Colostomy-Friendly Smoothie and Protein Bar Suggestions

My husband underwent a sigmoid colon resection and loop colostomy on July 2, 2025, and is starting chemo for colon cancer on August 1, 2025. We just met with a cancer dietitian who said he needs to have 120 grams of protein per day. She recommended I make him some smoothies with protein powder blended in. After doing some research, I ordered a small-sized jar of plain Naked Whey on Amazon. I want to be sure I am mixing in colostomy-approved ingredients. Does anyone have any recipes or favorite ingredients?

I'm also trying to find colostomy-friendly protein bars. I saw a recommendation for Pure Protein (my favorite) and Quest bars, but the Pure Protein has sugar alcohols and the Quest has fiber.

Any and all advice welcome!

Personally, I am not a fan of most smoothies and have resorted to yogurt and protein drinks.

Frequently mentioned ingredients of smoothies that should be okay: smooth peanut butter, bananas, yogurt, and fruit juice without pulp. Probably more, but like I said, I'm not big on smoothies.

I have a sigmoid colostomy. I drink a bottle of Ensure Enlive every day. I also eat 20 grams of lightly salted almonds. I chew them thoroughly. It's a good source of protein; it has never given my stoma a problem in 2+ years. I also eat various protein bars; I don't care about the sugar content. I balance my calories during the day/week. I eat a lot of baked salmon and drink only water. I enjoy a Gatorade FIT (for hydration) when I go walking or bike riding. I don't eat fried food, donuts, or pastries. I do indulge in some gummy bears and chocolate occasionally.

I lost 66 pounds during my medical adventure 28 months ago, resulting in my permanent colostomy. I have gained back 30 pounds (needed it) and have managed to remain thin.

It takes time to discover what you can eat. Everyone is different. Eat a little... see what happens. And chew, chew, chew... then, chew some more.😊

I just realized I missed the main question: What to eat during chemo. I was prescribed very expensive antiemetic pills. The prescription was for 30 pills. I went to my local pharmacy. The pharmacist laughed. He said he only had 10 pills in stock and would have to special order 20 more for me, and I'd have to pay upfront. I said, they cost a lot? Yeah.... $85 a pill. So I bought the 10 and declined to pay for 20 more. I used 5 during my 12-week chemo adventure. I forced myself to eat a lot of candy bars, chicken, and steak. It was hard because everything tasted yucky. And I could smell the chemo, especially Adriamycin (doxorubicin).

Going through chemotherapy, I wouldn't buy large amounts of anything thinking you'll use it. In my experience, my tastes for food changed all the time. Personally, I just used milk with protein powder and ate protein bars (Pure Protein) and ate as much “real” protein as I could… yogurt, eggs, chicken, steak, etc. The chemotherapy is going to tear him down, and just getting any calories in will help him. Don't get discouraged if he likes one thing one day and never wants to see it again the next day.

My appetite during chemo was not great; I ate cheese and crackers, sometimes cottage cheese with canned peaches, chicken noodle soup, veggie protein shakes by Kachava, and my favorite drink was lemonade. I think everyone is different, and what tastes good one day won't taste good the next day. I could handle small meals better than big ones. Part of that is the brain associates nausea with what you recently ate, so it can work against you. My doctor recommended that I take the anti-nausea meds before it got too bad, so as soon as my mouth would do that funny watering thing, I would hit the Ritz crackers first. Then, if it continued, I would pop a pill and then follow it with more Ritz crackers. I was lucky, though, and didn't have a lot of nausea and still have some of those pills left. I do remember one day when my red blood cells were really low, and I ate a steak for dinner—I was literally in a food coma from that! Also, I find the Aloha protein bars work fine with my colostomy and have good ingredients. They were an excellent afternoon snack for me.

Living with Your Ostomy | Hollister

After I had my ileostomy (as a result of colon cancer surgery) for a month, I was told that I could start adding different foods. But I was so nervous. But slowly I started to add different foods. Keeping some kind of snack handy is good. My go-to is just homemade trail mix (peanuts, almonds, cashews, and of course M&Ms) - just chew, chew, chew, and chew some more.

Then I started chemo, which definitely messes with your appetite and eating. Some things that I may have liked before and can still eat with an ostomy just won't taste good. What helped with my appetite is cornbread CBD gummies (made from hemp). They have just enough Delta 9 (which occurs naturally; not artificial like Delta 8) to help with appetite. And again, keep a snack handy - which might change over time depending on his taste buds.

Don't forget about the alcohol swab trick to help ward off nausea. The night of my first treatment, I felt just a hint of nausea. So before the feeling got any worse, I quickly opened up an alcohol swab packet and took a couple of inhales. The nausea feeling went away. Luckily, that was the only time I had to do that.

I like smoothies, but they do kind of scare me, and the last one did cause a blockage. But I probably didn't drink enough immediately after the smoothie. I'm working up the courage to try it again.

I was prescribed two anti-nausea meds when I did chemo. I took one after the first infusion because I didn't know what to expect. I never got nauseous from chemotherapy. However, I did get the dry heaves from not eating often enough while on chemotherapy. I worked all through my chemo and radiation treatments, and if I didn't snack on something after lunch and before dinner, I'd be dry heaving until I did. Any food is good food while a person is on that stuff.