Okay, i've been racking my brain here and the only think i've been able to come up with is brownies, with no nuts..... but i'd like to make a few more things.

My dad's in the hospital and he will be there for over a month yet. He is in the process of having a bone marrow transplant. 3 years ago he was diagnosed with non-hodgkins lymphoma, and was treated and went into remission. This past summer, the cancer came back, and he had to go through the chemo and radiation again. he was doing well but the blood tests started showing that his white blood cells were pretty much shot, so the bone marrow transplant was our only option.

When they started planning the transplant, his doctor informed him that because his teeth and gums were so unhealty he would have to have all his teeth extracted because they could not risk any of the teeth becoming abcessed during his treatment as his immune system will be completely shut down for a few weeks.

He is supposed to be consuming at least 2200 calories a day in the hospital, but with his food choices limited (and the fact that he HATES the hospital food) it's been difficult. I want to take him a big plate of goodies, and was wondering if anyone has any ideas for yummy treats that he'll be able to eat.... no nuts, or anything like that. Also, something that can sit out for a while (at least a few days)

i made brownies and some iced cinnamon rolls. He loves cheesecake, but that would need to be refrigerated.... so that wont work. Any ideas you have are welcomed! I plan to be very busy this weekend baking for him.

how about fudge?

mmm! didn't think of that! I'll have to look up a recipe! (never made it!) aside from the brownies, i just made some pumpkin cookies, which are very soft and cakey... and delicious! thanks for the fudge idea, it would be nice to have something a little different on the tray.

What about any kind of mousse. They might be able to put it into the fridge for him. I took some meals in to my brother when he was in the hospital and they let him put his food in there, he just had to ask for it.
No bake cookies, homemade granola bars, cake, cookies, cake balls.

I wish your dad the best.

I'm so sorry for what your dad is going thru.

My dad also had to have all of his teeth pulled and he never got dentures (he looked like Popeye!).

He said once that it never stopped him from eating anything! He said peanuts gave him a little trouble, but he "sucked" on them like a cough drop until they softened up enough for him to chew!

I'm sure your dad's gums will be sore for a few days, but you may be surprised at how soon he can eat "regular" food.

You are wonderful for making him special goodies during his stay!!

The recipe for fudge on the jar of Marshmellow Creme is really good and very easy!

How about chocolate covered peanut butter balls. They're really easy to make are one of my most-requested treats.

Basically, you mix peanut butter (in this case, creamy) with softened butter and powdered sugar, and cool in fridge for a couple of hours. This mixture then gets rolled into balls and dipped into melted chocolate. You can vary by adding graham cracker crumbs to the peanut butter mixture before chilling. If you want the recipe, let me know.

what about banana bread or muffins?

Hi Nikki,

Maybe you have done this already, but please ask his oncologist/haematologist if you can do it. The haematologist that is treating my husband (Hodgkins lymphoma - stemcell transplant early next year) is very strict about her patients diet. Their sweet stuff is limited to basically zero.

Maybe you can ask his doctor if there is a nutritious (sp?) drink that he can drink if he struggle with the hospital food.

Thanks for the ideas everyone.

eliza- i wasn't able to get in contact with his doctor yesterday, but i spoke with his nurse and the transplant coordinator and bot told me it was okay. i will still try getting ahold of the oncologist, though. He has been drinking Ensure and Boost, but just wanted to treat him a little.

thanks again

Nikki - that would fantastic if you can do that. Hospital food isn't the best tasting food ever!

My DH haematologist is very strict with even the treats that he can receive while in hospital for his chemo treatment. (1 week every month) Like mkolmar said, No bake cookies, homemade granola bars, cake, cookies, cake balls.

Wish you all the best!!

Hint: try adding powdered milk to your treats. It adds calories, calcium, and protein, usually without affecting taste or quality (or even Slim-Fast, or other nutritional supplement powder, depending on what you're making). Also, have you tried cheese fudge? (Actually made with processed cheese product.) It ain't health food, but again, at least some calcium and protein.

Also divinity without nuts - sort of melts away. And meringue cookies - normally sort of crispy so people chew them, but if you make them small enough to suck on, they'll sort of dissolve as well.

breelaura- That sounds like a wonderful idea!

redpanda- those sound great! And he loves peanut butter!

I have to make a list of things to pick up from the grocery store after work tonight, and bake tonight and tomorrow. I want to make lots of things (but just take him a few of each) because his appetite just comes and goes, and once he's hungry, i want to have SOMETHING there for him that he will like!

