Barb, I'm glad Plei helped with the smiting! You are not an odious woman or a bad writer - Ptui! I speet upon their stupidities!

That article about the fonts was interesting. I am changing all my classroom materials to Comic Sans....oh. I think I just heard Teppy shriek in pain.

{{{Barb}}} I'm glad Plei was able to smite them.

{{{barb}}}}

people on the internet are frequently wrong.

except for here, which is why i'm asking for very specific menu tips. I'm making a couple of dinner deliveries to a coworker who has breast cancer. She's already been through surgery which went very well and started chemo last week. Of course the chemo is doing terrible things to her relationship with food...so the list of things she normally likes (headliner: mexican food) is now down to mac and cheese and mashed potatoes. I was thinking of taking over homemade (but very mild) mac and cheese, maybe a little fresh fruit, and possibly unsweetened/unseasoned steel cut oatmeal for breakfast the next morning? If i make it ahead of time with extra water, maybe it would reheat alright? I just wish i could think of some similarly bland comfort food (no tomatoes, onions, garlic, or spiciness) to offer to bring for a little variety. (and of course i wouldn't just show up with something she's no ok eating...but i can email her ahead of time and ask: "would you prefer mac and cheese or ....?").

Any ideas?

Because everything tastes weird, sometimes it's best to eat something you don't normally eat. Acids are usually too acid. Sweet and salty things taste the most normal. Simple homemade chicken soup with noodles and not too many vegetables is good. I usually threw in some ginger, because it's effective against nausea. Miso soup was helpful. I usually just used the instant. Ice cream and custard are good. Ginger tea is good if she doesn't already have any. Sadly, chemo screws up the taste of coffee for at least part of the time. Bananas are probably the best fresh fruit. Good vegetables for me were sweet potatoes, squash and green beans. I love things like broccoli, but sometimes they tasted bitter.

(Also, tell her to take lysine and obsessively do the mouth care instructions.)

What about a quiche or frittata? It could be mainly egg and cheese. Herbs instead of garlic and onions, like a little thyme..

Pureed broccoli cheese soup. Twice-baked mashed potatoes with cheese and sour cream. Single packs of organic applesauce. Homemade frozen waffles or pancakes.

If she can handle cabbage, I find colcannon (boiled cabbage and mashed potatoes) to be very comforting.

I can't really answer the quiche or frittata question, because they don't appeal to me under normal circumstances. I'd avoid anything bitter like broccoli. The rest sound good, but don't make anything too rich.

the colcannon sounds perfect...mashed potatoes plus a teeny but of green. i bet that would be lovely with a little cheese grated and baked on top. mmmmmm. i'll have to ask about that! thanks for the suggestions!!!

Barb, I forgot to offer brackets and backup smiting. Glad Plei was there to back you up.

WindSparrow, I know you said you had CBT skills, but do you know observe and describe? I can review it if not.

Man, I was up coughing a lot of the night. Stupid post-nasal drip. Slept past noon.

An amusing CBT thing I do is when I catch myself caught in a loop is mentally shout "STOP! HAMMER TIME!" and then I have a visual/earworm of MC Hammer doing the Hammer dance all over my neg thoughts.

I can't help it; it always makes me snicker, which is kind of the purpose. You can download it and cue the song for extra help.

Of course, the resulting earworm could send you into a desperate spiral of doom, but you have to take these chances in life, no?