You can eat
- Tinned cooked pulses: chickpeas, lentils and beans, which make a meal in five minutes [1].
- Tinned fish and seafood: tuna, sardines, mackerel, cockles and mussels [1].
- Frozen fish, peas and vegetables, ready and waiting for the day you feel like cooking [1].
- Eggs: boil half a dozen at once and keep them in the fridge to add to soups, purées and salads [1].
- Dairy products: milk, yoghurt, fresh cheese and cottage cheese, which provide protein and need very little chewing.
- Grains and starchy foods: rice, pasta, bread —you can buy it sliced and freeze it—, potatoes and sweet potatoes [1].
- Ripe fruit, stewed or baked; and dried fruit, such as prunes, dried apricots or dates, if you are constipated [1].
- To enrich a dish: extra virgin olive oil, grated cheese, chopped egg, ground nuts, avocado and milk powder [1], as well as brewer’s yeast.
- For sipping throughout the day: water, mild chamomile, lemon balm or lemon verbena infusions, and defatted broths [1].
What to avoid
- Cutting out entire food groups ‘just in case’: in this menu, restrictions are based on symptoms and last only as long as the symptom does, not for the whole course of treatment [2].
- ‘Anti-cancer’ diets: alkaline, ketogenic or ‘sugar-free’. The AECC guide calls the alkaline diet false [1], and ESPEN, the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism, reminds us that no diet has been shown to cure cancer [2]. .
- Fasting before, during or after chemotherapy: ESPEN expressly recommends against it [2].
- Taking supplements on your own: vitamins, antioxidants or herbal extracts may interfere with treatment, according to the AECC [1]. ESPEN advises against high doses of vitamins and minerals when there is no confirmed deficiency [2]. .
- ‘Superfoods’: garlic, green tea, berries and turmeric can all be part of the menu, but they neither cure nor eliminate cancer [1].
- Commercial pastries for breakfast: these are exactly what the AECC guide recommends replacing with bread, dairy products, fruit and nuts [1].
- Alcohol: it irritates the lining of the mouth when you have sores and dries the mouth when it is dry [1].
- If you spend the morning without eating while waiting to feel hungry, nausea gets worse: have something dry, little by little, such as toast or breadsticks [1].
Habits that help
- Cook larger quantities on good days and freeze individual portions: pulses, sauces, rice or a tray of roasted vegetables. A bad day is not the day to start improvising [1].
- Ask someone else to cook on treatment-cycle days, and stay out of the kitchen while they cook [1].
- Brush your teeth after every meal and rinse with chamomile or a little bicarbonate of soda three or four times a day; never use alcohol-based mouthwash [1].
- Sit down at the table to eat, in a well-ventilated room without food smells, and do not lie down straight afterwards: if you rest, stay slightly upright [1].
- Go for a short walk before eating: the AECC guide suggests this to stimulate your appetite [1].
- Avoid tight clothing on days when you feel nauseous [1].
- Keep a note of what you have eaten and what you could not manage to bring to your next appointment: your team cannot adjust what they cannot see.
This is the menu we have been publishing for years, with the same dishes from Monday to Friday. We have added the weekend, breakfast, mid-morning snack, afternoon snack and shopping list. We also explain what to change in each dish when a symptom appears.
There is no one week that works for every week. Instead, there is a steady structure —protein at every meal, simple cooking methods, and small, frequent meals— plus a few changes you can make as you go, depending on how you feel when you get up. You will find both here.
Who is this menu for?
For an adult undergoing cancer treatment who eats by mouth, has a functioning digestive system and has no dietary restrictions advised by their medical team. This is the starting point already stated in the article it comes from.
This menu is not suitable if you are being fed through a tube or need a modified texture because of difficulty swallowing. It is also not suitable if you have restrictions following recent digestive surgery, due to another illness, or because you are in hospital . If you are looking for information on what to eat and avoid during treatment, see the nutrition guide for people with cancer.
