1. Try New Foods
Experimenting with new foods might trigger new cravings and reinvigorate your appetite when you're fighting cancer. You can try to prepare foods differently to bring out new flavors during the cooking process. Heating foods for longer periods or at different temperatures can alter taste and texture, as can cutting them at different angles or in different sizes. Baking, broiling, grilling, boiling and sauteing fish and lean meats produce different results, and the same can be said for vegetables. Similarly, going out of your comfort zone and replacing dairy products with soy products could be just enough to reverse appetite loss and bring you back to a more consistent eating regimen.
2. Maintain Sound Oral Care
Loss of appetite could occur as a result of mouth sores or cancer-treatment-related changes in the taste of food. Use mouthwash regularly, and swish your mouth with water and a squeeze of lemon juice after each meal to keep your mouth feeling clean and fresh.
3. Plan Ahead for Meals
Create a daily food menu and stick to it. Strive to eat five or six small meals a day, and make sure you have enough snacks available to nibble on throughout the day. In doing so, make every calorie count by choosing high-calorie, protein-rich foods to maintain your weight and stimulate immune-fighting cells. You can also drink a variety of beverages to supplement your diet. Fruit juices, protein drinks, fortified milkshakes and vitamin-enriched waters are good ways to add calories to your diet when you don't feel like eating a meal.
4. Focus on Breakfast
Make breakfast your largest meal of the day. Your body craves nutrients after a night of fasting, so take advantage of this natural hunger by consuming at least one-third of your daily calorie intake at breakfast. Adding fruit, nuts or flaxseed to your cereal or oatmeal can make a nutrition-rich breakfast with the right amount of antioxidants, protein and other minerals. Another easy way to add protein to your diet, which is key in boosting your immunity levels, is to replace butter or margarine with peanut butter when you have toast. You can also add a swab of peanut butter to a shake or milk drink to further enhance its nutritional value.
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