When you feel too tired or unwell to shop for food or cook, or if you’re missing meals while having treatment, the following quick meal and snack ideas may help.

Some may not seem like healthy choices, but if you have a poor appetite, it’s important to focus on high-protein and high-kilojoule food and fluids to ensure your body gets all the energy it needs. You can return to the healthy eating guidelines when your appetite improves.

Avoid foods that might make any treatment-related side effects worse. If you have another health condition, such as diabetes, some suggestions may not be suitable.

Check with your doctor or a dietitian before changing what you eat and drink while having cancer treatment.

Light meal and drink ideas

Nourishing light meals

• Baked beans on toast with grated cheese
• Crumpets or muffins toasted with cheese, and a piece of fruit
• Scrambled or poached egg on toast and a glass of orange juice
• Tuna or sardines on buttered toast with fresh tomato
• Omelette with cheese or mushrooms and buttered bread
• Toast with cheese, avocado or peanut butter, followed by sliced banana and yoghurt
• Cereal or toasted muesli with full-cream milk and yoghurt
• Porridge or rice pudding made with milk and cream
• Congee
• Pancakes or French toast with fruit and maple syrup.

Nourishing drinks

These drinks are high in protein, energy, vitamins and minerals:

• enriched milk mixed with Akta-Vite, Milo or Horlicks 
• milkshake
• banana smoothie
• mango lassi
• hot chocolate
• flavoured milk
• apricot lemon crush.

Main meal ideas

• Fresh or frozen fish with chips and salad
• Grilled lamb cutlets, mashed potato with margarine or butter, and peas and carrots
• Pasta with a ready-made sauce, e.g. pesto or bolognaise, and cheese
• Cheesy vegetable bake
• Lentil dhal with chapatis or rice
• Green or red chicken or vegetable curry with basmati rice
• Salmon, tuna or egg with store-bought mayonnaise, salad and buttered bread roll
• Frozen or fresh lasagne or moussaka
• Frittata or quiche
• Salmon or tofu with soba noodles
• Microwave potato with baked beans and cheese
• Egg, tempeh and cooked vegetables with gado gado (peanut) dressing
• Wrap with falafel, hummus and salad
• Occasional takeaway such as noodles, stir-fry, curry and rice, hamburgers or pizza (ensure the food is freshly cooked)
• Refrigerated leftover food from the previous day – reheat until steaming.

Snack ideas

• Crackers with cheese
• Pita bread with hummus
• Buttered pikelets, scones, muffins, fruit buns, crumpets, finger buns or raisin toast
• Celery with cream cheese or peanut butter
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Dried fruit and nuts
• Jaffles, sandwiches and toast – try egg and store-bought mayonnaise, cheese, peanut butter, avocado, tinned salmon or tuna
• Milk puddings, such as creamed rice, rice pudding, custard, mousse and instant puddings
• Fruit (fresh, frozen, stewed or tinned) with custard, yoghurt, jelly, ice-cream, cream or condensed milk
• Creamy soup with added cream, and buttered toast
• Hot chips, chicken nuggets or fish fingers
• Instant noodles with frozen vegetables
• Potato crisps, pretzels or corn chips with dips, salsa or guacamole
• Yoghurt or ice-cream
• Frozen sausage rolls, meat pies, samosas or spring rolls.