Eliza- my thoughts are with you and your husband. It is so difficult, but keeping myself busy in the kitchen seems to help, and he gets the benefit of that. I wish i could see him everyday, but it's been hard making it to the hospital, and with his immune system down, i'm afraid to get very close to him. I want to get a flu shot... just seems like any extra precaution would be good! The most difficult part for him is the length of the hospital stay. (or that's what he says anyway) He was admitted last wednesday, has been having daily chemo since, and is getting his stem cells on wednesday. After that, it's just a matter of waiting. He was very excited that one of the guys in the unit that he was getting to know got to leave 9 days after his transplant date. I honestly wish they would keep him for a long time. He moved from milwaukee to a small town about 2 hours away, and when he's released he's going back up there. my step mom and 5 yr old sister are there. (along with her 3 sons from previous relationships, and her parents, and all the pets, whcih is practically a zoo.) I'm worried that nothing will be clean enough and he'll get sick....
He's so young. I just want to make him happy, because that's all i can do!

I know its not homemade but I love Magic Moments Rice Pudding. Homemade would be good but need refridgerated. How about candied yams - sweet but packed with vitamins. Fresh fruit is often good.

Shortbread - melt in your mouth! I used to sneak Ensure into my Grandma's tea, milkshakes anything because she hated the taste. But be sure you check with doctors and dietricians at the hospital. The food may be crappy but is generally well balanced. Fat is generally good for cancer patients but too much fibre may be harmful if they arent able to take in enough liquids. Be prepared chemo affects taste buds horribly and common things can taste terrible. HTH

looks like people already came up with some good ideas there. The first thing I thought of was cake

I'll tell you what, my whipped frosting tastes kinda like whipped cream and if you make it with water/butter instead of milk, it doesn't have to be refrigerated. It's guaranteed to be enough calories too You can add cocoa to it and it tastes kinda like mousse too

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-3273-7-Whipped-Frosting-made-with-corn-starch.html

I really like trifle desserts. You just layer broken up brownies, chocolate pudding or mouse, and whipped topping. You can change this depending on tastes, like Angel Food, vanilla, and whipped topping.

How about cake mix cookies. They are extremely soft to eat, especially if you substitute vegetable oil instead of the crisco.

I have an oreo cookie dessert that is awesome. It has several layers, and you could make them in serving sizes. The bottom layer is crushed oreo cookies, then a layer of cream cheese, powdered sugar and whipped cream, next pudding mixture, more whipped cream, and topped with cookie crumbs. PM me if you would like the whole recipe. Sounds a lot harder than it is. No chewing required. Definitely my favorite dessert.

LOL!

Thank you SO MUCH everyone for all the ideas. I'm always putzing around in the kitchen, but i'm the type of person whose brain freezes when i actually NEED to make something SPECIFIC!

That Oreo dessert sounds wonderful....! (might just have to make some for myself!)

I'm going to make some cheesecake, now that i know they will refrigerate things for him. (he has freezer priveledges too.... they all but gave up on feeding him hospital food so me and my grandmother had to go buy tons of Lean Cuisines... He's more willing to eat them, and they are very well balanced.... and a lot more variety!)

He loved the pumpkin cookies, as did everyone else i gave them to.

Fudge and Muffins are next on my list. I will have to wait til payday to get to the store. I am also going to pick up some powdered milk. That seems like such a wonderful idea!

He is chewing pretty well. he has been without his teeth for 4 months already. He is getting very anxious about getting his dentures, but it's not as easy as he thinks! I work in a dental office (an assistant). The doctor i work for will be making them. Dad has been in the office about a dozen times for us to check the healing, but because of his illness, he is taking a very long time to heal well enough to start the work. If we would have made the dentures earlier, his body would have rejected them. Plus, they are not easy to get used to and he really didnt need more difficulty at this point! (and it didnt help that my uncle, his oldest brother, was able to have an immediate denture - impressions were taken prior to the extractions, and he went home with his upper plate the same day as the teeth were pulled) This was not an option for dad, because we did not have enough notice from his doctor before all the teeth needed to be pulled....

Now i just have to run to walgreens to get some hard candies for him to suck on, because the chemo leaves an awful taste in his mouth...

thanks again for everything!

Nikki, that is wonderful that you can make him some nice things to eat!!

I know my DH also hate the hospital food. Thank you for starting this thread, I am going to find out if I can make things for him to eat when he receive his stem cells. Hopefully his doctor will say yes. (I must say I never thought of it, because of all her rules about the food)

Take care, have a nice cup of coffee and relax for a few minutes.