also give you the option of international food.  International give you a great break from the bland, because supermarkets tend to over spice these foods because they have to sit in the tray for a couple of hours and still taste good when they come home.

For care-givers it also cuts down on prep time.  One of the toughest commercials for me to watch are the Nationwide commercials with Peyton Manning.  When I see that Chicken Parmigiana sandwich, I WANT ONE SO BADLY.  It takes a lot of effort to make a chick-parm, but to be able to purchase a puree sized portion

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My Thirty-Sixth - Pot Roast - 100 Meals Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer Survivors

My Thirty-Sixth recipe for the new cookbook - Pot Roast

What was I thinking?  One of the classic meals in America is Pot Roast with roasted carrots and potatoes.  My mom use to make a great pot roast, and the chilly weather outside makes me want it even more.  Pot Roast is also a family gathering food, so there is a good chance it will be served when there are a lot of people in the house.  You will be the envy of your friends and family as you add the extra gravy to the Vitamix blender.

The best part is that the meat, vegetables, and starch are cooked all the way through, which softens it up for the G-tube.

They say that bananas are the number 1 fruit bought at supermarkets as a spur of the moment item.  My number 1 item is Organic Carrots.  I seem to put carrots in everything, including my daughter's school lunch bag.  Carrots give a nice color to purees whether you are drinking it on pouring it down a G-tube.  Pot roast without the carrots looks more like a grey ooze which I have yet to see on Food Network as a popular option.

1 Unit Pot Roast

1-2 units Carrots and Potatoes

extra grease and gravy

OPTION

brown mustard

BROWN MUSTARD

If your Pot Roast gets boring after a couple of days, add a little brown mustard.  The brown mustard is very aromatic dash to the puree.

EXTRA GRAVY

For most people, extra gravy is a bad health option; however, most chemo/radiation patients are told to put on weight.  There are a lot of calories in this bad boy.   OK, your nutritionist is going to tell you there are better sources for nutrition.  I maintain that the only good nutrition is one that actually gets into your body, and there is a good probability that Pot Roast juices have a better chance of making into your belly, than coconut oil.  Save the coconut oil for the dessert smoothie.

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My Thirty-Fifth - apple crisp - 100 Meals Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer Survivors

My Thirty-Fifth  Apple crisp

It's apple picking season, and a noticed that a lot of my recipes are about dinner foods.  So I thought I'd take some time to talk about breakfast food.

Apple crisp or apple crumble works well in the pureed world.

1 unit apple crisp

or

1 organic honey crisp apple

3 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup pancake mix

1/4 cup minute oatmeal

cinnamon


The beauty of most of the recipes that I see, is that there is a lot of fiber in this dish.  I like to keep the skin on my apples.  One of the changes you might want to do, is make your apple crisp and save the skins for pureeing.  At my house, it is only my daughter and I eating apple crisp so I make a double batch, she takes what she wants, and I puree the rest.

I still use corningware, so I place the corningware on the stove and melt the butter on low heat.  When the butter comes up to sizzle, I add the bits of apple and make sure to coat all of them.  I take it off the heat and lightly dust the rest of the ingredients over the apples, then give it a quick mix. I add another 1/4 cup of water to keep the butter from burning the bottom of the pan when I stick it in the oven.  Oh sure, it's not the prettiest dish and looks like something on BuzzFeed, but it taste great.


I pop it in the oven at 400 degrees for another 10 minutes or so.  When the timer goes off, I turn off the oven and let it sit until my daughter wakes up.  Gee, that sounds mean.  The truth is, I typically make it on the weekend; although, she sleeps in, my clock still has me waking up at 6:45 AM whether I like it or not.  To me, apple crisp is something you relax and eat, not wolf down and worry off to school.

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