Health information about breast cancer and screening is easy to find these days, especially during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And that’s a great thing! But what about information on how to support a friend going through breast cancer treatment? How can you help the family through this trying phase? You know how it is when you aren’t feeling great and still have to think about meals. Cooking, shopping, and preparing food for yourself (and perhaps your family) takes a lot of mental and physical energy. That’s why we suggest helping to supply nutritious food. Here are a few ideas for making the daily meal effort easier for someone in any kind of cancer treatment.
Organize Meal Deliveries
There are several websites, such as Meal Train, that allow you to organize all the details for providing meals. You can create a calendar with meal specifics and notes, and easily email everyone involved on the delivery team. Some sites, like Take Them a Meal, even let you purchase a prepared, reheatable meal that FedEx will deliver. Soups, full meals, even treats are available with no contract needed for the sender and no organizational effort required of the recipient.
When setting up meal delivery from friends and loved ones, try to provide a little guidance about what to send or prepare. In general, a nutritious meal is a well-balanced meal. Provide ideas for meals that include vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein sources. You’ll also want to avoid a meal schedule filled with too much pasta. Although it’s easy to prepare, budget-friendly, and well-liked entrees with more variety are best.
Offer to Go Grocery Shopping
It’s hard to eat nourishing meals if you don’t have nutritious food in the house. Thankfully, we have online grocery delivery services, so it’s easy to have groceries dropped on the doorstep. You could also offer to pick up the groceries they ordered using the local supermarket’s “to-go” service.
But not everyone is comfortable using online ordering services. In those cases, you could offer to do the shopping yourself. If they have a standard grocery list that they shop from regularly, start with that. Do not assume you know what foods they want. Refrain from adding to the list or making alternate selections unless asked to do so. And if you have no idea what they need, ask! Or, if you live nearby, ask if you can swing by their place first before shopping. You can take a quick inventory of the fridge and pantry contents, and see what staples might need replenishing.
Pick up Easy Meal Options
Many supermarkets have pre-assembled entrees and meal kits for sale. These may be just right for a fresh meal that’s easily cooked at home. When my husband and I had COVID, our neighbor brought over two delicious fresh salmon and vegetable meals from our local supermarket. All we had to do was put them in the oven—perfect! Some markets even have Guiding Stars earning meals to choose from.
There’s also half-scratch cooking, a concept that relies on doing some cooking and preparation steps, but not all of them. For example, get a rotisserie chicken and pair it with a bag of microwavable fresh potatoes and a simple salad. Or use a bag of broccoli slaw mix as the base for a quick rice bowl along with frozen shrimp.
And don’t forget that nutritious basics can save the day for someone who has no energy to prepare anything. Bread, nut butter, fruit, milk, microwavable grain pouches, canned/shelf-stable lower-sodium soup, whole grain crackers, and frozen vegetables are all good choices.
Look for Guiding Stars to Find Nutritious Options
At times you may be shopping for someone and only know what food product is needed, like bread or cereal. In these situations (and many others!), you can’t go wrong by using Guiding Stars. Making the quick and easy choice a nutritious one is what Guiding Stars is all about. Check shelf tags for Guiding Stars ratings in store or filter by Guiding Stars when shopping online. The more stars the item has, the more nutritional value it offers compared to other items in that category. And don’t forget that considering beverages is also important. Our beverage guidance can help you select beverages that support good health.