Recipes to Prevent Bowel Obstruction

Our Story

My husband was diagnosed stage 4 colon cancer out of the blue 3 1/2 years ago. He had no previous symptoms and on his 42nd birthday, I took him to the ER with excruciating stomach pain. He had emergency colon resection surgery and removal of many lymph nodes. He was then diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer.

After a successful 12 rounds of FOLFOX chemo, he was able to get a stoma reversal.

Due to these surgeries, the cancer coming back in the same area as the surgeries, and the side effects of his many treatments, he is VERY high risk for bowel obstructions. He was in the hospital twice this summer for a bowel blockage before we realized that we weren’t being given enough information from the hospital dietitians to really prevent this.

I did a ton of research and came up with a plan to help him avoid another hospital stay. I hope this helps someone else, because it is really hard to figure out what can be tolerated, what can’t and how to make it not a monotonous diet.

My goal: Ease of prep – Healthy – Yummy!

Tips to Avoid Bowel Obstruction

• Instead of eating 3 large meals a day, eat smaller meals 5-6 times a day.
• Pay attention to your fiber intake (some chemo treatments cause constipation, some loose stools – Your oncologist can tell you if you are getting enough or too much fiber based on your unique situation. If you are post-surgery, you are likely on a low-fiber diet.)
• I highly recommend the app MyFitnessPal to track your nutrients and calories. Not only for yourself, but also to easily have a log for oncologist if the need ever arises. It is also handy to have a log of foods if you end up having a bad reaction or start to get stomach pain.
• When you introduce new foods to your diet, do it SLOWLY so you can monitor how your digestive system handles it.
• Chew food well and eat slowly.
• Stay hydrated and drink LOTS of water.

Foods to Eat

• Fruits without tough skins or seeds such as bananas, mangos, avocados & fruit juices (no or little pulp)
• Vegetables without tough skins or seeds that are cooked well, such as cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, beans & peas.
• Meats that are moist and easy chewed such as ground turkey, ground chicken, ground beef, eggs & fish. You do not want to eat any meat that is dry, chewy or stringy – for this reason we opt to buy ground meat with a little more fat than usual.
• Grains that are easily chewed and digested such as oatmeal, bread without whole grains or seeds, pasta & rice.
• Dairy products such as yogurt, milk & soft cheese (eat cheese in moderation)

Foods to Avoid

• Nuts (unless smooth nut butter)
• Raw vegetables
• Anything with skin or seeds
• Chewy or stringy foods such as steak, celery, overcooked chicken (you get the idea)
• All fried foods
• Crunchy foods such as chips, croutons
• Raw or Cooked Lettuce (some people may be able to handle finely shredded iceberg lettuce on occasion)
• If you are prone to constipation limit foods that are starchy such as pasta, rice and potatoes and include more anti-constipation foods such as split pea soup, fiber yogurt, prune juice and senna tea.
• If you are prone to too loose of stools, eat more starchy foods such as pasta, rice, potatoes (no skins) and try to include bananas and oatmeal.

My Food Prep Routine

I spend the weekend food prepping for my husband so he has a variety of foods readily available for him.

I have 2 crockpots, a rice cooker and hand immersion blender which makes the prep SO MUCH easier and faster.

For example:

Saturday: I make crock pot chili, crock pot vegetable soup, and hardboiled eggs.
Sunday: I make crock pot split pea soup, asian ground beef and brown rice.

This gives him plenty to eat during the week in addition to his protein shakes, yogurt, bananas, avocados, bread and tuna.

The hardest part of all of this is finding VARIETY! I hope the following recipes help you change it up a little for yourself or your loved one!

Ideal Foods to Have on Hand for Easy Meals/Snacks

• Eggs (including hardboiled eggs)
• Fiber yogurt such as Activia
• Avocados
• Bread (not whole grain and no seeds)
• Tuna or other cooked white fish
• Lunch meat
• Protein drinks
• Fruit juices (including prune juice just in case)
• Well cooked vegetables (cauliflower, carrots, sweet peas, mushrooms – just nothing that has seeds or skins and is easy to digest)
• Soups or chowders (with only ingredients that you can have)
• Oatmeal
• Seedless jelly
• Cooked brown rice
• Senna tea (Smooth Move Tea is available on Amazon)

More Recipes

No Seeds Spaghetti Sauce

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 can (29oz) tomato sauce
• 1 can (12 oz) tomato paste
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sace
• 1 Tablespoon Italian seasonings
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoons brown sugar

Place all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on low 6-8 hours or high 4 to 6 hours. Serve over cooked pasta.

Simple Split Pea Soup

• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 bag (20oz) split peas
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 6 ¼ cup hot water
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup heavy cream (or milk or dairy-free alternative)

Layer in crockpot onions and carrots, split peas, garlic, salt, pepper. Pour hot water over it, do not stir. Add 2 bay leaves on top. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or high 6 to 8 hours until peas are completely cooked. Remove bay leaves and stir in heavy cream.

Hearty Turkey Chili

• 2lbs ground turkey
• 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1 can (29oz) tomato sauce
• 1 can (15.75oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (15.75oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
• I onion, chopped
• 1 cup peeled and diced carrots
• 2 carlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tablespoon smoked paprika
• 2 Tablespoons Chili Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Cumin
• ! can (15.75oz) sweet peas

Heat oil in skillet, add turkey and cook until brown. Drain. All all ingredients to a crockpot except peas. Cook on high 4-6 hours or low 6-8 hours. Stir in peas and serve.