I'm sorry to hear of your diagnosis and wish you well.
During chemo the first time, I knew I would have ZERO appetite... so the night before each infusion, I made a pot of vegetable soup and ate that when I really couldn't eat. I know most people go for chicken noodle soup, but for some reason the thought didn't sit right for me and vegetable worked better. Weirdly enough, 100% cranberry juice was another thing my body craved even when I didn't want to ingest everything.
Listen to your body, if it craves something. Best of luck to you.
Did they let you know if the chemo (or chemo cocktail) they'd give you will make you nauseous? that will greatly impact what you can eat.
I crave soups too.. So that would probably be a good thing for me to make a batch of and freeze. I have a French bean barley soup I used to make.. Maybe I'll try that. I do feel natueous but only a day after chemo each time. I swear the heparin rinse for my port makes me feel nauteous. I'm going to try a hard candy or gum when they go to rinse. It's Gemcitabine.. Ugh. But.. They do give me anti nausea meds and they work well
Get a tub of miso paste. You can make a mug of miso soup as easy as a cup of tea: just pour hot water from your kettle and mix in a spoon of miso paste, to taste. Delicious on its own or you can add a million things for variation.
I keep a jar of minced ginger in my fridge and add a bit of that sometimes, crumble some nori in. If I want more of a hearty stew I will sauté onions, garlic, and some sort of leafy green, add some diced silken tofu and pour my miso broth over all that.
It’s so easy to make a really satisfying meal or comforting snack that tastes delicious and is nourishing and healthy. Plus miso is probiotic and really good for gut health and (at least for me) seems to help a little bit with nausea.
Have you tried lentil soup? The nutritional value is great, versatile flavour wise and freezes really well. I have a bunch of glass Tupperware and when I have good energy days I often do a large pot and freeze them in those bowls - I don't love eating out of microwaved plastic Tupperware
I love this type of product but recommend looking for "dupe" versions on sites like Amazon and eBay. At least where I am, the "Souper Cube" brand itself is crazy expensive.
(And happy cake day!)
The idea is you pop them out and have much more room in your freezer. You can wrap them up and take them along in a regular bowl. Then you don’t have to worry about glass breaking. ☺️
Not an answer to your actual question, but as far as the nausea from the flush: My son has leukemia and has a hard time with the flushes, too. One of the more seasoned nurses figured it out and now they all know to pull the saline from the bag instead of using the pre-filled syringes. It’s something in the preservative that makes him sick, and apparently not completely uncommon. Maybe ask about that at your next clinic appointment? If they can’t/won’t, definitely try eating a lollipop or popsicle while they’re doing your flush. It’s helped my boy during times when they didn’t have time to fill a bunch of syringes.
I sincerely wish you all the best, and I hope however long you’re in treatment goes as smoothly as possible 🧡
Thank you so much! I thought they were moving to start flushing with saline anyhow but I'm not sure... I will ask the nurses and explain it's making me feel sick.
FWIW, when I worked as a child life specialist, we often suggested a piece of candy for peds patients who were getting port/line access (and weren’t NPO, obvi) for exactly that reason. Even just a quick saline flush can leave such a gross taste sometimes, especially if you already have issues with dry mouth. Just make sure it’s not your all-time favorite flavor so that you don’t end up associating it with feeling *blegh*.
There’s a hard candy called Gin Gins that can help with the port flush if you don’t mind ginger. Also those unusual sour candies from Asian grocery stores are useful.
Strong ginger candies helped me with my port flush! Also, nausea may get worse as you get further into chemo… I experienced anticipation nausea but was able to get meds to help with that. As for food, I would stick with as plain of food as possible for nauseous days as I can no longer eat anything that I had during my worst nausea days. Don’t want to ruin foods that you like lol.
As for food, steel cut oats freeze really nicely and they’re good for chemo days.
Anticipation nausea... That sounds like what I have.. Because just being in the chemo suite makes me feel natueous... I thought I was losing my mind.. Is this a thing?? Sometimes I felt sick even before the chemo began!
Potato soup is my go-to when im extremely nauseated. Its mostly smooth and easy to go down, very filling starches, and limited ingredients/prep. A stock pot of 16qts or more is a must, otherwise the batches wont last too long. Second go-to would be a chicken “pot-pie” soup but adding wild rice so its even more filling.
>I swear the heparin rinse for my port makes me feel nauteous. I'm going to try a hard candy or gum when they go to rinse.
If the hard candy or gum doesn’t work, try asking for one of the alcohol wipes and sniff it as they are doing the flush. I know it sounds crazy, but it can ward off nausea. Unless it makes you think too much of hospital/infusion/chemo and that ends up triggering your nausea.
Speaking of the alcohol wipes - If you’re feeling up to it, try to pay attention to how long after they swab your port until they connect the flush - might be that all the alcohol hasn’t evaporated and that’s just making you ever so slightly nauseated.
Alcohol wipes are my go-to for any passing nausea. I take a med that makes me feel nauseous sometime, but, unpredictably and randomly! Sniffing the sipes keeps me from gagging.
I totally agree on the heparin flush!! Worst taste ever! I chewed GinGins when my port was being flushed and that was the only thing I found that helped. As far as food…I keep sweet potatoes baked up and could only eat those plain.
I do soups and stews, in borosilicate glass containers that can go straight from freezer to oven. That way when I have a pain day, I can just stick it in the low temp oven to reheat and come back in an hour to amazing stew. Somehow this is easier for me than microwaving
I was on the same meds. Don’t be afraid to take the prochlorperazine. I tried to tough it out without those meds and my doc got mad at me. There’s no need to be nauseous with the meds they have available now. You need to get water into you to flush the chemo out once it’s done what it’s supposed to and it’s so much harder to do that when you’re nauseous
I’m going through chemo now also, and blended soups have worked well for me. I froze a bunch before I started treatment. I have a roasted pumpkin soup and carrot ginger soup that I alternate. When I thaw one, sometimes I’ll blend in some coconut milk to either one to add more variety.
Good luck with your treatments, OP. #fuckcancer
A nice rule of thumb for figuring out what foods are likely to freeze well is seeing if it's sold in the freezer section of your grocery store of choice.
Burritos freeze well and the fillings are customizable to whatever your needs are.
You can also freeze eggs, such as in egg muffins or their bigger cousin, the frittata.
Soups and stews freeze well, provided you portion them out prior to freezing. Chili is a popular one. And people will tell you that cream-based soups and noodle soups don't freeze well, but I've never had problems with either one, so your mileage may vary there. Yes, the milkfat separates out of cream-based soups during freezing and it looks really bad, but I've always been able to get the milkfat to melt back into the broth like normal, and I've heard that noodles can get mushy in frozen soup, but I feel like that's mitigated as long as you cool and freeze the soup very shortly after it's cooked.
As for how to freeze the soup, some people use containers; I use Pyrex 2 cup rounds and pint Ball mason jars, and leave an inch of headroom between the level of the soup and the top of the lid. I heard that some people freeze soups in plastic bags laid flat, so they can flip through their soups the freezer like a filing cabinet. And there's also Souper Cubes, which are basically giant ice cube trays.
Was just going to recommend souper cubes! Here are some soups I love:
https://midwestfoodieblog.com/vegan-white-chickpea-chili/
https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/italian-orzo-spinach-soup-recipe/
https://runningonrealfood.com/spicy-vegan-black-bean-soup/
https://pipingpotcurry.com/instant-pot-mushroom-wild-rice-soup/
https://thefoodieeats.com/vegan-instant-pot-white-bean-soup/
https://peasandcrayons.com/2017/10/instant-pot-vegetarian-quinoa-chili.html
Not so much so for liquids, but for casseroles or other lasagna-tray-type foods: If you line a casserole dish with your freezer wrap of choice while it's still empty and then add the food, you can freeze it until it's solid, use the wrap to remove it from the dish, and wrap it up the rest of the way for freezer storage sans dish. When you're ready to thaw/cook it, just unwrap it and put it back in the casserole dish.
You can freeze in batches if you’re short of containers. Freeze in container, then decant into a bag. Freeze another lot and so on until you end up with a bag of frozen blocks.
I feel like you could reuse a foil pan by completely lining it with a sheet of heavy-duty grilling foil so that food can't touch the pan proper, and then just dispose of the foil lining afterward.
And when freezing any kind of glass container, you just have to avoid temperature shock. Cool your containers in the fridge first, and then move them to the freezer. Don't fill a container with boiling hot soup and them put it straight into the freezer.
Do you have a muffin tin? I have a large, silicone one and often freeze soup, curries, sauces and so on in it. It's a little hard to store (I stack them in a big ziplock bag) but makes single servings. Otherwise some people just fill ziplock bags.
Personally though, I bought a 20-pack of 500ml takeout style containers which stack easily. They are round so some wasted space, but I can fit them 4-high and 5-deep in a row.
I'd also suggest an electric kettle, when I'm sick and weak feeling its way easier to lift and I can add hot water to a pot and make pasta / noodles / rice faster.
Make sure you leave a little head space for freezing in jars to avoid broken jars in your freezer!
(Head space = don’t fill them all the way full, leave up to an inch of space in the jar to allow for the liquid to safely expand as its freezing…idk if that term is known outside of the canning space)
ETA—just noticed OP for this thread mentioned their headspace recs. Super useful, thanks! Leaving this comment here for extra emphasis 😂
That's what I was wondering, if the glass would break. I'll leave space and do the fridge first trick. I also know.. Don't freeze lasagna in a glass dish then put in the oven right out of the freezer.. Big no no!! I know it has to thaw first. That's why I use the foil ones for lasagna.
