Are you on chemo and know you need to eat but don’t want to? When you’re going through chemotherapy for ovarian cancer, side effects like appetite changes, mouth sores, and nausea and vomiting can make eating unpleasant. But it’s very important to get proper nutrition to support your body during ovarian cancer treatment. Eating small, more frequent meals may help with some of these treatment side effects. Sipping liquid meals or milkshakes can nourish you when you don’t want to eat because of loss of appetite.

Smoothies offer a simple way to get nutrients in your body while being easy on your mouth and stomach. Below are three healthy smoothies to try while on chemo to keep up your strength and nutrition throughout treatment.

1. Protein Booster

This Yogurt Protein Smoothie from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is packed with protein-forward ingredients and flavorful fruit. Making sure your smoothie has protein is important to not only strengthen your body but also keep blood sugar levels in check. Adding your favorite protein powder, like whey or soy isolate, to the mix is an easy way to make sure your body gets the protein it needs — look for a product that provides 14 to 21 grams of protein per serving.

This recipe also gets a nutritional boost from wheat germ, the nutrient-dense part of wheat. Wheat germ is considered a good source of zinc, phosphorus, folate, and magnesium and an excellent source of thiamin.

2. Tropical Treat

The American Cancer Society’s Papaya and Almond Smoothie has a tropical flair and nutty flavor. A yogurt and milk base provides not only lots of protein and calcium but creaminess too. Honey or agave make this smoothie a sweet treat, but you can leave that ingredient out if you’d like. Chopped almonds are also optional but provide even more nutrition and a little crunch. Freeze leftover portions so you have a delicious smoothie ready to go whenever you need it.

3. Fast Fix

When you want something extra quick and simple, try this Raspberry-Peach Yogurt Smoothie from the American Cancer Society. The few ingredients supply you with two whole servings of fruit and a dose of calcium from the yogurt. Plus, the raspberries are a good source of vitamin C to support your immune system. Fruity, nutritious, and refreshing, this smoothie is perfect if you want to keep prep time to a minimum.

Make a Smoothie That Appeals to You

When you’re dealing with appetite loss, it’s important to listen to your body but still make sure you get proper nutrition and maintain your weight. After trying these three smoothie recipes, use them as inspiration to make variations to help you get easy nutrients. You can experiment with different ingredients to build a smoothie based on what your body needs and what sounds good to you.

Talk to your health care provider or oncology team to learn which nutrients in particular you need.

Talk With People Who Understand

On MyOvarianCancerTeam, the social network for people with ovarian cancer and their loved ones, more than 6,700 members come together to ask questions, give advice, and share their experiences with others who understand life with ovarian cancer.

Do you have a favorite smoothie recipe when you’re going through chemo? What ingredients make you feel best? Share your story in the comments below, or start a conversation by posting on your Activities page.