The weekly menu, dish by dish
Seven days, with breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner. From Monday to Friday, lunch and dinner are the dishes we published in 2020, now under the names of their recipes. On Saturday and Sunday, you hardly need to cook: almost everything comes from the second serving of five dishes from the week, marked in the table. The rest is grilled chicken with boiled potato and a well-set plain omelette. The breakfasts are new: the previous menu did not include any. Monday to Friday follow the nutritional guide from the Spanish Association Against Cancer and the College of Dietitians-Nutritionists of the Balearic Islands [1].
| Day | Breakfast | Mid-morning snack | Lunch | Afternoon snack | Dinner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Wholemeal bread with olive oil, tomato and grilled chicken breast, and one piece of fruit | Plain yoghurt with chopped ripe fruit | Lentil soup (keep the second serving in the freezer) · Grilled prawns with parsley | Wholemeal toast with fresh cheese | Potato, courgette and onion omelette · Melon and almond gazpacho |
| Tuesday | Milk or yoghurt with rolled oats, sliced dried figs and unsalted pistachios | One piece of fruit and a handful of unsalted or ground nuts | Pumpkin, rice and cheese soup (keep the second serving in the freezer) · Cod with tomato sauce and bread (keep the second serving in the freezer) | Homemade milk and banana smoothie | Quinoa casserole with vegetables and turkey |
| Wednesday | Homemade milk or yoghurt smoothie with banana, strawberries, oats and walnuts | Plain yoghurt with rolled oats | Seafood fideuà · Tomato gazpacho | Small soft-bread sandwich with tuna | Aubergine stuffed with chicken and rice |
| Thursday | Wholemeal bread with olive oil, avocado and tinned sardines, and one piece of fruit | One piece of fruit with a piece of fresh cheese | Vegetable and potato purée · Oven-baked breaded hake | Apple compote with plain yoghurt | Pasta salad with egg and tuna (keep the second serving in the fridge) |
| Friday | Wholemeal bread with olive oil and a well-cooked poached egg, and one piece of fruit | Plain yoghurt with strawberries | Creamy rice with monkfish · Mixed salad | Wholemeal toast with avocado and fresh cheese | Broccoli and cheese soup (keep the second serving in the fridge) · Oven-baked salmon with sweet potato |
| Saturday | Wholemeal toast with olive oil, fresh cheese and tomato, and one piece of fruit | A handful of unsalted or ground nuts, and one piece of fruit | Pumpkin, rice and cheese soup (from the freezer: Tuesday’s serving) · Grilled chicken with boiled potato | Homemade milk and banana smoothie | Pasta salad with egg and tuna (from the fridge: Thursday’s serving) |
| Sunday | Well-cooked scrambled eggs with wholemeal bread and one piece of fruit | Plain yoghurt with rolled oats and chopped fruit | Lentil soup (from the freezer: Monday’s serving) · Cod with tomato sauce and bread (from the freezer: Tuesday’s serving) | Wholemeal toast with fresh cheese | Broccoli and cheese soup (from the fridge: Friday’s serving) · Well-set plain omelette |
Snacks between meals help meet the day’s needs. The guide recommends spreading food across several meals a day [1]. That is why the menu includes a mid-morning and an afternoon snack. These can include fruit, unsalted nuts, yoghurt or a homemade smoothie [1]. And if you eat dinner early, have something before bed: the fewer hours you fast overnight, the better muscle mass is preserved [1].
For dessert at lunch and dinner, have a piece of ripe fruit or plain yoghurt. Take food out of the freezer the night before and thaw it in the fridge, never at room temperature.
What should I change if I feel nauseous or the smell of food puts me off?
The first step is not dietary: nausea caused by chemotherapy can be treated with medication, and if the medication prescribed for you does not work, tell your doctor [1]. The menu makes things easier in the following ways:
- Eat something dry before you get up fully —toast, biscuits or breadsticks—and save wholemeal bread with oil for later [1].
- Have everything lukewarm or cold. Cold gazpacho is usually better tolerated than hot fideuà and creamy rice: heat is what releases the smell [1].
- Boil or microwave food instead of grilling or roasting it: have Monday’s prawns steamed [1].
- Hide meat and fish in purées, have someone else do the cooking, and eat small amounts every few hours without lying down straight afterwards [1].