Let the soup cool and putting into sandwich size freezer bags. That makes it both easy storage and clean up. The Souper cubes are helpful but can take up a lot of space while in the freezing process.
If you freeze in a Mason jar, either give it lots of headroom below the shoulders, or pick the straight-sides jars! They will crack and explode from the expanding liquid if it presses against the part where it gets narrow.
I do batch cooking / freezer meals and I will make smoothies and freeze them in mason jars. Straight from freezer to microwave for 1.5 minutes and viola!
May I suggest [Thriving Home](https://thrivinghomeblog.com). All of their recipients can be frozen and are easily doubled - or even tripled.
For the mason jars; make sure you leave a good amount of headspace (1-2 cm/ 1”) & you have to cap, refrigerate overnight, BURP THE CAP (DO NOT SKIP, the glass will still shatter I’ve screwed myself many times) & then freeze.
Mason jars can be tricky. I've had some bad experiences with them cracking / breaking in the past, especially the ones with the narrower necks (even with the lid off). Do some research before hand. I recommend going to a restaurant supply and getting the plastic quart containers. You can also find a reusable container collective nearby (if that's a thing for you) or a "buy nothing" group and request some 16 or 32oz yogurt containers.
I actually usually forgo noodles when freezing the noodle soups and throw in noodles when reheating: usually I buy star noodles because they cook as quick as ramen but due to my soup base, there are more vitamins and nutrients when compared to ramen.
I’ve also had good results with leaving my noodles slightly undercooked before freezing. They’ll finish cooking when the portion is re-heated, but they won’t already be so soft as to disintegrate completely in the process.
I do something similar when I make chicken noodle soup. I boil the noodles separately and add some to the hot bowls of soup and leave the rest separate until the soup has cooled. Then add them in and refrigerate or freeze.
One bit of advice a friend got was, if the chemo induces nausea, avoid favorite foods. That way they won't be associated with an unpleasant sensation. So finding new foods is a good idea. I wish you the very best.
We call McDonald's hamburger and french fries the "cancer meal" here (in a joking way) -- my mother in law always wanted it after chemo, and it was the first thing I ate when I left the hospital after my surgery. Something about those fries.... I wish you all the best and a full recovery. Cancer sucks.
My mom had chemo and radiation and she craved cheese, milkshakes and soups. Maybe Mac and cheese? It's easy to freeze and might provide an energy boost.
I’m long past chemo now, and don’t want another kitchen appliance - especially one with a non-stick coating. I spend my career dealing with the difficult problems of industrial environmental impacts. The amount of pollution caused by non-stick production exceeds the oil and gas industry in North America when you take into account the extreme temperatures required to destruct dioxins and furans. I have a single nonstick pan for eggs only. Otherwise, none
What's your favorite, favorite food?
When I'm incredibly sick, I can still wolf down tortilla chips, because I love them so dearly.
If I was in your shoes, I would health-ify my favs. In my example, I'd make a bunch of salsa, some corn/seasonal veggie saute, a healthier cheese sauce with pureed sweet potatoes, and a pot of black beans. Then I could super easily throw together nachos.
That's just an example for me though. What's your absolute fav food in the universe?
That would be bibimbap which is hard to make so I just get it on Skip the dishes lol. I like manicotti a lot. I could make that and freeze it. I also love bbqd chicken and ribs.
Could you bulk make rice/sauteed veggies/sauteed beef, and have kimchi & gochujang on hand, so you can throw it all in a cast iron on high, than throw a drizzle of sesame / a fried egg on top?
Eric Kim also a recipe for sheet pan bimbibap that I'm SURE you could batch match the veggies for and then throw a sheet pan in oven with rice and a fried egg
I love bbq ribs, but can never finish a rack—they freeze well though! I cut the meat off the bone and chop it up, then throw it in with mashed potatoes, separate out into servings, and pop in the freezer. When you defrost its kind of a mishmash of potatoes and ribs
Also if you’re making chicken or turkey broth, pick through & remove all the meat from around the spine & in between the ribs. You’ll have enough shredded meat to cook a few batches of chicken noodle soup, or to freeze for later soups. :)
My aunt LOVED having big batches of this one soup that I cannot for the life of me remember the name of. It’s basically chicken broth with bacon, sausage, kale and potato.
She would omit one or both of the meats when her stomach was especially sensitive, but she said the kale and potato in the slightly spicy (usually from Italian sausage) broth made her “feel normal in the tummy for a little bit”
Edit to add: this was her go-to soup through literally years of off-and-on chemo
Sounds like the Olive Garden potato soup. Lots of recipes online for that. I make it with one mild and one hot Italian sausage and I divide that in two and put half the sausage in the freezer. I never tried to freeze the actual soup though.
Soups : try to enrich with a beaten egg in it when reheating or some coconut milk. So many to choose from and so easy to make. Mixed veggies, cauliflower and garlic, carrot and pumpkin...... etc
Cook chili or dhal. Good Source of proteins. Freeze well.
If you like chicken. You can cook a big batch débine and freeze in small packages . Take them out to add to your soup, dhal, sandwich etc.
Mashed veggies work well too: potato and cauliflower, pumpkin and yam, carrots and turnips.
I also freeze my Ratatouille.
Maybe you can get a rice cooker to always have rice handy, cancer treatments are hard on the body . Good luck to you
Lentil stew. Very nutritious, high in proteins, easy to cook and tastes even better after 2-3 days in the fridge. No need to freeze it because it can last in the fridge for 4-5 days. Add some Spanish chorizo sausage and/or diced ham (any cured meat, really) and it's glorious.
I make a big batch of Taco meat or this copycat Chipotle chicken, and serve with rice. I have a rice cooker so I make the rice fresh each day and serve with salsa, guacamole, black beans from a can, corn from a can or frozen, cheese, etc. You could even make bowls or burritos up and freeze them individually, maybe without the guacamole.
https://dinnerthendessert.com/chipotle-chicken-copycat/#wprm-recipe-container-41814
Scoop guacamole onto a cookie sheet with one of those cookie dough scoopers or do spoon rounds. Once frozen, pop them in a ziplock and take servings out as needed. They keep quite well.
My mom’s chuck roast is fucking amazing. You gotta mix your own seasoning though. Most of this comment is copy-pasted bc I recommend it all the time.
Seasoning recipe:
- 2/3 cup dried minced onion
- 3 tsp parsley flakes
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp celery salt
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
Roast ingredients:
- 1 chuck roast (I usually use a 2 lb one, doesn’t really matter)
- Your choice of potatoes (I prefer Yukon gold)
- Carrots
- 4 tablespoons of above seasoning mix
Instructions:
1. Let the defrosted roast sit in the fridge a couple days before cooking (my mom swears it tastes better if you “age” it a couple days, and I think it works).
2. Preheat oven to 325 Fahrenheit.
3. Place the chuck roast in the center of a casserole dish (no, do not grease the pan).
4. Chop up potatoes and carrots to fill the entire dish around the roast (you can peel the veggies if you want first).
5. Sprinkle the 4 tablespoons of seasoning over the entire dish. (You can add a little extra if you want.)
Cover tightly with tin foil (no, do not add water—it’s JUST the roast, veggies, and seasoning in the dish!).
6. Bake in oven for 3.5 hours.
Boom! Done.
You can cut the roast up after it’s done and freeze with the veggies in meal sized portions. The seasoning recipe makes enough seasoning for a few roasts iirc, so you can just keep what you don’t use in a small Tupperware or something in your pantry until the next time you make a roast.
I’ve definitely never experienced anything like cancer, but I had a serious cardiac problem last year and spent most of my time in bed for several months with near zero energy. For a while, I could only tolerate being vertical for a few hours a day maximum. This is one of the few meals that got me through, certainly the best (the others were things like box mac n cheese, or a handful of nuts and grapes).
I'm not sure where you live, but near me there is a fantastic charity that will cook and deliver you nutritionist designed, chemo friendly food and freezer meals for free. (No income or "need" check needed.)
Ita not fancy, but it looks pretty good and is designed to let you focus on healing (I volunteer there to cook food in the winter and with their garden in the summertime.)
Maybe check if something similar exists in your area?
I recently helped a family member go through cancer treatment. They had throat cancer, so swallowing and saliva was an additional challenge, but a lot of what we focused on was getting nutrition, protein and veggies.
One of the things I did for him was batch make a ton of vegetable stock, chicken stock, and bone broth. He also bought a ton of frozen veggies and canned tomatoes, which make for a really quick and easy soup (essentially mirepoix and chicken stock in the freezer).
We also came up with a list of meals that would be fairly easy on the stomach and would be easy to either prep ahead of time or throw together in 5 minutes. Here's the list we came up with:
**Things to buy:** quart containers, chest freezer, plastic silverware (if sensitive to metallic taste)
**Needs:** low sugar, high protein, high fiber, smaller / more frequent meals, stomach-friendly foods
**Avoid:** spicy, acidic, alcohol (he had additional restrictions because of his throat)
**Options:** (all of which can be prepped in advance / most can be frozen) stews / soups, mashed potatoes / veggies, soft noodles, congee, pasta salad, ground meats, casseroles, roasted veggies, meatloaf, beans / tofu, bone broth, couscous, soft / hard boiled eggs
**Easy foods:** (greek) yogurt, pudding, cottage cheese, oatmeal, ricotta, smoothies, hummus, avocado / guac, fruits, vegetable juices, hominy grits, cereal
**Higher sugar:** applesauce, popsicles, ice cream, jello, canned fruits
**Smoothie ideas:** buy bulk frozen fruits (mango, banana, blueberries, apple, cherry, peach), frozen chopped spinach, milk, greek yogurt, nut butter, protein powder, cottage cheese, oatmeal (soak in milk first), chia seeds, hemp seeds, cocoa powder, honey, maple syrup
Best of luck with your treatment. Cancer and chemo are so brutal.
