Guest Author - Rhonda Cravey

Diarrhea is a common side effect of cancer treatment. In between episodes of diarrhea, you may want to select foods that you know are less likely to trigger another episode. Recipes using bananas and squash are a good choice because neither have a tendency to aggravate diarrhea. Each of the recipes below use common ingredients and are easy to make.


Banana Bread

½ cup butter or margarine
1 ½ cups sugar
¼ cup buttermilk
3 large bananas, mashed
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
dash of salt
1 TBL vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts, optional

Mix butter and sugar. Add eggs. Mix all ingredients except nuts. Mix until smooth. Stir in nuts. Bake in greased and floured loaf pans or in a tube pan in 350 degree oven for 35-45 minutes. Makes 2 loaves.


Chocolate Covered Frozen Bananas

These are great not only when you have diarrhea but also when you have mouth sores. The cold banana will feel so good going down.

Ripe Bananas, peeled and cut in half (not lengthwise)
Semi-sweet chocolate chips

Insert a popsicle stick into the flat end of the banana. Place bananas in a freezer bag and freeze for about 3 hours or until banana is very firm. Melt chocolate chips in the microwave (in 30 second intervals, stirring often). Drizzle chocolate over bananas to coat them. Chocolate will harden immediately. Wrap chocolate covered bananas in foil and store in a freezer bag in the freezer.


Baked Acorn Squash

1 acorn squash
½ stick margarine
Pineapple tidbits, if desired

Cut squash in half and remove the seeds. Place squash halves on a rimmed baking sheet. Spread 2 tablespoons of margarine on each half. Sprinkle 1/3 cup of brown sugar on top of margarine. Top with pineapple if desired. Bake in 325 degree over for 2 hours or until squash is tender.


Squash Casserole

2 (12-oz) packages frozen squash
5 TBL margarine
1 tsp salt
dash of pepper
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup firmly-packed brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
3 TBL margarine, softened

Combine first four ingredients in a saucepan and cook over low heat until squash is thawed and hot; stirring frequently. Add eggs, mixing well. Pour into a lightly-greased 1-quart baking dish. Combine remaining ingredients and sprinkle over squash. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.