What to Eat When You Don't Feel Like Eating

Arlene M. Gryfe is a Toronto-based professional nutritionist and home
economist.

“What to eat when you don’t feel like eating” may seem a trivial
topic, but to an ailing person, especially someone in the last weeks or
months of life, food, if eaten, can possibly prolong life and or at
least bring some comfort or pleasure.

Over a decade ago, James Haller, a professional chef, volunteered to
cook at a palliative-care hospice for the terminally ill. There he
developed dishes that were nutritious (for the benefit of the patient),
quick (for the benefit of the caregiver), imaginative, and incredibly
delicious (so they would be eaten).

The recipes for those dishes are included here, interspersed with
personal anecdotes. Haller stresses using fresh ingredients, whenever
possible, with the addition of interesting seasonings, if the patient
can tolerate them. He also encourages caregivers to develop different
combinations—even to surprise patients with foods never before tried.

Unfortunately, the format of the recipes is not well set-up
(ingredients are centre-justified), and preparation instructions are
somewhat wordy. There are punctuation errors, and no index.
Nevertheless, caregivers will find this book so useful that these flaws
can easily be overlooked.