Doctors have yet to find a definitive link between cancer and food. What they have found, however, is a correlation between certain diets – such as the Mediterranean Diet – and the potential for cancer reduction. Doctors call these diets (often specific to a culture or geographical region) anti-angiogenic, which means that they cut off the blood supply of cancerous tumours, starving them of the nutrients they need to grow.
An easy way to ensure that your Child with Cancer gets sufficient vitamins and nutrition when they find it difficult to eat due to cancer treatments is to make them some delicious cancer-beating smoothies to drink using fruit and veg that have cancer-fighting properties in them.
Smoothies have received a bad rap in the past for being sugar-laden and more closely resembling dessert than anything remotely healthy, but while that might be true for smoothies purchased at juice shops or in restaurants, you can make healthy smoothie recipes right at home for a fraction of the price in just minutes.
Red Velvet Smoothie
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup chopped raw red beets (or grated if you don’t have a blender)
- 4 medium hulled strawberries (fresh or frozen)
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 cup skim (or unsweetened almond) milk
- 2 dried and pitted dates, sliced
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon agave syrup
Instructions
- Blend all of the ingredients together until smooth.
Servings: about 2 cups of smoothie
Chocolate Chip Mint Smoothie
An ultra dreamy chocolate chip mint smoothie – the sweetness and richness of the coconut milk allows the base of this smoothie to be mostly spinach, while still being very indulgent! Almost too good to be true.
Ingredients
- ½ cup coconut milk (canned)
- ½ cup plain or greek yogurt
- 1 frozen banana (cut into quarters)
- 14 frozen spinach “cubes” – see notes below*
- 6 large ice cubes
- 10 g plain whey protein isolate
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract (not pure peppermint)**
- 1 teaspoon honey (optional- I don’t find it needs any)***
- 2 tablespoons 85% dark chocolate, chopped (or chocolate chips)
Instructions
- Add the liquid ingredients first, followed by the rest of the smoothie ingredients, leaving out the chocolate chips. Process until very smooth and creamy, and the spinach is fully incorporated.
- Add the chocolate, and pulse 5-6 times until the chocolate is broken up, but still in chunks.
Servings: about 2 cups of smoothie
Notes:
*I use frozen spinach that comes in cubes about the size of a large ice cube. To make spinach “cubes,” add fresh spinach and water to a blender, process, then drain the excess water out in a colander. Then, take the processed spinach and press it into an ice cube tray, and freeze. Store frozen spinach cubes in a Ziplock freezer bag.
**Peppermint extracts vary greatly. The first one I tried was a pure peppermint, and it was way too strong. Right now I am using Queen’s, an Australian brand. If you haven’t used peppermint extract before, start out with a small amount, and add more to taste.
***If you are new to green smoothies, adding a small amount of honey soften the tang of the yogurt and round out the peppermint flavor. I used to put it in, but prefer them without any added sweetener now.
Chocolate Banana Smoothie (Vegan and Gluten Free)
Prep time: 5 mins
Ingredients
- 2 cups crushed ice
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 ripe banana
- ½ cup vegan chocolate chips (we used Enjoy Life brand)
- 1 teaspoon gluten free vanilla extract (read the bottle, many regular brands are gluten free but some are not)
- 1 tablespoon organic honey
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a blender and puree for about one minute.
- Pour into a glass and enjoy
Servings: about 2 cups of smoothie
Note: This smoothie is vegan and gluten-free – but even if you aren’t following a special diet like JC’s – you’ll love this light and refreshing smoothie! It’s sweet (but not too sweet) with the perfect balance of chocolate and banana flavor, plus a hint of vanilla! (originally published on JC’s blog)
Raspberry Melon Smoothie
This raspberry melon smoothie is a wonderful, light and refreshing beverage that you can enjoy for breakfast (you can even add some protein powder if you’d like), as a snack, or even dessert!
Prep time: 5 mins
Ingredients
- 2 cups cantaloupe, cut into 1-inch chunks and frozen
- ½ cup frozen raspberries
- ½ cup vanilla yogurt
- 2 cups guava nectar or pineapple juice, plus more if needed
- Additional raspberries for garnish, if desired
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.
- Add additional nectar/juice if needed to reach your desired consistency.
- Garnish with additional raspberries before serving if desired.