If you also have heartburn, the advice is the same as for the gastritis diet.
What should I change if I have mouth sores or a dry mouth?
These are managed in opposite ways, so do not mix the advice: follow the guidance for whichever symptom you have today.
If you have mouth sores —mucositis—avoid acidic, dry and heavily seasoned foods for a few days. Leave out both gazpachos, Tuesday’s cod with tomato sauce and Friday’s mixed salad. Also avoid hot foods, coffee, tea, alcohol and toasted bread [1]. Choose pumpkin soup, vegetable purée, broccoli soup and omelette instead. Holding very cold water or crushed ice in your mouth before eating can soothe the discomfort; if drinking hurts, use a straw [1].
If you have a dry mouth —xerostomia—acidic foods can help because they stimulate saliva [1]: gazpacho is suitable again. Choose juicy foods with sauce—creamed soups, soups, fish with sauce, soupy rice, fresh cheeses, yoghurts and ripe fruit—and avoid dry and sticky foods [1]. Sip drinks throughout the day [1].
What should I change if I cannot eat anything and am losing weight?
The mistake is serving a larger portion. What works is enriching the food you already have: add extra virgin olive oil, grated cheese, chopped hard-boiled egg, ground nuts or avocado to main dishes. You can also add three tablespoons of milk powder to each glass of milk [1], or brewer’s yeast to soups. Lentil soup, purée and broccoli soup can all take these additions without changing their flavour. Serve an enriched one-dish meal and drink between meals [1].
The ESPEN practical guideline estimates the energy expenditure of a person with cancer to be the same as that of a healthy person. As a reference, it gives 25 to 30 kcal per kilogram of body weight per day. It also recommends more than 1 g of protein per kilogram per day, up to 1.5 g if possible [2]. That is why every lunch and dinner includes a source of protein. If you are losing weight, tell your doctor or dietitian-nutritionist so they can assess how to adapt your diet [1].
What should I change if I have diarrhoea or constipation?
If you have diarrhoea —three or more loose bowel movements a day—drink more than usual and eat small amounts every two to three hours [1]. Keep rice, pasta, white bread, plain omelette, white fish, boiled chicken, banana and yoghurt. For a few days, leave out the higher-fibre foods: lentil soup, quinoa, both gazpachos, mixed salad and the seeds in the purée. Also avoid chocolate and alcohol [1]. If it is severe and lasts more than one day, you need oral rehydration solution from a pharmacy and sometimes an antidiarrhoeal prescribed by your doctor [1].
If you have constipation, do the opposite: choose wholegrain instead of refined foods, eat legumes three or four times a week, and have five portions of fruit and vegetables. Add nuts or flax or chia seeds to yoghurts or soups. Drink between one and a half and two litres of fluid a day and go for a walk [1]. More detail is available in the constipation diet guide; if what you notice is bloating, see the guide to bloating.
The weekly shopping list
Approximate quantities for one person for seven days. Most recipes make two servings. Save the second serving of the five dishes marked in the table for the weekend. You can eat the second serving of the other dishes the next day; keep it covered in the fridge. Only soups, legumes and stews should be frozen. If there are two of you at home, cook twice as much of the marked dishes.
