Easy Meals for Cancer Patients: Creamy Chicken Salad

The COVID-19 pandemic has made eating in an everyday occurrence across the country, but for cancer patients who often have unique nutritional needs, at-home meal preparations can be particularly challenging.

Fortunately, culinary experts at the OSUCCC – James are here to help with tips and easy-to-prepare recipes that can help cancer patients and caregivers get the most out of their homemade meals and snacks.

“In The James Instructional Kitchen, we work with patients, outpatients and caregivers on personalized nutrition education plans,” says chef Stephanie Urrutia, RD, LD, a senior culinary educator at the OSUCCC – James. “We focus on high-protein, high-calorie and easy-to-eat recipes, and provide information tailored to the patients’ diagnoses.

Today’s Recipe: Creamy Chicken Salad

Our Creamy Chicken Salad recipe takes a traditional summertime staple and converts it to a fall comfort favorite. The dish can be served as a sandwich, on top of crackers or as a dip with a variety of vegetables or chips. Chicken is a great source of lean protein — high in protein, low in fat. Three ounces of chicken breast without skin provides ~25 grams of protein, zinc, selenium, B vitamins and iron. Reduced fat cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup provides the creaminess to this chicken salad. The soups are hearty, easily digested and favorable for those who might have dry mouth or digestive issues during oncology treatment.

To introduce more vegetables to this dish, white onions, mushrooms, garlic, potatoes and/or water chestnuts add depth of flavor and crunch. All of these vegetables provide fiber, vitamins and minerals. White onions are high in vitamins B and C, mushrooms are rich in vitamin D, garlic is high in antioxidants, potatoes offer fiber and potassium, and water chestnuts are high in antioxidants and potassium as well.

As always, it’s important to remember that safe preparation and handling of foods is the most important factor for food preparation to make sure that you have lowered the risk for introducing foodborne illnesses, bacteria and viruses into your body.

Find more recipes and demonstrations from our Ohio State chefs on our Easy Meals for Cancer Patients playlist.