Crazy Chemo Cooking!

One of the more surprising side effects of chemotherapy has definitely been the impact on my tastebuds. I knew I should expect a period of time where I would feel very nauseous and I am pleased to say I seem to have passed that for now, but I wasn’t prepared for what followed. Strangely, since then, as I explained in my previous post, I have been developing strong cravings for certain foods and my poor family simply have to follow suit! During the first week after treatment, it was all about cheese and I didn’t get through a single day without having this loaded on to whatever I was eating. So much so, that I was waking up several days on the trot, commenting to my husband that I was having really mad dreams all night, to which he drily observed, “That will be the cheese.”

Moving on to week two after treatment and I find I am able to vary my diet quite a bit. Cheese is still involved but there are many different meals that I now fancy. My husband and son tend to take on a worried look, usually around the time we are having dinner, as I announce what my next ‘must have’ meal is going to be. Hubby in particular, who is not known for being adventurous with his food choices, tends to react with an, “Okay…we could have that…” On the plus side, we have gone away from our fairly standard pattern of chicken fajitas, Hunter’s chicken and chips, a pasta dish, a toastie…then the obligatory take aways of course (because it’s the weekend and why should we cook?) Now we have such a range of menus, we could give Gordon Ramsay a run for his money.

So this week we tried our hand at making butter chicken from a friend’s recipe, and it was delicious! My husband (the fussy one!) commented that this was marriage material. Good job since he is now very much stuck with me!

On another day, I was in the mood for some Mexican flavours, so we made quesadillas, avocado dip, tomato salsa and nachos. Extremely tasty, if I do say so myself.

For tonight’s offering, because it’s Valentine’s Day, I opted for a steak baguette with chunky fries and onion rings.

Who needs to dine out when you can have all this at home? We all know I love going to restaurants as much as the next person but I guess the variety of meals my cravings have steered me towards is making me feel a bit better about the temporary restrictions on eating out.

Having said all that, don’t sign me up for Masterchef just yet, but be assured that you might be in for a surprise if you come and dine with us over the coming months.

Happy Valentine’s Day!