Chemotherapy Diary - Cycle #4: Day 10

Day #10 of my mum's chemotherapy cycle #4 was uneventful and that's exactly how we like it.  A day of rest and relaxation is exactly what was called for.  The week before consisted of hospitalisations and repeated visits to London, I was absolutely shattered.  And that's not to say how my mum was feeling!  There was a lot of concentration on trying to make sure my mum's bowel movements were regular and therefore no more blockages, so she was taking laxatives and I did my research on the best foods to eat.  I'm a firm believer that diet is an important factor in our health, what we put into our bodies reflects how we feel about our bodies and is directly rewarded.  As such, when my mum was diagnosed with ovarian cancer we changed to an organic diet.  Prior to my mum's diagnosis, we already ate very healthy, lots of vegetables, fish and fruit.  So we already valued the nutrients we put into our body but this was taking it one step further and addressing the quality of the source of the food.  When we spoke to friends and family about our change to organic products. I was surprised by how little they understood about organic.  Organic food is produced by methods that are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents or synthetic food additives.  As such, it is food as it was intended to be eaten without the inclusion of harmful chemicals or substances.  The move to organic was an easy shift for us but there have been other changes which have been much more difficult.  Prior to my mum's cancer diagnosis, she did the majority of the cooking.  This is because she's retired and I worked full time so to ensure we shared the responsibilities in our household, she was in charge of the main meal.  Also, I'm a terrible cook, never having had the opportunity to invest the time and enjoy the process.  Luckily for us aswell, I'm not a very fussy eater so have never really had complaints about what's put in front of me, to be honest, just grateful that I've not had to cook.  So taking over the cooking after my mum's diagnosis was the biggest shift for us and also changed the dynamic in our household somewhat.  It has not been an easy journey but has taken experimentation, a steep learning curve and a few arguments.  The food that I've learnt to cook though is catered for my mum, what she likes and what she doesn't like.  It's very simple, and focuses on using ingredients that are fresh.  I also do a LOT of research into ingredients and flavourings that can be added to food such as Engevita Yeast Flakes which are my latest craze.  High in vitamin B12 and with a nutty, cheesy flavour, it's the perfect accompaniment to food for that added tickle of a flavour on the tongue which is not too heavy or overpowering.  That's why I've chosen to add some of these recipes to my blog.  When I was researching food and recipes to cook for my mum, I found it difficult to find extremely simple recipes with limited ingredients using only fresh vegetables and with NO SALT.  I do not add salt to any of my recipes and therefore rely on natural flavourings to boost the flavour of my dishes.  Salt is found in many foods naturally so i do not find a need to add additional salt.  It's not easy but I'm getting there and want to add these recipes to my blog for myself, so that I can remember them and to share no salt, high flavour, simple recipes out there. 

Mx