Flavourful meals for cancer patients (by GERALDINE LING)

The following atricle by GERALDINE LING is from Mind Your Body of The Straits Times dated 16 September 2010.

When you flip the pages of a new, soon-to-be-launched cookbook, be prepared to be tantalised by images of wholesome soups, hearty-stir fries and delectable desserts.

Except that this is a cookbook with a difference. The recipes are meant specially for Asian cancer patients and their caregivers.

The book, Awakening The Appetite, which will be launched in mid-November, is put together by CanHope, a non-profit cancer counselling service and hotline by Parkway Cancer Centre.

'Food is especially important to cancer patients because they often lose their appetite, either due to the medicine they are taking or their psychological state,' said Dr Ang Peng Tiam, the medical director of Parkway Cancer Centre.

'In such instances, eating is already a chore and if you try to feed the patient tasteless, bland brown rice with a sprig of parsley, I am not sure that is wise,' he added.

A healthy diet does not mean compromising on taste or variety, which is what the book will show, he said.

Another distinctive feature of the book is the dos and don'ts when planning meals for cancer patients. Doctors from Parkway Cancer Centre will also discuss the role of nutrition in cancer treatment.

Readers can look forward to recipes specially created by top chefs here. They include MrAlfred Leung of the Imperial Treasure restaurant empire and the team behind award-winning modern European restaurant Iggy's.

Behind each recipe is a dash of creativity, said Mr Ignatius Chan, the proprietor of Iggy's, whose team took about a month to come up with the recipes.

He said that his team had to work with guidelines provided by dietitians. For example, patients may experience anaemia as a result of chemotherapy. This means that they will require food that is high in iron content.

Working within these requirements, the team came up with innovative recipes, such as braised lamb shank with barley broth.

'Our dish incorporates iron-rich lamb with a low-fat method of cooking, which helps to maximise iron absorption,' said Mr Chan.

Flavour is not compromised, thanks to the chefs' experience and skill.
Iggy's creations - including a sweet potato, sauteed mushrooms and tofu dish - will be part of the 60 recipes in the softback book. These recipes, which will be analysed by a nutritionist, also cover staples like breakfast food, soups and sauces, meat, seafood, noodles and grains.

Dessert is not forgotten.

Creating healthy desserts was a challenge as most recipes have a lot of sugar and cream, said chef Janice Wong of 2am: dessertbar. She read about the health properties of various ingredients before fine-tuning her recipes.

The result of her labour is a new twist to an old favourite at her dessert bar, pineapple and coconut custard, as she was impressed by the former's anti-inflammatory properties.

'This new recipe has less sugar and less cream, but it also has more spices and pineapple to give it a richer flavour,' she said.

Said Dr Ang: 'No cookbook can help cancer. But this is a good resource simply because it has good, healthy recipes from local chefs who gave their time and energy.'