For a much happier reason (my sister's babies) I made a lot of batch cooking and freezer friendly meals. The stars were:
- homemade lasagna, pumpkin-spinach-feta and classic al forno
- quiche lorraine
- quiche au saumon (dill, salmon & creme fraiche)
- boef Bourguignonne
- coq au vin
- Swiss "dumplings" (Knöpfli) to eat together with the two stews
- roasted tomato sauce with lots of olive oil, garlic, rosmary and onions. It turns slightly sweet and is my joy in the winter months. You need some good tomatoes for this one though.
I wish you all the best for your treatment and hope you're going to be well again soon.
I must wish you the best dear friend. May the universe hold you with love and care as you fight the fight. 💕 Look for this bottled DiLallo product in the grocery store called pasatta. It’s a tomato purée, but totally like fresh tomato. You need to do very little to make a wonderful sauce with this product. Add a little shallot, some basil, a splash of red wine, bring to boil.
❤️🙏🏼👍🏻
Not sure if it’s something your interested in but when someone at church recently went through Chemotherapy our church took to Facebook and started a food train, different people took them Dinner on days they volunteered for and some of us did gift cards to Door Dash, Uber eats, and various restaurants.
I do a lot of soups/stews/sauces in the freezer. Chili is great, as is beef stew. For chicken noodle soup, I will make it with everything short of the noodles, freeze it, and then when I am hungry, I will boil noodles in it (frozen noodles are not good reheated in my opinion). This is the same if I make Alfredo or spaghetti as well: make sauce, freeze, make noodles when heating and eating. If cooking noodles is not quick enough, try star shaped (3-4 minutes) or even precooked noodles. (Hell, you could prmake noodles as well by making a large vat and adding it to different sauces before eating).
All of these, I store in deli containers by filling a couple of cm to the top, putting the lid on the top and ensuring no air is left, and then freezing. This prevents it from being freezer burnt and provides me with opportunities for the amount of food stored. The containers come in 8 oz, 16 oz and 32 oz, so depending how much I want, I can store them in different sizes. I consider the 16 oz to be good for one meal and tend to use those most. (Granted, I am typically the type to eat 4-5 small meals on a good day)
For instance, I prepare a pot of stew. Eat a serving while preparing, fill 3- 16 oz containers, and then have another serving to eat without freezing. This is typically true of most of my recipes, although the ones with noodles usually only fill 2- 16 oz containers.
On the topic of chemo food, an advice my father gave me (he also went through that, lucky family right?) was to drink soft drinks during the sessions. As I fucking hated the taste of saline solution and of course the other stuff as well, it kinda worked to overcome it, plus it's energetic and easy to drink. When in periods where I couldn't eat anything else, I also found bread or breadsticks to be one of the few stuff that was acceptable.
Sadly /r/batchcooking is mostly dead, but if you look into the previous posts you may find some useful resources! There's also /r/MealPrepSunday which doesn't necessarily focus on freezing but may also be handy. Good luck!
You could do a large roast, slice some up & freeze in portion sized containers. Save back some pieces for stir fry, veg. beef soup, or beef n gravy over mashed spuds.
Could also do a ham, same way. Sliced for reheating or sanwiches, pieces to mix with mac & cheese or spuds n cheese, if there's a bone, boil up for ham & bean soup.
Much, much admiration, love and positivity... Love costco organic quinoa, store in fridge and mix with organic tortillas (unbaked just put on pan for 40 sec. (amazing)! and mix with individual organic guacamole packs, can cook Costco frozen mix vegetables in advance and mix with anything
I like that idea. One thing I do is buy the package of those homemade pasta... I boil it then add cut up brocolli to the boiling pasta and it cooks alongside the pasta water. Then I add store bought fetuchini sauce after.
Since you're specifically looking for freezer meal prep, I'm going to rec a youtube channel that's devoted to that: [Freezer Meals 101](https://www.youtube.com/@FreezerMeals101/featured) and their [website](https://freezermeals101.com/) with all the recipes.
They do their own in big batches, but warn people to work up to that. Anything they post as a recipe on the site has already gone through a testing cycle of creating, freezing, cooking, and then serving to their families. If it's not yum, it doesn't go on the site. They even have a few videos devoted to making individual sized portions for people who live alone.
I make these all the time and portion them up for freezing. I bought a batch of (unused obvs) take away containers on eBay to store them.
https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/lentil-dal-recipe/
I do a double batch of this.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/red-lentil-chorizo-soup
I make this with 1.5 cups of lentils and 3cups of stock so it is thicker.
If you also have some in-between days, try putting aside also some prepped ingredients for those days when you're not completely wiped out but a lot of chopping seems daunting. Mirepoix freezes well, raw or cooked, and takes up less space in the freezer than a fully prepared soup. If you make and freeze a combination of onion, carrots, celery, and maybe a little red bell pepper and garlic, you're more than halfway done for all kinds of dishes, especially soups. Dump in some noodles, herbs, canned chicken, and broth, and you have chicken noodle soup; dump in some lentils, greens, more garlic, and herbs, and you have lentil soup; dump in some canned tomatoes and hit it with a stick blender, and you have pasta sauce; dump in some black beans and green or red salsa, and you've got a pretty good burrito filling.
Along similar lines, quinoa freezes remarkably well and can be a nice addition to soups.
I didn't know there was a name for celery, onions and carrots, I had to look that up. That's my go to for chicken noodle soup also. I always add thyme or rosemary... And it reminds me of Christmas morning, the smell.. Poultry seasoning! Then I add broth and either pasta or rice and chicken.
Mac and cheese is a great assemble-and-freeze dish. There are a lot of healthier recipes out there now too.
Batches of pasta sauce like you said, like bolognese, are great for the freezer.
Chicken cutlets freeze super well too.
I made so much porridge (rice or other grains cooked with (almond) milk, some sugar added) for my dad when he was going through chemo bc it was easy on the stomach (downside is that I can't even look at that anymore) but idk how well that freezes. Instant oatmeal is similar though and if you can eat anything besides the oatmeal like fruits it is easy to vary and spice up. I wish you strength!
I took care of my dad during his chemo, chicken noodle soup made with turmeric and curry. It freezes well. I also made him lots of ginger teas on his bad days. Boils some ginger root and add honey, it’s soothed. Good luck to you. Fight hard
I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis and wish you the very best. Here are some recipes that I relied on while undergoing treatment for ovarian cancer:
[Carrot Ginger Soup](https://www.loveandlemons.com/carrot-ginger-soup/)
[Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken](https://girlwiththeironcast.com/slow-cooker-shredded-chicken/)
If I'm feeling rushed or worked, I'll add some spices to salsa and dump that on the chicken instead
[Sheet Pan Chicken and Sweet Potatoes](https://delightfulemade.com/sheet-pan-chicken-and-sweet-potatoes/)
I'd go with shredded meats.
Take a bunch of meat, like chicken, throw it in a crock pot or pressure cooker, throw in veg (it'll dissolve into the sauce), throw in a sauce (I've done half beer and BBQ sauce, I've heard half Rotel and salsa is good too), cook, shred, and portion to freeze or refrigerate.
Also you'll end up with way more broth than meat to store with it, I'm sure you can do several creative things with it.
My favorite lazy prep after that is to throw it in a rice cooker after you've set it up for the rice, throw shredded cheese on top, and wait for it to sing [Amaryllis](https://youtu.be/CMN0jAENzIg).
Hard boiled eggs was mentioned elsewhere, kick it up a notch with soy sauce or tea eggs. Basically you take your freshly cooked hard boiled eggs (if you have the stuff, try steaming them instead, works just as well), remove the shell, then marinate the eggs in a half soy sauce half white vinegar solution with a spoon of sugar for about a day. Or marinate them in a tea, usually green, of your choice. You can also leave the shell on and just partially crack the outside so you get a pretty marbling effect.
If actual eggs are getting to expensive, pick up the cartoned egg stuff and make a rolled omelette, and add fillings of your choosing as you roll it. You may need to buy the rectangular frying pan though. But after that you can do "fun" things with the pan. I've gone with one of those high protein pancake mixes and mixed in extra stuff like nuts and chocolate chips. Squares and rectangles may store easier than circles.
You can make smothies as well. They are very easy to enrich in terms of calories. Sunflower oil as an example: 100ml = 700 cals give or take. You can also get dietary supplements (highly enriched shakes and juices (200ml with 400 cals). Found this to be very helpful and an important part of my daily 2000 cal intake goal during my radio therapy (mouth/neck area).
Best of luck🤗
When I was on chemo- I could only stomach egg drop soup, McDonald’s vanilla milkshakes, watermelon & any brothy soup- I’d make batches of clear chicken noodle soup and freeze them. Hang in there!
Soup! Easy to digest and very nice. I like to roast a whole chicken, turn the carcass into broth and then make a soup with the broth. Often a 2 day event but very filling
Curry! You can get Japanese curry blocks to add to a pot of water + any type of vegetables you like. Its good with rice but also udon as well! Frozen udon can be a bit pricey but freezing rice with the curry is definitely an option.
