Arguably the biggest challenge as a natural medicine, food as medicine cook is to prepare food for someone who has elected to have chemotherapy: food that will nourish and be medicine in its own right, whilst appealing to someone who is nauseous, has zero appetite and has a perpetual metallic taste in his mouth. That was my challenge this morning as my friend came to visit. He has Stage 4 pancreatic cancer with liver and lung nodes, and is undergoing both chemotherapy AND a number of complementary therapies including cannabis. He is struggling with food and eating enough to retain body weight.
So what CAN I eat? He asks me this question often.
- Must be all organic
- Only plant based
- No grains, gluten or excess starches
- No soy
- Must be very easy to digest (preferably cooked)
- Must also be filling
- Can't be fatty
- Need to be mild flavours.
- If possible must contribute to the healing journey
And so off I schlepped to the Thai fresh market before 7am, cos that's the only time to get the young, fresh, tender shitake mushrooms.
I bought the shitake before I had quite decided how to cook them, but I knew that's what the light, small meal needed to be based around, and what my friend needed today.
Lentinan (a polysaccharide found in shitake mushrooms) has been shown to be effective in extending survival in patients with stomach, colorectal, pancreatic, and liver cancers. Source. In Chinese it's called Hua Gu and in Thai we call it Hed Hom เห็ดหอม - the fragrant mushroom. It's an obvious go-to for many healing dishes.
After wandering around the market, I listened to my intuition and decided on a simple but filling soup - my own spur-of-the-moment recipe.
Shitake, Red Lentil & Mung Bean Soup
200g fresh shitake mushrooms, sliced
5-6 cloves of garlic
Tiny bit of plant based organic oil (I use rice bran oil)
1/2 cup washed red lentils
1/2 cup washed green whole mung beans
1 bunch sawtooth corriander
1 bunch chinese celery
1 or 2 green spring onions
Mineral salt and a tiny bit of fresh cracked pepper
Cooking time: about 40 mins.
Using your small amount of plant based oil, saute the sliced mushrooms and finely chopped garlic until fragrant - about 3-5 minutes.
Add your washed lentils and mung beans.
Your sawtooth (broad, flat leafed) coriander is next:
With your Chinese celery:
I cut off the roots with several inches of greens - they get planted straight back into the garden to regrow!! 😍 The top half of the bunch I shred finely.
I keep just a few sprigs of young greens and a spring onion or two to chop finely and use as a garnish.
So add the shredded greens to the pot with salt and pepper, add water and bring to a gentle boil.
Turn the heat down low, cover, and simmer for about 25 mins, stirring occasionally to make sure the lentils and mung beans don't stick on the bottom.
Make sure to serve it very warm rather than hot - mouth sensitivity and mouth ulcers are common during chemotherapy and it's important not to accidentally burn or aggravate the mouth.
Voila!!
Cooking with intention for friends or family is such a magical and healing act of love. There is nothing more rewarding that seeing a seriously ill person eat your food with energy and obvious enjoyment, and knowing that it is nourishing and singing the sick cells to better health.
How did he go with it? Ate the whole, fairly large bowl full. Loved it. 😍 "That was just what my body needed", he said.
Feeling contented in my Thai kitchen.
All images used in my posts are created and owned by myself, unless specifically sourced. If you wish to use my images or my content, please contact me.
Come check out my natural Thai herbal business… yes, we ship world-wide
Join The Best Natural Health Community on Hive
