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: Avocado Egg Salad

The Avocado Egg Salad contains nutrient-dense hard boiled eggs, avocado, celery, and red onion. The base of this egg salad is the mashed avocado and eggs with most of the other ingredients being variable — mayo, garlic powder, dill, and mustard are all options. It’s an easy-to-make dish that’s soft, easy to eat and flexible to what the maker has available to them.

It’s important for everyone to include a variety of fruits and vegetables in their day-to-day diets to get a diversity of vitamins and minerals. Avocados are high in healthy fats, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, pot****ium and fiber. This makes them rich in antioxidants and nutrients that are essential in a healthy diet and have been shown to have anti-carcinogenic properties. They also have a creamy texture due to the high fat content, making them easy to chew and swallow. For this recipe, it’s best to pick a ripe avocado that’s soft on the outside so that it’s easy to mash.

The eggs in this recipe are high in selenium, protein, B vitamins, zinc, choline and iron. The protein in eggs contains all of the essential amino acids, and is easy for our body to absorb. As well as selenium, eggs are also rich in lutein and zeaxanthin which are powerful antioxidants. Lutein has been shown to inhibit cancer cell growth in breast cancer and lung cancer, and zeaxanthin has been shown to reduce the risk of colon and prostate cancers. Research indicates that obtaining these phytochemicals and antioxidants from dietary sources is more efficient than supplementation. A majority of these nutrients and antioxidants are found in the egg yolk, and the protein is mostly found in the egg whites. Also, eggs from hens who were raised on a pasture or fed omega-3 rich food tend to be higher in omega-3s.

The protein and fat from both the avocados and eggs are important for maintaining strength during cancer treatment, as well as providing many protective factors and nutrients that play a role in disease prevention. Eating a diet rich in antioxidants has been scientifically proven to be protective and help reduce overall cancer risk. Also, adding a tablespoon or more of mayo to this recipe can help to increase the energy content and add a delicious tangy flavor to the egg salad.

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 food borne illnesses, bacteria and viruses, into your body.

Ingredients
• 4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
• ½ red onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp dill
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Optional: 1 tbsp mayonnaise or Greek yogurt

Directions
1. In a medium bowl, mash the avocado
2. Mix in dill, garlic powder, mustard, and mayo/Greek yogurt, if you choose to use it
3. Add in eggs, celery and onion, and mix everything well together.
4. Season with salt and pepper
5. Serve on a sandwich, wrap or on top of lettuce