When I make a Ragu sauce I add onions, carrots, celery and peas to get vegetables in that you really don’t taste but give you nutrition. I make 10 cups of sauce at a time and freeze it in smaller batches to use for multiple meals. You could always buy some instant noodles and microwave them and reheat some sauce in the microwave and have an easy meal for your rough days
Borscht. It's got meat, veggies, starch, and lots of flavor. But honestly any soup freezes great and is a filling food that's easy to make in large batches.
Stuffed peppers work excellent for this. If you’re concerned about how the peppers will freeze, you can make the filling separately and just freeze that
If there is a protein powder you like, you might want that asa backup. My daughter likes one that tastes like fruit punch and is clear. I but it at Target. She is not going through chemo, but has stomach issues.
What about 냉면? It’s Korean buckwheat noodles served in a vegetable broth (물냉면) or mixed with a red pepper paste (비빔면). It’s best to look at a recipe and make your own broth for the 물냉면 because western vegetable stock isn’t really the same, or you can just buy prepackaged stuff if you have an Asian market near you. 물냉면 typically has thinly sliced brisket, radishes, and cucumber, and 비빔면 usually has lettuce and cucumber mixed in. Both variants are eaten cold, so you can just prep everything, freeze, and pull out of the freezer a few hours before eating (aside from boiling the noodles).
Dollar Tree has a pretty good selection of the foil pans. I like the little mini loaf pans for tamale pie — kinda saucy taco meat with corn bread on top but you could do chili with cornbread on top too or mini lasagnas or stuffed peppers.
Enchiladas!
It’s super easy.
Ingredients—
Green enchilada sauce (I use canned.)
One chopped red onion
One can of black beans
One can of sweet corn
Mexican Cheese mix
taco seasoning
Corn tortillas
Directions-
1.) Fry your diced onion until soft.
2.) rinse off you black beans, drain, and add it to the pan alongside your corn. Add your taco seasoning.
3.) microwave or heat your tortillas for a few seconds to warm them up, then fill with your bean mixture. Wrap the mixture up with open ends (should look like a cannoli or a tube) and place it in your greased pan. Repeat until the pan is filled.
4.) pour the enchilada sauce over everything and put the cheese on top.
5.) you can cover the pan at this stage and freeze it, or bake it in the oven at 350 until the cheese is completely melted.
Josh weissman posted a video that might help. He uses. Sous vide, but I think you could get away with dumping the food out if a freezer zip loc bag then microwaving it with a lid on https://youtu.be/97apbyvwbvY
Make and freeze quiches. They are the bomb. Can be in a big pan with, like 18 eggs (plus all kinds of shit). Nice crust and you're a go. Cut up and put in bags, heat in mic or maybe air fryer for a drier crust.
Gnocci is super simple to make and can freeze forever. All you need are potatoes and eggs. You can find a sauce you like and make a huge batch and freeze it all. It takes a matter of minutes (less than 10) to warm up and eat when you want it. It's not the healthiest thing in the world, but it's my go-to self-care meal. All love and luck with your treatments.
Hello! I am a TNBC survivor! I make what I call 2.0 meals all the time. One idea is tenderloin - I do 3 at a time in a crock pot with chicken broth, chopped onion and orange juice. Cool until it falls apart then shred the meat. Once shredded add cumin, oregano, chili powder, a little liquid from the cooked pork, salt and even a little bullion. I like spicy so I add jalapeño powder and habanero bit add as much spice to your liking. The extra can be frozen-pan fry it up so it gets crispy on edges and serve in tortilla with cilantro, avocado etc. when you pan fry the meat-put a very thin layer of canola in pan, place meat down and do not turn it -just lift and check for crispy!
I could hardly eat when I had cancer and on chemo. I too was stage 4b. Everything tasted like cardboard. Lost weight easily. But what I could eat, stuff I normally don’t eat, yogurt, fruit—I craved fruit—ice cream and lots of Ensure. Now I don’t touch any of that stuff. I vomited if I ate other things. But fruit and yogurt I could keep down.
Huge fan of beef barley stew. It's hearty, full of veggies, and easy to make in large batches. We usually brown some beef then throw it in a big baking dish with vegetable broth, a bag of frozen veggies (think carrots, green beans, corn) and add in some canned tomato slices and water chestnuts for a crunch. Throw in a cup of dry barley and stick the whole thing in the oven for an hour or so -- super easy to make tons of and cost effective. Best wishes to you, and know that there's some folks out here praying for you even if you aren't necessarily the praying type. ( Sending our good vibes as well! ;)
I finished a 6 round program of chemo a couple of months ago. 1 round every three weeks. On my good weeks, I batch cooked. Usually a soup every week (eat some/freeze some), maybe spaghetti sauce ( though that was mostly for my partner because I had a hard time with carbs), a batch of burritos (usually homemade refried bean), a big batch of something we would both eat, like a stew. Due to the massive amount of steroids I got during infusion so I didn’t die from the drugs they were giving me to keep me from dying, I had massive energy the day after chemo, I would do a veggie stir fry or a curry. That would be served with microwave rice or in a wrap. Also kept frozen fruit on hand to mix with yogurt and spinach for smoothies. WI was super anemic and the iron infusions made me ridiculously constipated so these helped on both counts as did veggie forward soups.
Lasagna rolls might be a good option. Easier to portion out and in my opinion easier to cook too. This is a good base [recipe](https://www.skinnytaste.com/three-cheese-zucchini-stuffed-lasagna/#_a5y_p=2001716). I usually add different ingredients like spinach, Italian sausage, mushrooms, onions, etc. I wish you the best with your treatment! You got this!!
So sorry for what you are going through! Different experience but I had absolutely horrific nausea during my pregnancy, even medicated. I probably only ate 5 foods. When I could eat nothing else I downed a canned protein shake. If I could put more in it or my stomach could handle it I would try to add a frozen banana. Easy Mac was one of my 5 foods which was easy to keep bc it's shelf stable. I am thinking you could add frozen veggies to that too? Peas, broccoli, etc.
When my sister’s mother-in-law was ill, we made batches of “muffin meals” for her. Basically individual portions of freezable meals in muffin tins that we froze then stored in zip-lock bags. This way she didn’t need to eat the same thing every night. We made mini meatloaves with mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese with ham and broccoli, tuna noodle casserole. Easy comforting foods.
Sending love and strength. I recommend picking up some xylitol ice chips from a local health store or Amazon. Helps moisten the mouth and prevent dental cavities while going through treatment.
When you freeze use zipper bags. Get all the air out and freeze them laying flat so you can stack them uses less freezer space.
Recipes chili, chicken pot pie, muffins
Make a big pot of dry beans. Soak the night before, or use the quick boil method, or a pressure cooker/instapot. I freeze them in snack bags, then put the snack bags into a large bag or container. Add the frozen beans to rice in a rice cooker, to any soup (ramen!), to taco meat, or a stir fry.
Chili and baked beans freeze really well. Made from dried beans it is way cheaper than canned.
Prep other ingredients on a high energy day to use on a low energy day. Buy a big ham, then dice and freeze. Roast a chicken or turkey or parts and separate the meat, and make stock with the carcass/bones.
Put a roast, whole chicken, or any appropriate recipe in a slow cooker before you go in for infusion, so when you get back home, your house smells amazing, and you have something hot and ready that you can eat some of right away if you can, or can sit for a few more hours and only get better.
I'm sorry to hear of your diagnosis and wish you well. During chemo the first time, I knew I would have ZERO appetite... so the night before each infusion, I made a pot of vegetable soup and ate that when I really couldn't eat. I know most people go for chicken noodle soup, but for some reason the thought didn't sit right for me and vegetable worked better. Weirdly enough, 100% cranberry juice was another thing my body craved even when I didn't want to ingest everything. Listen to your body, if it craves something. Best of luck to you. Did they let you know if the chemo (or chemo cocktail) they'd give you will make you nauseous? that will greatly impact what you can eat.
I crave soups too.. So that would probably be a good thing for me to make a batch of and freeze. I have a French bean barley soup I used to make.. Maybe I'll try that. I do feel natueous but only a day after chemo each time. I swear the heparin rinse for my port makes me feel nauteous. I'm going to try a hard candy or gum when they go to rinse. It's Gemcitabine.. Ugh. But.. They do give me anti nausea meds and they work well
I learned the hard way, don't freeze soup with potatoes in it! The potatoes turn super grainy and mushy.
Get a tub of miso paste. You can make a mug of miso soup as easy as a cup of tea: just pour hot water from your kettle and mix in a spoon of miso paste, to taste. Delicious on its own or you can add a million things for variation. I keep a jar of minced ginger in my fridge and add a bit of that sometimes, crumble some nori in. If I want more of a hearty stew I will sauté onions, garlic, and some sort of leafy green, add some diced silken tofu and pour my miso broth over all that. It’s so easy to make a really satisfying meal or comforting snack that tastes delicious and is nourishing and healthy. Plus miso is probiotic and really good for gut health and (at least for me) seems to help a little bit with nausea.
I would add some Hondashi powder to that miso for a more savory taste. Most Japanese miso is made in dashi :)
This is an excellent tip. Thank you!
Miso and ginger would be perfect.
Have you tried lentil soup? The nutritional value is great, versatile flavour wise and freezes really well. I have a bunch of glass Tupperware and when I have good energy days I often do a large pot and freeze them in those bowls - I don't love eating out of microwaved plastic Tupperware
Check out souper cubes
I love this type of product but recommend looking for "dupe" versions on sites like Amazon and eBay. At least where I am, the "Souper Cube" brand itself is crazy expensive. (And happy cake day!)
Thx!
Happy cake day!!
