I’ve signed up to help provide dinner for two families whose lives have been wrecked by cancer. I’m looking for suggestions that adhere to their dietary restrictions.
- The first family is just a man and his wife and their needs are pretty simple: Low Carb and Low Sugar. So I’m thinking seasoned pork loin and maybe some grilled asparagus. But what to do about the starch? It’s been ingrained in my head that all meals require a starch. Do I sub in another veggie?
The low sugar has me perplexed as well. Should I just skip dessert, or try to find something low sugar and low carb? What would that be, other than maybe fruit? And I also usually throw in a nice bottle of wine, but wines are usually pretty sugary, no? Would it be tacky to throw in a 6-pack of craft beer?
- The second is much trickier. The patient is the Mom and she’s decided to go gluten free because she read a book that proposed it as the best choice for colon cancer patients. Their daughter suffered from cyclical vomiting, and through testing, they’ve ruled out foods that she is sensitive to. And the father and son don’t like anything cheesy or creamy, because they just don’t like it.
So here are their requirements: Gluten free, no pork, no beef, no salmon, no olive oil, no dairy (e.g. no cheesy or creamy), and no onions.
The last meal I made was organic chicken breast marinated in vegetable oil and SW seasonings), and stir-fry broccoli, cauliflower and carrots with garlic pepper.
For dessert, I made cookies because the gluten-free patient was in the hospital. But she’s home now, so my next meal has to be completely gluten free.
So any ideas for what to make these families?