In many homes, mealtimes become a battle as worried parents struggle to get their child with cancer to eat. Often, parents become frustrated and exhausted, eventually giving in and allowing the child to eat whatever they want (to no surprise: it’s not nutritious). Below are some suggestions and tips to make mealtime fun and nutritious for your child.

While many children may already be picky eaters, cancer and its treatment can make eating even more difficult. To make eating more appealing to your child, experiment with some of these tips and suggestions:

• Feed your child whenever they are hungry. Give them small portions of food throughout the day rather than 3 big meals if that suits their hunger levels better. 

• Make mealtimes fun, easy, and pleasant for your child. 

• Have nutritious snacks available at all times. In the car, at appointments, and in backpacks for schools. 

• Serve fluids between meals, rather than with meals, to avoid your child from getting full easily. 

• Serve the main meal at the time of day when your child feels best. This may mean a big, filling breakfast if they feel best after waking up. 

• Limit the amount of less nutritious foods in the house. Junk foods, potato chips, and sweets with a lot of sugar will only fill your child up with empty calories and not give them the nutrients they need. 

• Focus on buying foods on the perimeter of a grocery store. Usually, this is where you will find whole, nutritious foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, etc. 

• Allow your child to help with making a grocery list to shop for healthy foods they enjoy and meal preparation. 

• Do not punish your child for not eating. Instead, encourage them to eat by teaching them how they can nourish their bodies and why it is so important. Making mealtime fun and simple for them will also help them eat more often. 

Try out new ways to make eating more fun for your child. Here are some tips & suggestions that have worked for other families. 

• Children may eat more if food is attractively arranged on the plate or if it is shaped or decorated in fun ways. Sandwiches can be cut into shapes using a knife or cookie cutters. Add faces onto toast or other foods with fruit, nuts, seeds, etc.

• If they want to, encourage your child to help you in the kitchen if they can! Your child may enjoy cooking or baking and want to taste the final product after!

• Create a garden of your own or go to the farmer’s market with your child. They may enjoy seeing where the food they are eating comes from and have fun picking out fresh, nutritious foods. 

• Instead of trying to force your child to eat through bribery or telling them they have to “because it’s good for you”, focus on other things besides the food. Enjoy each other’s company during mealtime, tell stories and jokes, play music, light candles, and have good conversations. 

• Change up the setting of your meals every once in awhile! Consider having a picnic occasionally, or find new places around the house for your child to enjoy a meal. 

• Make one night a “restaurant night”with a nice tablecloth, candles, a menu for your kids to order from, and act like the family is out at a restaurant. 

• Try a theme night, such as your child’s favorite movie or show, a certain culture or place, or a potluck style dinner where everyone makes their favorite dish! Use decorations, costumes, and cook foods according to the theme.

Many children cannot tolerate eating meat while on chemotherapy, so getting enough protein needs to be a priority. Below are some suggestions to increase protein intake. 

• Add 1 cup of dried milk powder to a quart of whole milk, then blend and chill. Use this extra-strength milk for drinking and cooking.

• Use extra-strength milk (above), whole milk, evaporated milk, or cream instead of water to make hot cereal, cocoa, soup, gravy, custards, or puddings.

• Add powdered milk to casseroles, meat loaf, cream soups, custards, and puddings.

• Add chopped meat to scrambled eggs, soups, and vegetables.

• Add chopped, hard-boiled eggs to soups, salads, sauces, and casseroles.

• Add grated cheese to pizza, vegetables, salads, sauces, omelets, mashed potatoes, meat loaf, and casseroles.

• Spread peanut butter on toast, crackers, and sandwiches. Dip fruit or raw vegetables into peanut butter for a quick snack.

• Serve nuts for snacks, and mix nuts into salads and soups.

• Serve yogurt and granola bars for extra protein. 

• Use dried beans and peas to make soups, dips, and casseroles.

• Use tofu in stir-fried vegetable dishes.

• Add wheat germ to hamburgers, meat loaf, breads, muffins, pancakes, waffles, and vegetables, and use it as a topping for casseroles.

While your child is undergoing cancer treatment, your mission is to find ways to add as many calories as possible to their food. Meals and snacks that are high in fats and calories may be viewed as unhealthy, but children with cancer need to eat calorie-dense foods to provide them with enough nutrients and energy. Find nutritious foods filled with calories that will nourish your child with vitamins, minerals, and micro & macronutrients. 

• Add butter to hot cereal, eggs, pasta, rice, cooked vegetables, mashed potatoes, and soups.

• Use melted butter as a dip for raw vegetables and cooked seafood such as shrimp, crab, and lobster.

• Use sour cream to top meats, baked potatoes, and soups.

• Add mayonnaise or sour cream when making hamburgers or meat loaf.

• Use cream instead of milk over cereal, pudding, Jell-O®, and fruit.

• Make milkshakes, puddings, and custards with cream instead of milk.

• Serve your child whole milk (not 2% or skim milk).

• Sauté vegetables in butter.

• Serve bread hot so it will absorb more butter.

• Spread bagels, muffins, or crackers with cream cheese and jelly or honey.

• Make hot chocolate with cream and add marshmallows.

•  Add granola to cookie, bread, and muffin batters. Sprinkle granola on ice cream, pudding, and yogurt.

•  Serve meat and vegetables with sauces made with cream and pan drippings.

•  Add dried fruits to recipes for cookies, breads, and muffins.
  

Info adapted from alexslemonade.org and Childhood Cancer, A Parent’s Guide to Solid Tumor Cancers, 3rd ed. By Anne Spurgeon & Nancy Keene.
“Childhood Cancer.” Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer, 1 Nov. 2019, www.alexslemonade.org/childhood-cancer/guides/childhood-cancer.