Vegetables
- 7 ripe tomatoes (about 1 kg)
- 4 onions
- 6 carrots
- 6 medium potatoes
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 1 piece of pumpkin, about 500 g (400 g peeled)
- 1 large broccoli
- 2 aubergines
- 1 small courgette
- 1 red pepper and 2 green peppers
- 1 cucumber
- 150 g green beans
- 1 leek and 1 celery stalk
- 100 g leafy greens: lettuce, lamb’s lettuce or rocket
- 2 avocados, bought a few days apart
- Garlic, fresh parsley and a few mint leaves
Fruit
- 1 small melon
- 1 punnet of strawberries
- About 20 pieces of ripe seasonal fruit: bananas, apples, pears or mandarins
- Dried figs
Fish and seafood
- 300 g whole prawns and 150 g peeled prawns, fresh or frozen
- 150 g squid rings
- 300 g cod loins, fresh or desalted
- 300 g boneless hake loins
- 250 g cleaned monkfish
- 300 g salmon fillets
- Canned fish: 2 tins of tuna and 1 tin of sardines
Meat and eggs
- 1 large chicken breast (about 250 g)
- 200 g diced turkey
- 200 g minced chicken
- A dozen and a half eggs
Dairy or plant-based alternatives
- 1.5 litres of whole milk, or a plant-based drink with at least 3% protein (soy is the best option)
- 8 plain yoghurts
- 400 g fresh cheese, or vegan cheese made mainly from nuts or legumes and without coconut fat (check the label)
- Grated cheese, to enrich dishes
Bread, grains and legumes
- 1 wholemeal loaf, sliced and frozen
- 1 small pack of soft sliced bread
- 250 g short-grain rice
- 160 g short pasta and 160 g fideuà noodles
- 60 g quinoa
- 1 pack of rolled oats
- 1 small jar of cooked lentils (200 g)
- 80 g peas, frozen or canned
- 1 small tin of sweetcorn
Store cupboard
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 carton or jar of plain crushed tomatoes, for the homemade sauce
- 1.2 litres of fish stock, homemade or shop-bought
- Unsalted nuts: 40 g ground almonds, walnuts, pistachios and pine nuts; shelled sunflower seeds and other seeds (optional)
- Wheat flour and fine cornflour
- Olives
- Salt, pepper and mild spices: cumin, sweet paprika, thyme, basil, turmeric and saffron
- Brewer’s yeast (optional)
Homemade vegetable stock (1 litre): simmer the leek, two carrots and half an onion for 30 minutes in one and a half litres of water, then strain. Do not add celery, so that this allergen is not introduced into the recipes. Freeze any stock you do not use in portions.
What this menu is and is not
It is a general seven-day suggestion, not an individualised plan. It does not replace a nutrition consultation or the advice from your oncologist: discuss any major dietary change during treatment with them first.
And there are three things it does not do, because no menu does. It does not treat the tumour: ESPEN says that no diet is known to cure cancer or prevent it from returning [2]. It does not include fasting: the same guideline expressly recommends not fasting before, during or after chemotherapy [2]. And it contains no supplements: ESPEN advises against high doses without a documented deficiency [2], and the AECC warns that antioxidant supplements or herbal extracts may interfere with treatment [1].
A menu cannot fix a week of treatment, but it can take one decision off your hands. If you cannot manage a dish, swap it for one from another day in the same column: what matters is having protein at every meal and not going all day without eating.
If you would like it adapted to your situation, our oncology nutrition team works with your reports in front of them and in coordination with your medical team, in Barcelona and online.
Every tumour, every treatment and every person is different. The best menu is not the one that sounds best: it is the one you can manage this week.
Changes that help
When the smell of cooking puts you off
Instead of grilling or roasting, boil food or cook it in the microwave, as these methods produce much less smell. If possible, ask someone else to cook. The smell of hot food is what most worsens nausea, and the fideuà and creamy rice are the two dishes on the menu that smell strongest.
When you cannot face meat
Do not force yourself to eat the turkey casserole or the chicken with aubergine: swap the protein source for egg, white fish, tofu, seitan, textured soy or fresh cheese. What you need is the protein, not that particular food; red meat is the worst-smelling and worst-tasting when your sense of taste is altered.
When eating hurts
Gazpacho, cod with tomato sauce and mixed salad contain acidic ingredients. You can swap them for pumpkin soup, vegetable purée or broccoli soup, served warm or cold. With mouth sores, acidic, dry and very hot foods are exactly what cause the most discomfort.
When you are losing weight
Instead of serving yourself a larger portion, enrich the same dish with extra virgin olive oil, grated cheese, chopped hard-boiled egg or ground nuts. You can also add brewer’s yeast or three tablespoons of milk powder to a glass of milk. If you feel full quickly, increasing the volume of the meal is the one thing that does not work.
When you cannot manage cooking all week
Instead of cooking every day, make extra on a day when you feel well and freeze individual portions: pulses, sauces, rice or a tray of roasted vegetables. And always keep jars of cooked pulses, tinned fish, hard-boiled eggs in the fridge and sliced bread in the freezer.
