Written by Meagan Suckling, Social Media Specialist and Lu Cormier, Editor, Canadian Cancer Society
Shooting a video at ELLICSR Kitchen wasn't on our minds last year when we were updating our booklet
Eating Well When You Have Cancer and looking for partners to help us spread the word. But what a great partnership it has become!
It's a perfect fit. ELLICSR: Health, Wellness & Cancer Survivorship Centre already carried most of the Canadian Cancer Society's booklets and brochures, so teaming up for a cooking class was a natural extension. We joined Registered Dietitian
Christy Brissette and Wellness Chef
Geremy Capone for their September class about boosting protein and energy. The recipes came from cancer survivors through our booklet and from online appeals.
… And action!
Our director of cancer information at the Society, Tracy Torchetti, was a special guest during the live-streamed class. She stepped up to introduce our booklet and help cut up squash for the
butternut squash soup.
We tweeted during the taping to make sure our fans knew about our collaboration and could pick up some tasty recipes to help them manage the side effects of cancer treatment. Our social media followers loved all of the recipes we shared, but the butternut squash soup recipe was the fan favourite! "That soup looks delicious! I am going to make it," shared one of our Instagram followers.
Next up was a
vegetarian pasta with roasted asparagus and almond pesto. Our Twitter followers loved Christy's idea to add almonds, ricotta cheese or tuna to boost the protein in this dish. One fan tweeted, "Love veggie dishes and meat-based dishes as well!"
Last on the menu was a healthy
berry egg-white shake. Our fans loved that this recipe takes only 5 minutes to make and gave it a big thumbs up. Christy recommended hemp hearts, Greek yogurt and protein powder to boost this healthy shake – all popular choices with our followers.
Our social media fans have continued to share the recipes for these yummy dishes in the weeks following the cooking class. We look forward to live tweeting again next time to share these healthy tips with caregivers and people with cancer.
Tips for eating well
In
Eating Well When You Have Cancer, we offer tips to help you:
- lessen cancer symptoms that can affect your eating
- manage treatment side effects that can affect eating
- offset changes in how your body uses food and nutrients when you have cancer
- think about menus, food shopping and preparing meals
You can
download our booklet at cancer.ca, or you can order printed copies from us.
And if you're a cancer survivor or a caregiver, we'd love to get your eating-well recipes! Send them to
recipes@cancer.ca. You'll be helping others feel better.