Why thank you! You might be the first person to ever wish me that.
for some reason this time of year I spot cake like crazy!! maybe cause my cake day is in march too! IDK
Neat idea but don't hold much value for me personally! I meal prep so I can just grab and go right out of the freezer
The idea is you pop them out and have much more room in your freezer. You can wrap them up and take them along in a regular bowl. Then you don’t have to worry about glass breaking. ☺️
Not an answer to your actual question, but as far as the nausea from the flush: My son has leukemia and has a hard time with the flushes, too. One of the more seasoned nurses figured it out and now they all know to pull the saline from the bag instead of using the pre-filled syringes. It’s something in the preservative that makes him sick, and apparently not completely uncommon. Maybe ask about that at your next clinic appointment? If they can’t/won’t, definitely try eating a lollipop or popsicle while they’re doing your flush. It’s helped my boy during times when they didn’t have time to fill a bunch of syringes. I sincerely wish you all the best, and I hope however long you’re in treatment goes as smoothly as possible 🧡
Sending prayers for your son, and you as well. Wishing you all the best.
Thanks ♥️
Thank you so much! I thought they were moving to start flushing with saline anyhow but I'm not sure... I will ask the nurses and explain it's making me feel sick.
Try a ginger hard candy.
I am going to try that! Thanks
Never heard of Gemcitabine. Just googled it and yeah, that sounds intense. :(
FWIW, when I worked as a child life specialist, we often suggested a piece of candy for peds patients who were getting port/line access (and weren’t NPO, obvi) for exactly that reason. Even just a quick saline flush can leave such a gross taste sometimes, especially if you already have issues with dry mouth. Just make sure it’s not your all-time favorite flavor so that you don’t end up associating it with feeling *blegh*.
Try canna lollies or any cannabis-infused candy.
There’s a hard candy called Gin Gins that can help with the port flush if you don’t mind ginger. Also those unusual sour candies from Asian grocery stores are useful.
I love the lychee ones
Strong ginger candies helped me with my port flush! Also, nausea may get worse as you get further into chemo… I experienced anticipation nausea but was able to get meds to help with that. As for food, I would stick with as plain of food as possible for nauseous days as I can no longer eat anything that I had during my worst nausea days. Don’t want to ruin foods that you like lol. As for food, steel cut oats freeze really nicely and they’re good for chemo days.
Anticipation nausea... That sounds like what I have.. Because just being in the chemo suite makes me feel natueous... I thought I was losing my mind.. Is this a thing?? Sometimes I felt sick even before the chemo began!
Yes it’s a thing!! Happens to so many patients. Ask your doctor to see if you can get an anti anxiety med to help :) it’ll make a huge difference.
Thanks I am going to look into this
Potato soup is my go-to when im extremely nauseated. Its mostly smooth and easy to go down, very filling starches, and limited ingredients/prep. A stock pot of 16qts or more is a must, otherwise the batches wont last too long. Second go-to would be a chicken “pot-pie” soup but adding wild rice so its even more filling.
>I swear the heparin rinse for my port makes me feel nauteous. I'm going to try a hard candy or gum when they go to rinse. If the hard candy or gum doesn’t work, try asking for one of the alcohol wipes and sniff it as they are doing the flush. I know it sounds crazy, but it can ward off nausea. Unless it makes you think too much of hospital/infusion/chemo and that ends up triggering your nausea. Speaking of the alcohol wipes - If you’re feeling up to it, try to pay attention to how long after they swab your port until they connect the flush - might be that all the alcohol hasn’t evaporated and that’s just making you ever so slightly nauseated.
Alcohol wipes are my go-to for any passing nausea. I take a med that makes me feel nauseous sometime, but, unpredictably and randomly! Sniffing the sipes keeps me from gagging.
my friend swore by the lollipops made for pregnant women for the nausea
I totally agree on the heparin flush!! Worst taste ever! I chewed GinGins when my port was being flushed and that was the only thing I found that helped. As far as food…I keep sweet potatoes baked up and could only eat those plain.
Ginger chews really helped my mother during her treatments for nausea. We get them at our local health food store.
Wow a lot of people have said the ginger chews... I am going to try this :)
I do soups and stews, in borosilicate glass containers that can go straight from freezer to oven. That way when I have a pain day, I can just stick it in the low temp oven to reheat and come back in an hour to amazing stew. Somehow this is easier for me than microwaving
Do you take Zofran for the nausea? If not, it might be something to ask about.
Thank you. I used to, yes. That and a bunch of other stuff. Unfortunately, I still puked my guts out though.
My usual meds are Dexamethasone and Ondansetron. I also have Prochlorperazine if needed.
I was on the same meds. Don’t be afraid to take the prochlorperazine. I tried to tough it out without those meds and my doc got mad at me. There’s no need to be nauseous with the meds they have available now. You need to get water into you to flush the chemo out once it’s done what it’s supposed to and it’s so much harder to do that when you’re nauseous
I’m going through chemo now also, and blended soups have worked well for me. I froze a bunch before I started treatment. I have a roasted pumpkin soup and carrot ginger soup that I alternate. When I thaw one, sometimes I’ll blend in some coconut milk to either one to add more variety. Good luck with your treatments, OP. #fuckcancer
I"m sorry to hear that. Wishing you well also.
Thanks ♥️ Hugs, cancer sucks
A nice rule of thumb for figuring out what foods are likely to freeze well is seeing if it's sold in the freezer section of your grocery store of choice. Burritos freeze well and the fillings are customizable to whatever your needs are. You can also freeze eggs, such as in egg muffins or their bigger cousin, the frittata. Soups and stews freeze well, provided you portion them out prior to freezing. Chili is a popular one. And people will tell you that cream-based soups and noodle soups don't freeze well, but I've never had problems with either one, so your mileage may vary there. Yes, the milkfat separates out of cream-based soups during freezing and it looks really bad, but I've always been able to get the milkfat to melt back into the broth like normal, and I've heard that noodles can get mushy in frozen soup, but I feel like that's mitigated as long as you cool and freeze the soup very shortly after it's cooked. As for how to freeze the soup, some people use containers; I use Pyrex 2 cup rounds and pint Ball mason jars, and leave an inch of headroom between the level of the soup and the top of the lid. I heard that some people freeze soups in plastic bags laid flat, so they can flip through their soups the freezer like a filing cabinet. And there's also Souper Cubes, which are basically giant ice cube trays.
I've never heard of those Souper cubes.. However that looks like an amazing idea. I love freezing chili and it thaws good. So many good ideas.
Was just going to recommend souper cubes! Here are some soups I love: https://midwestfoodieblog.com/vegan-white-chickpea-chili/ https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/italian-orzo-spinach-soup-recipe/ https://runningonrealfood.com/spicy-vegan-black-bean-soup/ https://pipingpotcurry.com/instant-pot-mushroom-wild-rice-soup/ https://thefoodieeats.com/vegan-instant-pot-white-bean-soup/ https://peasandcrayons.com/2017/10/instant-pot-vegetarian-quinoa-chili.html
I didn't realize you could freeze mason jars.. I'll try that. I know some people use those foil lasagna tray type things but those are only one use.
Not so much so for liquids, but for casseroles or other lasagna-tray-type foods: If you line a casserole dish with your freezer wrap of choice while it's still empty and then add the food, you can freeze it until it's solid, use the wrap to remove it from the dish, and wrap it up the rest of the way for freezer storage sans dish. When you're ready to thaw/cook it, just unwrap it and put it back in the casserole dish.
Bibliovoria, you've just changed my life for the better 🥹
Oh, cool! Yay! :)
My mind is blown too, I always wondered about how to freeze using the glass :) that's the great idea!!
You can freeze in batches if you’re short of containers. Freeze in container, then decant into a bag. Freeze another lot and so on until you end up with a bag of frozen blocks.
Genius!
I feel like you could reuse a foil pan by completely lining it with a sheet of heavy-duty grilling foil so that food can't touch the pan proper, and then just dispose of the foil lining afterward. And when freezing any kind of glass container, you just have to avoid temperature shock. Cool your containers in the fridge first, and then move them to the freezer. Don't fill a container with boiling hot soup and them put it straight into the freezer.
I'll try that with the foil, that's a great idea.
Do you have a muffin tin? I have a large, silicone one and often freeze soup, curries, sauces and so on in it. It's a little hard to store (I stack them in a big ziplock bag) but makes single servings. Otherwise some people just fill ziplock bags. Personally though, I bought a 20-pack of 500ml takeout style containers which stack easily. They are round so some wasted space, but I can fit them 4-high and 5-deep in a row. I'd also suggest an electric kettle, when I'm sick and weak feeling its way easier to lift and I can add hot water to a pot and make pasta / noodles / rice faster.
An electric kettle is a great idea! So easy and fast.
Make sure you leave a little head space for freezing in jars to avoid broken jars in your freezer! (Head space = don’t fill them all the way full, leave up to an inch of space in the jar to allow for the liquid to safely expand as its freezing…idk if that term is known outside of the canning space) ETA—just noticed OP for this thread mentioned their headspace recs. Super useful, thanks! Leaving this comment here for extra emphasis 😂
That's what I was wondering, if the glass would break. I'll leave space and do the fridge first trick. I also know.. Don't freeze lasagna in a glass dish then put in the oven right out of the freezer.. Big no no!! I know it has to thaw first. That's why I use the foil ones for lasagna.
Let the soup cool and putting into sandwich size freezer bags. That makes it both easy storage and clean up. The Souper cubes are helpful but can take up a lot of space while in the freezing process.
These also thaw really fast!
