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Ohhh, hope things go well and that she feels better soon....

Are you ominvores?? If so, what about Chicken & Dumplings?? (If not, a nice version w/veggies and broth would also be tasty). You can either do the slow cooked chicken in broth thing... or take a shortcut and use a rotisserie chicken from the store, shred it and warm it in broth with noodles, carrots, onions, celery & bay leaves. Dumplings can be from your favorite famliy recipe, or whip some up with Bisquick. I think some people even use Pilsbury biscuits and that works too...

Other thoughts - how about warm buttery cornbread crumbled in chili or another nice beany soup??

Grilled cheese sandwiches with baked potato soup?

Rice with brown gravy.... maybe add some meatballs if they sound appealing?

Bread pudding.... the sweet version is always nice, but how about a savory version with chicken, bacon and mushrooms? (or any other toppings that she'd like)

How about breakfast food?
Pancakes (experiment whole wheat, blueberry, banana)
French toast
Scrambled eggs and toast

Mini Thanksgiving-
Turkey, stuffing,gravy, sweet potatoes.

Chicken and rice

Homemade mushroom barley soup.

I hope your mom feels better. Your love and care is the best medicine. My prayers are with you.

The best foods are always starchy. Bland and salty. The tastebuds get killed off so salty is good. Avoid spicy. Be careful of the dryness of food because during chemo the tastebuds are thinned out and the mouth can get dry like a road. Stomach cells tend to thin out as well so nothing that will upset the stomach.
Mac and cheese, whipped potatoes with lots of moisture added back in,
rotisserie chicken which is good and moist, scrambled eggs, omlelets, turkey sausage, bacon. Pancakes but with warmed honey. Grilled cheese or paninis with again melted cheese or moistened meats. Warm bread is easier to swallow.
Pudding, yogurts, jello, ice cream, or frozen yogurt, sorbet.
Try and remember hydrating is the imporant thing in the mouth. Anything that is dry will just be hard to swallow.
Soups, clear or maybe with thin noodles. Warm tea and cold tea. People tend to switch between the two. Soda can burn or not feel good at this time. Avoid citrus juices.
With smoothies watch the fruit it can repeat later. Bananas with some vanilla yogurt
Also If she gets any mouth sores get some Magic Mouthwash for her (it requires a prescription) its hard to eat if your mouth is full of sores.

When my mom went through chemo, she could hardly eat anything. Not because of nausea but because the chemo made everything taste metallic. She completely lost her appetite. The foods she craved were cold/sweet things like cut up melon or fruit smoothies. She wouldn't eat much, so we would try to pack as many calories as possible into her at one time. For smoothies, we used full fat milk and yogurt with frozen blueberries, some sugar and a dash of vanilla. My mom is doing great now, no more cancer after 2 years. Best of luck to you.

Okay. Former chemo nurse here, whose mom had cancer (after I began practice). If nausea from odors is a problem, room temperature food works best. Your aim should be high-nutrient foods, but reality always has to be the first fact. Sometimes milkshakes and so on can be worthwhile. Many of jerzees points are very good, although the sore mouth thing doesn't always come, fortunately. Small sandwiches, like finger-food size, can work sometimes.

One of the things I often found was that people complained that food "didn't taste right". Sometimes they complained of a metallic taste, and othr people complained of just a general loss of savor, if that phrase makes any sense. One guy drove his wife crazy complaining about her once-great cooking. She hadn't changed anything, she said, and I was sure she was telling the truth. Then I got a phone call from her. He'd always liked her vanilla custard, the kind you stir over a double boiler. She got mad at him and dumped a whole bottle of vanilla in the pudding and gave it to him. "Now," he said when he ate some, "THAT's more like it!"

My mother didn't have chemotherapy, but she did have cancer and I remember making lots of mashed potatoes. Applesauce, oatmeal as well. She also ate dark chocolate but I think that was more because she remembered that she liked it, when she was young.

Peppermint can decrease nausea.

((((nichole)))) All my bright ideas were already mentioned, so I just wanted to say my thoughts are with you. You are a good daughter!

Best wishes to you two!
Don't forget about taste aversion. If you have something you really love before chemo, there is a chance that your body will associate it with sickness and you'll never be able to enjoy it again. So as much as she may want a big steak or something, it might be the last time she gets one.

I really have no other ideas to add, all of my thoughts are mentioned at some point above. I will pray for you and your mom. Agreeing with KtMc24-Having someone to care for and love you, is often the very best medicine, and you are giving that. What a wonderful blessing you are to your mom, as I'm sure she has been to you. Good luck!

Nichole the one thing that worked really well for me was what my mom used to call coddled eggs, really its just scrambeld eggs with alot of milk added and scrambled soft, the best way is to cook them over med low and just keep stiring. also lots of liquid as someone mentioned very thin "chicken" gravy over instant mashed potatos instant worked best because there was no texture issues and i could make them fairly thin, rather a gruel like consistancy. but most of all dont be afraid of repeating meals hun, things pretty much taste the same during this time, most inportantly you being there for her is the most amazingly loving thing you can do!

Hi Nichole,
Sorry to come so late. You've had excellent advice, and I have to echo everything Jerzee said. I took care of both of my parents with cancer - not at the same time. Dad ate nearly everything, but in such small amounts that I had to get ensure and he hated it, and ended up supplementing meals with Carnation Instant Breakfast, eggnog and milkshakes, as well as vitamins and supplements. When my mother had colon cancer, she only wanted certain foods and I noticed that she preferred things with a bechamel sauce or gratins. She had also lost some taste (what I'm going through now, but not for cancer) and I had to oversalt for her to taste it at all, and she wanted really sweet foods which had never appealed to her before - like tapioca, rice pudding, bread pudding. She snacked on Fritos. Again, the big thing was keeping weight on and I fixed anything she thought she might want.

I have to tell you, it felt so great to help them and they were so appreciative. When Dad was sick, Mom had had a heart attack and bypass surgery so I was taking care of both of them in Syracuse, NY in the winter. I swear it snowed every day and I had to shovel, not brush the snow off the cars, and clear two driveways (long story). Outside is where I cried. I don't regret one minute of the time we spent together. Since I lived in another state then, I would not have had that closeness and I'm forever grateful for it. Dad loved to play cards and we did that nearly every day and years later when Mom moved in with me when she was diagnosed, we played a lot of scrabble. The conversations, the laughs, the hugs are memories I'll treasure forever. I'm so glad you are able to help your mother Nichole! You are a blessing to her, and she to you. God Bless you both.

Thank you to everyone who contributed ideas, words of hope and encouragement, and offfered prayers. THIS is why the Serious Eats community absolutely rocks!! Can't wait to try out some new recipe ideas and foods, and I know my mom will be grateful also. Thanks again!!

Nichole it is so wonderful that you are there to take care of your mother. This is such a hard time. When I was going through radiation all I really wanted were comfort foods; rich, creamy, and EASY since, for the most part, I am the family cook. My only problem was fatigue - thankfully!

Buffy; depending on what type of cancer (ie. breast cancer that is estrogen +) soy protein powder and large quantities of soy products are NOT recommended because of the phytoestrogens. Best to restrict soy (especially soy protein powder and soy protein isolate) so that extra estrogens are not being consumed.