Servings: about 2 cups of smoothie
Note: Prep time listed here does not include time required to freeze the chunks of cantaloupe before using in this recipe.
This raspberry melon smoothie is a combination of frozen cantaloupe chunks, frozen raspberries (you can use fresh raspberries instead if you’d like), vanilla yogurt, and guava nectar (or pineapple juice if you can’t find the guava nectar) – all flavors that really complement and balance each other in a very delicious way! Just throw everything into the blender, mix it up until smooth – and you’re done!
Blueberry Yogurt Smoothie
Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup Plain, Unflavored Yogurt
- 1 cup Fruit (your Choice – Blueberries, Peaches, Pineapple, Etc)
- 1/4 cup Milk
- 1 dash Honey
- Ice
Instructions
Place yogurt, fruit, milk, a handful of ice and honey to taste all into a blender. Blend until smooth. Taste it for sweetness and add more honey if needed.
Pour, drink and enjoy!
Servings: about 1 cup of smoothie
Green Smoothie
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Always a winner, this is one smoothie even picky eaters will enjoy to the last drop.
Ingredients
1 bunch (3 cups) spinach
3 cups strawberries
1 ripe banana
2 cups water
Instructions
Place all ingredients into the blender. Blend thoroughly until smooth.
Servings: about 1 cup of smoothie
Notes
Play around with making your own flavours, especially if there are specific fruit and vegetables that your child normally loves. Try using some of the following fruit and vegetables that have cancer-fighting properties:”
- Almonds: The same element that helps defend almonds against insects has been shown to help prevent cancer in humans. You can use almonds or almond milk.
- Avocados: Avocados contain plenty of nutrients, but in particular they have antioxidants which have been shown to help reduce the risk of cancer. They also contain fibre, which along with other fibre-containing foods can help to reduce that risk even further.
- Bananas: Japanese researchers have proven that ripe bananas fight cancer. The riper the banana, the greater the antioxidants. The dark spots on ripe yellow bananas produce a substance called Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) which is a cytokine that assists cell-to-cell communication in immune responses and directs cell movement towards inflammation and infection sites. It interferes with the growth and spread of tumour cells and triggers apoptosis (cell death).
- Broccoli: Broccoli is one of the bigger cancer fighters out there, because it hits on many different levels.
- Carrots: Carrots got the label of being good for the eyes, but recent research suggests that they are also helpful in the fight against cancer.
- Citrus Fruits: Both citrus juice and citrus peel contain vitamin C. They also contain hesperitin, which has been said to fight cancer by starving it. That means they cut off the blood supply to cancerous tumours.
- Ginger: Ginger, like citrus juice, fights cancer by starving it. Ginger contains gingerol, a natural chemical that kills cancer cells directly.
- Kale: Similar to spinach, kale holds its own as a cancer-fighting agent. Many prefer kale to spinach because of its taste, and its versatility. Kale specifically acts as a potent antioxidant, which helps keep the body in a healthy state that is unfriendly towards cancer cells and cancer growth. Eat enough superfoods like kale and you create an alkaline state in the body where cancer cannot thrive.
- Papaya: Papaya contains lycopene, the phytochemical that is thought to provide cancer fighting benefits.
- Peaches: The extract of peaches has been shown to really give cancer a hard time, even going so far as destroying cancer cells.
- Pumpkin: Both the flesh and seeds are very healthy, and cancer blocking properties of pumpkins are well-documented.
- Raspberries: Raspberries and berries in general, are loaded with antioxidants, and have been shown again and again to help reduce the amount of free radical damage done to the body. This helps to provide anti-inflammatory support which in turn helps to prevent cancer, and helps the body heal itself, stay youthful, and have more energy.
- Spinach: Spinach has been touted as one of the healthiest foods on the planet and it’s also a great cancer-fighter as well. It’s so nutrient dense that you don’t have to eat a lot of it to get all of the benefits you need. It’s also easily blended into a smoothie, adding extra water and a lot of phytonutrients, and turning your smoothie green.
- Strawberries: Strawberries have the ability to battle back pre-existing cancer, or even stop the onset of cancer. Strawberries make for a really great smoothie, and if you want to power up this superfruit you can add raspberries and blueberries to the mix
- Walnuts: Research suggests that, in patients undergoing treatment for cancer, walnuts can help to preserve muscle mass and function. They’ve also been shown to be an anti-inflammatory.