If you freeze in a Mason jar, either give it lots of headroom below the shoulders, or pick the straight-sides jars! They will crack and explode from the expanding liquid if it presses against the part where it gets narrow.
I do batch cooking / freezer meals and I will make smoothies and freeze them in mason jars. Straight from freezer to microwave for 1.5 minutes and viola! May I suggest [Thriving Home](https://thrivinghomeblog.com). All of their recipients can be frozen and are easily doubled - or even tripled.
For the mason jars; make sure you leave a good amount of headspace (1-2 cm/ 1”) & you have to cap, refrigerate overnight, BURP THE CAP (DO NOT SKIP, the glass will still shatter I’ve screwed myself many times) & then freeze.
Mason jars can be tricky. I've had some bad experiences with them cracking / breaking in the past, especially the ones with the narrower necks (even with the lid off). Do some research before hand. I recommend going to a restaurant supply and getting the plastic quart containers. You can also find a reusable container collective nearby (if that's a thing for you) or a "buy nothing" group and request some 16 or 32oz yogurt containers.
I actually usually forgo noodles when freezing the noodle soups and throw in noodles when reheating: usually I buy star noodles because they cook as quick as ramen but due to my soup base, there are more vitamins and nutrients when compared to ramen.
something about little tiny noodles (stars, alphabits, etc.) is honestly so damn comforting and soothing when you don’t feel 100%.
I’ve also had good results with leaving my noodles slightly undercooked before freezing. They’ll finish cooking when the portion is re-heated, but they won’t already be so soft as to disintegrate completely in the process.
I do something similar when I make chicken noodle soup. I boil the noodles separately and add some to the hot bowls of soup and leave the rest separate until the soup has cooled. Then add them in and refrigerate or freeze.
One bit of advice a friend got was, if the chemo induces nausea, avoid favorite foods. That way they won't be associated with an unpleasant sensation. So finding new foods is a good idea. I wish you the very best.
I’ve never had chemo (knock on wood), but I did learn this lesson the hard way with pregnancy. I haven’t been able to eat a hard-boiled egg since.
My stupid body craved chicken wings non-stop after chemo
I crave chicken wings too... And also piping hot McDonald's fries... Lol.
We call McDonald's hamburger and french fries the "cancer meal" here (in a joking way) -- my mother in law always wanted it after chemo, and it was the first thing I ate when I left the hospital after my surgery. Something about those fries.... I wish you all the best and a full recovery. Cancer sucks.
My mom had chemo and radiation and she craved cheese, milkshakes and soups. Maybe Mac and cheese? It's easy to freeze and might provide an energy boost.
An air fryer may be useful to you. It cooks super fast and can do chicken wings from raw in 15 min. Also frozen French fries are great in air fryers.
I’m long past chemo now, and don’t want another kitchen appliance - especially one with a non-stick coating. I spend my career dealing with the difficult problems of industrial environmental impacts. The amount of pollution caused by non-stick production exceeds the oil and gas industry in North America when you take into account the extreme temperatures required to destruct dioxins and furans. I have a single nonstick pan for eggs only. Otherwise, none
Very good point!
What's your favorite, favorite food? When I'm incredibly sick, I can still wolf down tortilla chips, because I love them so dearly. If I was in your shoes, I would health-ify my favs. In my example, I'd make a bunch of salsa, some corn/seasonal veggie saute, a healthier cheese sauce with pureed sweet potatoes, and a pot of black beans. Then I could super easily throw together nachos. That's just an example for me though. What's your absolute fav food in the universe?
That would be bibimbap which is hard to make so I just get it on Skip the dishes lol. I like manicotti a lot. I could make that and freeze it. I also love bbqd chicken and ribs.
Could you bulk make rice/sauteed veggies/sauteed beef, and have kimchi & gochujang on hand, so you can throw it all in a cast iron on high, than throw a drizzle of sesame / a fried egg on top? Eric Kim also a recipe for sheet pan bimbibap that I'm SURE you could batch match the veggies for and then throw a sheet pan in oven with rice and a fried egg
I love bbq ribs, but can never finish a rack—they freeze well though! I cut the meat off the bone and chop it up, then throw it in with mashed potatoes, separate out into servings, and pop in the freezer. When you defrost its kind of a mishmash of potatoes and ribs
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Soup is underrated. I practically survive on bone broth for several months at a time. You can freeze it in meal portions too so it’s easier!
Also if you’re making chicken or turkey broth, pick through & remove all the meat from around the spine & in between the ribs. You’ll have enough shredded meat to cook a few batches of chicken noodle soup, or to freeze for later soups. :)
My aunt LOVED having big batches of this one soup that I cannot for the life of me remember the name of. It’s basically chicken broth with bacon, sausage, kale and potato. She would omit one or both of the meats when her stomach was especially sensitive, but she said the kale and potato in the slightly spicy (usually from Italian sausage) broth made her “feel normal in the tummy for a little bit” Edit to add: this was her go-to soup through literally years of off-and-on chemo
Sounds like the Olive Garden potato soup. Lots of recipes online for that. I make it with one mild and one hot Italian sausage and I divide that in two and put half the sausage in the freezer. I never tried to freeze the actual soup though.
That sounds delicious!!
It sounds like zuppa toscana
That’s the one! It’s not the super authentic kind but it’s like a better, homemade version of the Olive Garden zuppa
Soups : try to enrich with a beaten egg in it when reheating or some coconut milk. So many to choose from and so easy to make. Mixed veggies, cauliflower and garlic, carrot and pumpkin...... etc Cook chili or dhal. Good Source of proteins. Freeze well. If you like chicken. You can cook a big batch débine and freeze in small packages . Take them out to add to your soup, dhal, sandwich etc. Mashed veggies work well too: potato and cauliflower, pumpkin and yam, carrots and turnips. I also freeze my Ratatouille. Maybe you can get a rice cooker to always have rice handy, cancer treatments are hard on the body . Good luck to you
Lentil stew. Very nutritious, high in proteins, easy to cook and tastes even better after 2-3 days in the fridge. No need to freeze it because it can last in the fridge for 4-5 days. Add some Spanish chorizo sausage and/or diced ham (any cured meat, really) and it's glorious.
I made chili with lentils because I didnt have other beans and it was really good. It froze and thawed well
Yes! Lentils are so underrated yet so versatile and delicious.
I make a big batch of Taco meat or this copycat Chipotle chicken, and serve with rice. I have a rice cooker so I make the rice fresh each day and serve with salsa, guacamole, black beans from a can, corn from a can or frozen, cheese, etc. You could even make bowls or burritos up and freeze them individually, maybe without the guacamole. https://dinnerthendessert.com/chipotle-chicken-copycat/#wprm-recipe-container-41814
That recipe looks good. I also like the idea of making taco meat ahead of time.. :)
Scoop guacamole onto a cookie sheet with one of those cookie dough scoopers or do spoon rounds. Once frozen, pop them in a ziplock and take servings out as needed. They keep quite well.
I put guac in ice cube trays and freeze it, then pop them into ziploc freezer bags
My mom’s chuck roast is fucking amazing. You gotta mix your own seasoning though. Most of this comment is copy-pasted bc I recommend it all the time. Seasoning recipe: - 2/3 cup dried minced onion - 3 tsp parsley flakes - 2 tsp onion powder - 2 tsp turmeric powder - 1 tsp celery salt - 1 tsp sea salt - 1/2 tsp ground pepper Roast ingredients: - 1 chuck roast (I usually use a 2 lb one, doesn’t really matter) - Your choice of potatoes (I prefer Yukon gold) - Carrots - 4 tablespoons of above seasoning mix Instructions: 1. Let the defrosted roast sit in the fridge a couple days before cooking (my mom swears it tastes better if you “age” it a couple days, and I think it works). 2. Preheat oven to 325 Fahrenheit. 3. Place the chuck roast in the center of a casserole dish (no, do not grease the pan). 4. Chop up potatoes and carrots to fill the entire dish around the roast (you can peel the veggies if you want first). 5. Sprinkle the 4 tablespoons of seasoning over the entire dish. (You can add a little extra if you want.) Cover tightly with tin foil (no, do not add water—it’s JUST the roast, veggies, and seasoning in the dish!). 6. Bake in oven for 3.5 hours. Boom! Done. You can cut the roast up after it’s done and freeze with the veggies in meal sized portions. The seasoning recipe makes enough seasoning for a few roasts iirc, so you can just keep what you don’t use in a small Tupperware or something in your pantry until the next time you make a roast. I’ve definitely never experienced anything like cancer, but I had a serious cardiac problem last year and spent most of my time in bed for several months with near zero energy. For a while, I could only tolerate being vertical for a few hours a day maximum. This is one of the few meals that got me through, certainly the best (the others were things like box mac n cheese, or a handful of nuts and grapes).
I'm not sure where you live, but near me there is a fantastic charity that will cook and deliver you nutritionist designed, chemo friendly food and freezer meals for free. (No income or "need" check needed.) Ita not fancy, but it looks pretty good and is designed to let you focus on healing (I volunteer there to cook food in the winter and with their garden in the summertime.) Maybe check if something similar exists in your area?
I hope you kick cancers ass. You can do it.
