Quinoa most definitely IS a carb- however, it is a carb with a lot of protein (like beans and wheat germ). I am not a big fan of the flavor of quinoa so I havent tried the pasta. There are some really gnarly whole wheat pastas out there-- if you are averse to the taste or texture of whole wheat, two brands I recommend are de cecco and bio naturae. My local grocery recently started carrying both-- before that, I found them at the health food store. In the whole scheme of things, pasta is not the worst thing you can eat-- the key is portion control. I don't know about you all, but pasta is one of the things with which I can easily over indulge. A few healthy tips for pasta: 1. cook it al dente. Overcooking pasta increases its glycemic index-- meaning it is digested faster and spikes your blood sugar which can cause you to overeat. 2. ALWAYS serve a pasta with a protein-- chick peas, chicken, chicken sausage, lean beef, tofu. Protein satisfies your hunger the most effectively and helps you to be satisfied on a modest serving size. 3. Add fiber (and nutrients)-- whole grain pasta, spinach, zucchini, mushrooms, asparagus, beans, etc. all add fiber and nutrients to your pasta. The extra bulk helps fill you up faster and also slows digestion so that your blood sugar doesnt spike. 4. Start with a salad or antipasto-- and use an oil and vinegar dressing. This will keep you from filling up on pasta and the extra fiber and the acid slow down digestion. 5. Be mindful of the serving size -- cereal and pasta are two things we can easily overestimate the serving sizes. 1/2 a cup is a typical serving size but check the box. Restaurants often serve enough pasta for 4 servings. Oy! Serving pasta with a salad and protein really helps to keep the serving size in line. 6. Consider replacing the pasta in some of your meals with a veggie. Some people embrace spaghetti squash-- I really like using zucchini. I make a zucchini torte that is basically my old lasagna recipe substituting zucchini ribbons for the pasta. I prefer it to lasagna and everyone who has tried it has raved about it.

Not a meal per se, but one thing I made for my grandmother when she was going through chemo was peanut butter banana smoothies. It is very helpful for a chemo patient. Also, lots of liquidy brothy soups. I made up big batches of Japanese onion soup (commonly served in Japanese Steakhouses as an appetizer) and when she couldn't eat, a cup of that was welcomed. The big thing is the caregiver needs hearty meals, the chemo patient needs lighter fare and, I've seen more than once, the chemo patient can't stand the smell of stronger spices. Perhaps prepare batches of single serving food for each of them?

Cathy... the "comments" you're referring to were not mine, please re-read more carefully, it was directly quoted verbatim from a website dedicated to neem oil... it was actually the first website that popped up on a yahoo search for neem oil. The following below is lifted verbatim from a website that manufacturers and sells neem cake... "The quality of the neem cake is determined by the amount of oil left in it, and also the process by which the extraction was done.... neem cake is used as good organic manure in agriculture and also acts as pest repellent. The high Azadirachtin content in neem cake helps in protecting the crops against parasitic nematodes and as best soil conditioner... It accelerates root development and overall plant growth and protects the plant from Nematodes and white ants." Judging from the grammatical syntax, my guess is this is an India-based company selling to an English-speaking customer base... and make no mistake, it is a sales pitch. The claims of this seller are that it is wonderful for the worms, however that is not the point I was making... again you must re-read more carefully, it is that a worm bin is an eco-system with many other inhabitants (far more numerous) than just worms. And like all eco-systems, work best when a stable balance among the inhabitants is maintained... and insecticides (yes, even enzymes that indiscriminantly target whole segments of the eco-system) tend to upset any balance which ultimately may not actually be good for the worms or the plants. I believe balance is key for the health of all in an ecosystem, be it plant, animal, or the soil that feeds us all. Think about it, if plants didn't have a natural resistance to diseases and insects then the plants would have gone extinct long ago... the fact that they are not proves there is some natural resistance that can be compromised when the plant is stressed (which is why the disease or insect has not died out completely either)... there it is again - it is about balance. I believe if your plants are plagued by insects then perhaps the best solutions may not be found through attempts at destroying the perceived villains but rather one should seek improving the health of the plant so its own resistance can ward off the attacks. It is just an opinion I shared and that is all. BTW, azadirachtin is just a neem plant-based chitinase (which is an enzyme that accelerates the breakdown of chitin)... there are other plant-based chitinases that come from other plant sources (some are from kelp), they just have other names for each of those other chitinase (enzymes). People are free to do as they wish but it would be nice if they would come back after experimenting and provide a report of their findings so that others may draw upon any knowledge gained, one way or the other. Perhaps you will come back in the future and report back on your experiences... I'm sure that would be appreciated. And good luck in finding your solution.

Nancy, the potatoes sound lovely, yum. If I'm going for cheap and nutritious, it's usually beans or another pulse. I can make a meal out of hummus but everyone in my family especially likes split pea soup. A bag of split peas, a chopped onion, a chopped carrot, a couple of quarts of water. Add a ham bone or bacon end if you have it and want to. Cook for 6 hours or so in the crockpot and add salt and pepper to taste. sushipup, I'm not a fan of the Insta-pot either. Elery likes it and uses it for beans, mostly, or to tenderize very tough cuts of beef for the dogs. I find it fiddly and I know that the minute I try to use it it's going to break anyway, because Elery's daughter bought it for him. Annie