This month we have joined forces with Macmillan Cancer Support, bringing you a series of four videos with plenty of useful tips for helping someone through cancer.
This week we are bringing you two recipes you can make for someone you care about receiving treatment for cancer. In the video above naturopath Alexa Newte Hardieadapts a comforting shepherd's pie, with a couple twists to pack in extra nutrition and support the immune system. The second recipe shows us is freezer smoothie bags, which can be a quick meal to make if receiving cancer treatment.
For more advice for helping someone through cancer visitThe Source, a website launched by Macmillan Cancer Support filled with tips from the people who have been there too.
Follow the recipes below...
Shepherd's Pie with a Twist
This recipe for Shepherd’s Pie includes nutrient-rich and delicious sweet potatoes and turkey mince which carries the flavour of the added red pesto brilliantly. Adding pesto is a great way to sneak in extra calories for someone struggling to eat enough. A vegetarian filling option is included below.
Ingredients:
Topping:
*3 medium sweet potatoes (or 2 sweet potato and 1 standard large potato) *
*2 tbsp butter or olive oil *
Pinch of sea salt
For the filling:
* 1 large tbsp ghee or butter*
* 1 finely chopped celery stalk *
1 finely chopped carrot
* 1 finely chopped onion*
* 1-2 cloves of garlic *
1 courgette (cubed) (optional)
* 2 large handfuls of spinach (optional) *
500g Turkey Mince (or red lentils for vegetarians)
* 1 carton chopped tomatoes*
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1Ž2 tsp smoked paprika *
*4 large tbsp red pesto *
1 chicken or vegetable stock cube dissolved in 50ml of filtered water for the meat option, or 150ml water for the vegetarian option.
**Instructions for making the fillings (meat and vegetarian options): **
Meat option: In a large crockpot or saucepan, lightly seal the mince in the ghee or butter, add a pinch of salt and pepper and then pour mince onto a plate and set aside. Reserving the fats in the pot, add the celery, carrot and onion and gently soften on a low heat for 5-10 mins.
Add the garlic and return the mince to the pot, also with the stock, the smoked paprika, the chopped tomatoes and the optional extra vegetables/ optional wine.
Vegetarian option: In a large crockpot or saucepan, gently cook the chopped carrot, celery and onion in ghee or butter, adding a pinch of salt and pepper.
Add the lentils, chopped tomatoes, smoked paprika, stock and the optional vegetables (omit the wine). Allow to gently simmer for 20 mins.
Instructions for the topping: Whilst the filling is simmering, scrub the potatoes and chop them into small/medium cubes and steam (rather than boil) for 15 mins to preserve vital nutrients. Mash and add the butter and seasoning.
Stir the pesto through the meat or lentils.
If you used a crock pot to cook the meat/lentils, simply layer the potato over the top and put in the oven (200°c for a further 15 mins, or if you used a saucepan, transfer the filling to a pie dish, layer over the potato and cook for a further 15 mins.
Delicious served with plenty of steamed greens such as broccoli or a large, crunch salad.
Freezer Bag Smoothie
If you feel exhausted or don’t have much of an appetite, a super quick and easy smoothie can be great to turn to. To make it even easier, make a batch of smoothie freezer bags so you can easily pop pre-prepared ingredients into your blender, add some nut butter, greek yoghurt or avocado for protein and calories plus some milk whenever you need a snack or light meal.
Add the following ingredients to each bag:
1Ž2 banana
Small handful organic berries – especially blueberries, blackberries, soaked goji berries or acai berries and raspberries
Handful of spinach (optional)
Freeze the bags and then when you’re ready to eat, pour the contents of a bag into the blender and add:
2 large tsps almond butter (tastes just like peanut butter)
1Ž2 to a whole avocado
1Ž2 to 1 cup of organic greek yoghurt
1 cup of milk of choice (e.g. full fat milk, almond milk or coconut milk) or coconut water
Blend and enjoy. A good tip is to chew your smoothie if you can rather than just drink it. This is because digestion starts in the mouth, so you will absorb the nutrients better.