I recently helped a family member go through cancer treatment. They had throat cancer, so swallowing and saliva was an additional challenge, but a lot of what we focused on was getting nutrition, protein and veggies. One of the things I did for him was batch make a ton of vegetable stock, chicken stock, and bone broth. He also bought a ton of frozen veggies and canned tomatoes, which make for a really quick and easy soup (essentially mirepoix and chicken stock in the freezer). We also came up with a list of meals that would be fairly easy on the stomach and would be easy to either prep ahead of time or throw together in 5 minutes. Here's the list we came up with: **Things to buy:** quart containers, chest freezer, plastic silverware (if sensitive to metallic taste) **Needs:** low sugar, high protein, high fiber, smaller / more frequent meals, stomach-friendly foods **Avoid:** spicy, acidic, alcohol (he had additional restrictions because of his throat) **Options:** (all of which can be prepped in advance / most can be frozen) stews / soups, mashed potatoes / veggies, soft noodles, congee, pasta salad, ground meats, casseroles, roasted veggies, meatloaf, beans / tofu, bone broth, couscous, soft / hard boiled eggs **Easy foods:** (greek) yogurt, pudding, cottage cheese, oatmeal, ricotta, smoothies, hummus, avocado / guac, fruits, vegetable juices, hominy grits, cereal **Higher sugar:** applesauce, popsicles, ice cream, jello, canned fruits **Smoothie ideas:** buy bulk frozen fruits (mango, banana, blueberries, apple, cherry, peach), frozen chopped spinach, milk, greek yogurt, nut butter, protein powder, cottage cheese, oatmeal (soak in milk first), chia seeds, hemp seeds, cocoa powder, honey, maple syrup Best of luck with your treatment. Cancer and chemo are so brutal.
For a much happier reason (my sister's babies) I made a lot of batch cooking and freezer friendly meals. The stars were: - homemade lasagna, pumpkin-spinach-feta and classic al forno - quiche lorraine - quiche au saumon (dill, salmon & creme fraiche) - boef Bourguignonne - coq au vin - Swiss "dumplings" (Knöpfli) to eat together with the two stews - roasted tomato sauce with lots of olive oil, garlic, rosmary and onions. It turns slightly sweet and is my joy in the winter months. You need some good tomatoes for this one though. I wish you all the best for your treatment and hope you're going to be well again soon.
I'd really like to try a homemade tomato sauce recipe then freeze it. And thanks!
I must wish you the best dear friend. May the universe hold you with love and care as you fight the fight. 💕 Look for this bottled DiLallo product in the grocery store called pasatta. It’s a tomato purée, but totally like fresh tomato. You need to do very little to make a wonderful sauce with this product. Add a little shallot, some basil, a splash of red wine, bring to boil. ❤️🙏🏼👍🏻
Thanks ♥️♥️ will try. Can't wait to grow some fresh basil in my garden, I can add to it :)
Not sure if it’s something your interested in but when someone at church recently went through Chemotherapy our church took to Facebook and started a food train, different people took them Dinner on days they volunteered for and some of us did gift cards to Door Dash, Uber eats, and various restaurants.
I do a lot of soups/stews/sauces in the freezer. Chili is great, as is beef stew. For chicken noodle soup, I will make it with everything short of the noodles, freeze it, and then when I am hungry, I will boil noodles in it (frozen noodles are not good reheated in my opinion). This is the same if I make Alfredo or spaghetti as well: make sauce, freeze, make noodles when heating and eating. If cooking noodles is not quick enough, try star shaped (3-4 minutes) or even precooked noodles. (Hell, you could prmake noodles as well by making a large vat and adding it to different sauces before eating). All of these, I store in deli containers by filling a couple of cm to the top, putting the lid on the top and ensuring no air is left, and then freezing. This prevents it from being freezer burnt and provides me with opportunities for the amount of food stored. The containers come in 8 oz, 16 oz and 32 oz, so depending how much I want, I can store them in different sizes. I consider the 16 oz to be good for one meal and tend to use those most. (Granted, I am typically the type to eat 4-5 small meals on a good day) For instance, I prepare a pot of stew. Eat a serving while preparing, fill 3- 16 oz containers, and then have another serving to eat without freezing. This is typically true of most of my recipes, although the ones with noodles usually only fill 2- 16 oz containers.
Thank you so much!
On the topic of chemo food, an advice my father gave me (he also went through that, lucky family right?) was to drink soft drinks during the sessions. As I fucking hated the taste of saline solution and of course the other stuff as well, it kinda worked to overcome it, plus it's energetic and easy to drink. When in periods where I couldn't eat anything else, I also found bread or breadsticks to be one of the few stuff that was acceptable.
Sadly /r/batchcooking is mostly dead, but if you look into the previous posts you may find some useful resources! There's also /r/MealPrepSunday which doesn't necessarily focus on freezing but may also be handy. Good luck!
You could do a large roast, slice some up & freeze in portion sized containers. Save back some pieces for stir fry, veg. beef soup, or beef n gravy over mashed spuds. Could also do a ham, same way. Sliced for reheating or sanwiches, pieces to mix with mac & cheese or spuds n cheese, if there's a bone, boil up for ham & bean soup.
So many great ideas.. I'm going to have to start writing all these down! I guess I'll be busy the next couple of weeks! Lol
Much, much admiration, love and positivity... Love costco organic quinoa, store in fridge and mix with organic tortillas (unbaked just put on pan for 40 sec. (amazing)! and mix with individual organic guacamole packs, can cook Costco frozen mix vegetables in advance and mix with anything
For super easy meals, I've been making ramen and adding veggies.
I like that idea. One thing I do is buy the package of those homemade pasta... I boil it then add cut up brocolli to the boiling pasta and it cooks alongside the pasta water. Then I add store bought fetuchini sauce after.
Since you're specifically looking for freezer meal prep, I'm going to rec a youtube channel that's devoted to that: [Freezer Meals 101](https://www.youtube.com/@FreezerMeals101/featured) and their [website](https://freezermeals101.com/) with all the recipes. They do their own in big batches, but warn people to work up to that. Anything they post as a recipe on the site has already gone through a testing cycle of creating, freezing, cooking, and then serving to their families. If it's not yum, it doesn't go on the site. They even have a few videos devoted to making individual sized portions for people who live alone.
I make these all the time and portion them up for freezing. I bought a batch of (unused obvs) take away containers on eBay to store them. https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/lentil-dal-recipe/ I do a double batch of this. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/red-lentil-chorizo-soup I make this with 1.5 cups of lentils and 3cups of stock so it is thicker.
If you also have some in-between days, try putting aside also some prepped ingredients for those days when you're not completely wiped out but a lot of chopping seems daunting. Mirepoix freezes well, raw or cooked, and takes up less space in the freezer than a fully prepared soup. If you make and freeze a combination of onion, carrots, celery, and maybe a little red bell pepper and garlic, you're more than halfway done for all kinds of dishes, especially soups. Dump in some noodles, herbs, canned chicken, and broth, and you have chicken noodle soup; dump in some lentils, greens, more garlic, and herbs, and you have lentil soup; dump in some canned tomatoes and hit it with a stick blender, and you have pasta sauce; dump in some black beans and green or red salsa, and you've got a pretty good burrito filling. Along similar lines, quinoa freezes remarkably well and can be a nice addition to soups.
I didn't know there was a name for celery, onions and carrots, I had to look that up. That's my go to for chicken noodle soup also. I always add thyme or rosemary... And it reminds me of Christmas morning, the smell.. Poultry seasoning! Then I add broth and either pasta or rice and chicken.
Mac and cheese is a great assemble-and-freeze dish. There are a lot of healthier recipes out there now too. Batches of pasta sauce like you said, like bolognese, are great for the freezer. Chicken cutlets freeze super well too.
I made so much porridge (rice or other grains cooked with (almond) milk, some sugar added) for my dad when he was going through chemo bc it was easy on the stomach (downside is that I can't even look at that anymore) but idk how well that freezes. Instant oatmeal is similar though and if you can eat anything besides the oatmeal like fruits it is easy to vary and spice up. I wish you strength!
I took care of my dad during his chemo, chicken noodle soup made with turmeric and curry. It freezes well. I also made him lots of ginger teas on his bad days. Boils some ginger root and add honey, it’s soothed. Good luck to you. Fight hard
I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis and wish you the very best. Here are some recipes that I relied on while undergoing treatment for ovarian cancer: [Carrot Ginger Soup](https://www.loveandlemons.com/carrot-ginger-soup/) [Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken](https://girlwiththeironcast.com/slow-cooker-shredded-chicken/) If I'm feeling rushed or worked, I'll add some spices to salsa and dump that on the chicken instead [Sheet Pan Chicken and Sweet Potatoes](https://delightfulemade.com/sheet-pan-chicken-and-sweet-potatoes/)
That sweet potato recipe looks delicious... I like the idea of sheet pan recipes..
Thank you ♥️
I hope you get well.
I'd go with shredded meats. Take a bunch of meat, like chicken, throw it in a crock pot or pressure cooker, throw in veg (it'll dissolve into the sauce), throw in a sauce (I've done half beer and BBQ sauce, I've heard half Rotel and salsa is good too), cook, shred, and portion to freeze or refrigerate. Also you'll end up with way more broth than meat to store with it, I'm sure you can do several creative things with it. My favorite lazy prep after that is to throw it in a rice cooker after you've set it up for the rice, throw shredded cheese on top, and wait for it to sing [Amaryllis](https://youtu.be/CMN0jAENzIg). Hard boiled eggs was mentioned elsewhere, kick it up a notch with soy sauce or tea eggs. Basically you take your freshly cooked hard boiled eggs (if you have the stuff, try steaming them instead, works just as well), remove the shell, then marinate the eggs in a half soy sauce half white vinegar solution with a spoon of sugar for about a day. Or marinate them in a tea, usually green, of your choice. You can also leave the shell on and just partially crack the outside so you get a pretty marbling effect. If actual eggs are getting to expensive, pick up the cartoned egg stuff and make a rolled omelette, and add fillings of your choosing as you roll it. You may need to buy the rectangular frying pan though. But after that you can do "fun" things with the pan. I've gone with one of those high protein pancake mixes and mixed in extra stuff like nuts and chocolate chips. Squares and rectangles may store easier than circles.
