Quick and easy comfort recipes

Dietitian, Sindi-marie de Beer, shares three comfort recipes for those days that you don’t have the energy to slog away in the kitchen.

During cancer treatment, healthy eating is vital for recovery, but this can prove challenging. By making slight changes to family favourites, you can reach your nutrition goals and create a feeling of comfort.

Power smoothies 

These are for the not-so-good-days. Smoothies are a great way to pack nutrients into one snack or meal because you can add whatever you want without increasing the volume too much. Using lots of fruits and veggies gives you support to build a strong immune system while yoghurt or milk provides energy and protein to prevent muscle loss. Smoothies can be frozen and used as ice-cream on a hot day.

Serves 1

Ingredients 

• 40g Futurelife High Protein Smart Food or ProNutro or oats 
• ½ cup plain or vanilla yoghurt or milk 
• 1 banana, frozen if possible 
• 1 cup fruit of your choice (strawberries, peaches, berries, etc.) 
• 2 tsp. peanut butter, smooth 

Method 

1. Blend all the ingredients until a smooth consistency, ice can be added to dilute the smoothie. 
2. Freeze the smoothie mixture in a bowl to make refreshing frozen yoghurt and enjoy as a snack or dessert. 

Roasted veggie soup

Soup is great as it’s a cook-once-eat-a-few-times dish. It can easily be frozen and used on the days where standing in front of the stove just isn’t an option. Soups are a great way to pack in the nutrients and you can add whatever you like. Always try to have a protein and veggies as a base for your soup. 

Ingredients

• 800g pack roasted veggies (butternut, sweet potatoes, red onion, red peppers, baby marrow, patty pans) 
• 15ml rosemary 
• 2 tins lentils or chickpeas 
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled or 4 tsp. crushed garlic
• 20ml olive oil 
• 2 onions, diced 
• 15ml ground cumin 
• 15ml turmeric 
• 2 cups chicken or veggie stock 
• 1 cup plain yoghurt or milk  

Method 

1. Place veggies on an oven tray and sprinkle with 10ml olive oil and rosemary, roast in the oven at 180°C for 30 minutes or until soft. 
2. In the meantime, use a big pot and sauté onions and garlic in the other 10ml olive oil, add the spices and stir. 
3. Add the lentils or chickpeas to the onion mix and stir until all is covered with the spices. 
4. Add the veggies and stock to the onion-lentil mix. 
5. Blend it all together until a smooth consistency. Once cooled add the yoghurt or milk and stir in. 
6. Serve with a warm brown bread roll. 

Note: the soup can be used as a pasta sauce (cook the soup until a bit thicker) and add to your favourite pasta.

Spaghetti Bolognese with veggies

You can’t go wrong with pasta and a beefy bolognese sauce. 

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 5ml olive oil 
• 1 onion, diced into small cubes, 
• 1 tsp. garlic, minced fresh or bottled (this can be left out if you’re on a bland diet or have mouth sores). 
• 500g mince, extra lean (this can be left out for a vegetarian option). 
• 1 tin lentils (use two tins if you’re making the vegetarian option). 
• 1 cup mixed frozen veggies or veggies of your choice 
• 1 pack tomato paste (use one fresh tomato diced up if you have mouth sores). 
• 1 Tbsp. mixed fresh herbs (my favourite is thyme and basil) (use 1 tsp. if you only have dried herbs). 
• 1 tsp. cumin, ground 
• Pepper to taste 
• ½ stock cube or ½ stock pod, mix with ½ cup hot water 
• 300g whole wheat spaghetti 

Method 

1. Heat a cooking pan and add the oil. 
2. Add the onion and garlic to oil and sauté until soft, add the mince and cook until brown. 
3. Add the lentils and veggies. 
4. Add the tomato paste, herbs, cumin, pepper and stock, cook until veggies are soft and sauce slightly thickened. 
5. While waiting for the sauce to thicken, boil the spaghetti until al dente (firm but soft). 
6. Drain the spaghetti and serve the mince and lentils on top.
7. Serve with a fresh green salad.

Image by Freepik