When someone offers you a supplement
Instead of taking something recommended in a group or at a health-food shop, ask your oncologist and dietitian-nutritionist. Some supplements containing antioxidants or herbal extracts may interfere with treatment [1]. Ask your oncologist or dietitian-nutritionist if you have any questions.
We explain it on video
What about the days when you have no energy to cook?
Three protein-rich options you can put together without turning on the hob, eat cold or at room temperature, and prepare without leaving food smells in the house. The first is explained step by step in the avocado and fresh cheese sandwich recipe.
Avocado and fresh cheese sandwich
Soft bread, fresh cheese, avocado and tomato if your mouth is not sore. It takes two minutes to put together, requires no cooking and provides protein and healthy fats in the same dish.
Milk or yoghurt smoothie with banana, oats and walnuts
Milk, yoghurt or fortified soy drink, half a banana, two tablespoons of rolled oats and one tablespoon of ground walnuts. Have it cold, with no cooking smells, and sip it on days when chewing is difficult.
Jarred pulses with tinned fish
Drained and rinsed jarred chickpeas or beans with tuna, sardines or cockles, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and tomato if it agrees with you. A complete meal with no cooking.
Your 7-day menu, ready for the fridge
- 7-day menu with the shopping list
- Easy recipes to cook at home
- Written by dietitian-nutritionists
Where should we send it?
Free PDF, in your inbox in a moment.
Data controller: Alimmenta Tu Vida, S.L. Purpose: to send you the guide and, only if you tick the second box, tips by email on the topic. You can withdraw your consent and exercise your rights at [email protected]. Legal basis, recipients and retention periods are in our privacy policy.
When to see a doctor
This menu is a general suggestion for people having cancer treatment who eat by mouth. It is not an individualised plan and does not replace a consultation with a dietitian or your oncologist’s advice. Talk to them before making any major changes to your diet during treatment. If you are fed through a tube, have severe dysphagia (major difficulty swallowing) or have recently had digestive surgery, this menu is not for you: your team will give you an individual plan.
The most urgent warning sign is a fever during chemotherapy: recommendations say this is a medical emergency [3]. If you develop one, go to A&E today. Do not wait, and do not take paracetamol or another fever-reducing medicine first, as it can mask the fever:
- You have a temperature of 38 °C or higher during chemotherapy
The full list of warning signs and what to do about each one is in the eating guide for people with cancer.
With a weakened immune system, prepare food safely
- Dairy products must always be pasteurised, including fresh cheese.
- Wash all food thoroughly before eating it raw.
- Cook eggs until fully set [1]; egg dishes should be left out of the fridge for no more than one hour.
- Cook fish and minced meat all the way through.
Start with a first appointment, wherever you are in your treatment
Tell us which stage you are at and what you are finding most difficult. We will guide you on whether an oncology nutrition consultation can help you now, with whom and in which format —in person or online—, and you can decide without rushing.
Keep reading
Nutrition for people with cancer: what to eat during treatment
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Weight-loss diet: how to lose fat and keep it off
You have tried diets that worked for a month, only for the weight to come back, and now…
Eating during cancer treatment: managing side effects
Nausea, mouth sores, changes in taste or poor appetite during chemotherapy and radiotherapy: how to adapt what you…
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Sources
- Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (Junta Provincial de Baleares), Colegio Oficial de Dietistas-Nutricionistas de les Illes Balears, Asociación de Cocineros Afincados en las Islas Baleares. Guía nutricional para pacientes oncológicos y sus recetas. Palma: AECC; 2019. https://www.contraelcancer.es/sites/default/files/content-file/Guia-nutricional_0.pdf
- Muscaritoli M, Arends J, Bachmann P, et al. ESPEN practical guideline: Clinical Nutrition in cancer. Clin Nutr. 2021;40(5):2898-2913. doi:10.1016/j.clnu.2021.02.005
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Neutropenic sepsis: prevention and management in people with cancer. NICE clinical guideline CG151. London: NICE; 2012 (validity reviewed in 2020). https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg151
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