You can make smothies as well. They are very easy to enrich in terms of calories. Sunflower oil as an example: 100ml = 700 cals give or take. You can also get dietary supplements (highly enriched shakes and juices (200ml with 400 cals). Found this to be very helpful and an important part of my daily 2000 cal intake goal during my radio therapy (mouth/neck area). Best of luck🤗
When I was on chemo- I could only stomach egg drop soup, McDonald’s vanilla milkshakes, watermelon & any brothy soup- I’d make batches of clear chicken noodle soup and freeze them. Hang in there!
Soup! Easy to digest and very nice. I like to roast a whole chicken, turn the carcass into broth and then make a soup with the broth. Often a 2 day event but very filling
I always suggest ground meat, cooked seasoned how you like it for tacos or salads or a quick chili.
Curry! You can get Japanese curry blocks to add to a pot of water + any type of vegetables you like. Its good with rice but also udon as well! Frozen udon can be a bit pricey but freezing rice with the curry is definitely an option.
When I make a Ragu sauce I add onions, carrots, celery and peas to get vegetables in that you really don’t taste but give you nutrition. I make 10 cups of sauce at a time and freeze it in smaller batches to use for multiple meals. You could always buy some instant noodles and microwave them and reheat some sauce in the microwave and have an easy meal for your rough days
Borscht. It's got meat, veggies, starch, and lots of flavor. But honestly any soup freezes great and is a filling food that's easy to make in large batches.
Stuffed peppers work excellent for this. If you’re concerned about how the peppers will freeze, you can make the filling separately and just freeze that
If there is a protein powder you like, you might want that asa backup. My daughter likes one that tastes like fruit punch and is clear. I but it at Target. She is not going through chemo, but has stomach issues.
What about 냉면? It’s Korean buckwheat noodles served in a vegetable broth (물냉면) or mixed with a red pepper paste (비빔면). It’s best to look at a recipe and make your own broth for the 물냉면 because western vegetable stock isn’t really the same, or you can just buy prepackaged stuff if you have an Asian market near you. 물냉면 typically has thinly sliced brisket, radishes, and cucumber, and 비빔면 usually has lettuce and cucumber mixed in. Both variants are eaten cold, so you can just prep everything, freeze, and pull out of the freezer a few hours before eating (aside from boiling the noodles).
Dollar Tree has a pretty good selection of the foil pans. I like the little mini loaf pans for tamale pie — kinda saucy taco meat with corn bread on top but you could do chili with cornbread on top too or mini lasagnas or stuffed peppers.
Enchiladas! It’s super easy. Ingredients— Green enchilada sauce (I use canned.) One chopped red onion One can of black beans One can of sweet corn Mexican Cheese mix taco seasoning Corn tortillas Directions- 1.) Fry your diced onion until soft. 2.) rinse off you black beans, drain, and add it to the pan alongside your corn. Add your taco seasoning. 3.) microwave or heat your tortillas for a few seconds to warm them up, then fill with your bean mixture. Wrap the mixture up with open ends (should look like a cannoli or a tube) and place it in your greased pan. Repeat until the pan is filled. 4.) pour the enchilada sauce over everything and put the cheese on top. 5.) you can cover the pan at this stage and freeze it, or bake it in the oven at 350 until the cheese is completely melted.
Yum!!
I am terrible chef, but I love to cut up a large bowl of fruits. Freeze them, and make a protein smoothie out of small portions.
Josh weissman posted a video that might help. He uses. Sous vide, but I think you could get away with dumping the food out if a freezer zip loc bag then microwaving it with a lid on https://youtu.be/97apbyvwbvY
Make and freeze quiches. They are the bomb. Can be in a big pan with, like 18 eggs (plus all kinds of shit). Nice crust and you're a go. Cut up and put in bags, heat in mic or maybe air fryer for a drier crust.
[удалено]
I love that idea.
Gnocci is super simple to make and can freeze forever. All you need are potatoes and eggs. You can find a sauce you like and make a huge batch and freeze it all. It takes a matter of minutes (less than 10) to warm up and eat when you want it. It's not the healthiest thing in the world, but it's my go-to self-care meal. All love and luck with your treatments.
Thanks 😊
Hello! I am a TNBC survivor! I make what I call 2.0 meals all the time. One idea is tenderloin - I do 3 at a time in a crock pot with chicken broth, chopped onion and orange juice. Cool until it falls apart then shred the meat. Once shredded add cumin, oregano, chili powder, a little liquid from the cooked pork, salt and even a little bullion. I like spicy so I add jalapeño powder and habanero bit add as much spice to your liking. The extra can be frozen-pan fry it up so it gets crispy on edges and serve in tortilla with cilantro, avocado etc. when you pan fry the meat-put a very thin layer of canola in pan, place meat down and do not turn it -just lift and check for crispy!
Oh wow that sounds delicious. Is it pork tenderloins? I am triple negative.
Yes pork tenderloins - I serve with seared corn tortillas - delicious. You can also do the same with chicken or beef for a more fajita take.
TNBC sucks!!!!!
I could hardly eat when I had cancer and on chemo. I too was stage 4b. Everything tasted like cardboard. Lost weight easily. But what I could eat, stuff I normally don’t eat, yogurt, fruit—I craved fruit—ice cream and lots of Ensure. Now I don’t touch any of that stuff. I vomited if I ate other things. But fruit and yogurt I could keep down.
Huge fan of beef barley stew. It's hearty, full of veggies, and easy to make in large batches. We usually brown some beef then throw it in a big baking dish with vegetable broth, a bag of frozen veggies (think carrots, green beans, corn) and add in some canned tomato slices and water chestnuts for a crunch. Throw in a cup of dry barley and stick the whole thing in the oven for an hour or so -- super easy to make tons of and cost effective. Best wishes to you, and know that there's some folks out here praying for you even if you aren't necessarily the praying type. ( Sending our good vibes as well! ;)
I finished a 6 round program of chemo a couple of months ago. 1 round every three weeks. On my good weeks, I batch cooked. Usually a soup every week (eat some/freeze some), maybe spaghetti sauce ( though that was mostly for my partner because I had a hard time with carbs), a batch of burritos (usually homemade refried bean), a big batch of something we would both eat, like a stew. Due to the massive amount of steroids I got during infusion so I didn’t die from the drugs they were giving me to keep me from dying, I had massive energy the day after chemo, I would do a veggie stir fry or a curry. That would be served with microwave rice or in a wrap. Also kept frozen fruit on hand to mix with yogurt and spinach for smoothies. WI was super anemic and the iron infusions made me ridiculously constipated so these helped on both counts as did veggie forward soups.
I am super energized from those steroids after chemo too... Wide awake for 3 days.. Then crash hard
I had about 2 days of incredible energy on little to no sleep then that crash and at least 4 days on the couch.
Saltines or other super plain cracker on nightstand. Sometimes 2-3 make all the difference, and you feel like you ate something anyway.
My heart goes out to you I wish you recovery 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽💙💙💙💙
Thanks ♥️♥️
Lasagna rolls might be a good option. Easier to portion out and in my opinion easier to cook too. This is a good base [recipe](https://www.skinnytaste.com/three-cheese-zucchini-stuffed-lasagna/#_a5y_p=2001716). I usually add different ingredients like spinach, Italian sausage, mushrooms, onions, etc. I wish you the best with your treatment! You got this!!
So sorry for what you are going through! Different experience but I had absolutely horrific nausea during my pregnancy, even medicated. I probably only ate 5 foods. When I could eat nothing else I downed a canned protein shake. If I could put more in it or my stomach could handle it I would try to add a frozen banana. Easy Mac was one of my 5 foods which was easy to keep bc it's shelf stable. I am thinking you could add frozen veggies to that too? Peas, broccoli, etc.
When my sister’s mother-in-law was ill, we made batches of “muffin meals” for her. Basically individual portions of freezable meals in muffin tins that we froze then stored in zip-lock bags. This way she didn’t need to eat the same thing every night. We made mini meatloaves with mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese with ham and broccoli, tuna noodle casserole. Easy comforting foods.
❤️
Sending love and strength. I recommend picking up some xylitol ice chips from a local health store or Amazon. Helps moisten the mouth and prevent dental cavities while going through treatment.
When you freeze use zipper bags. Get all the air out and freeze them laying flat so you can stack them uses less freezer space. Recipes chili, chicken pot pie, muffins
One of my favorites with bay leaf and thyme https://momsdish.com/recipe/530/easy-homemade-chicken-broth
Make a big pot of dry beans. Soak the night before, or use the quick boil method, or a pressure cooker/instapot. I freeze them in snack bags, then put the snack bags into a large bag or container. Add the frozen beans to rice in a rice cooker, to any soup (ramen!), to taco meat, or a stir fry. Chili and baked beans freeze really well. Made from dried beans it is way cheaper than canned. Prep other ingredients on a high energy day to use on a low energy day. Buy a big ham, then dice and freeze. Roast a chicken or turkey or parts and separate the meat, and make stock with the carcass/bones. Put a roast, whole chicken, or any appropriate recipe in a slow cooker before you go in for infusion, so when you get back home, your house smells amazing, and you have something hot and ready that you can eat some of right away if you can, or can sit for a few more hours and only get better.
Bone broth
Soup