A big hello and virtual hug from me, as I imagine it's been a difficult road that's brought you here. The experience of losing your sense of taste, or watching someone else find it difficult to enjoy food, is impossible to describe to anyone who hasn't been through it themselves. I hope you find this website a place of understanding and inspiration.
I am a Speech and Language Therapist (SaLT), and I've specialised in head and neck cancer since 2014. Watching my patients go through gruelling treatment and lose the comfort of a good meal was heart-breaking, and I could never find the right resources to help them. I wanted to create something that wasn't just 'another bit of paper'.
Outside of work I love to eat and I love to cook. I wondered if, with a bit of research, I could combine my knowledge of cooking with the advice I was giving my patients day in and day out. Hence, Sprinkle of SaLT!
As my experience is predominantly with head and neck cancer, this has shaped the tips and recipes on this website. Mostly, the recipes will avoid anything too dry, scratchy, spicy or acidic, as people who have had head and neck cancer often struggle with these things. If this is not a problem for you then feel free to experiment further with different textures and flavours, or drop me a line! I'll also make sure to include a post on other resources that you might want to tap into.
I know that cooking is not for everyone and the thought of following a recipe can be quite daunting, especially if you're already struggling with post-treatment fatigue. Please know that you don't have to follow any of these recipes to the letter, or even follow them at all! The aim of this website is to give you the knowledge and understanding of how flavour works, so you can apply that learning to the food you make every day. There will also be posts on jazzing up ready meals and tinned foods, and the supermarket staples you can add to several of your favourite meals to make them more interesting. I am not a trained chef and I don't expect you to be either. But if just one person gets one thing from this website, that's a job well done.
You can send me a message or ask me a general question using this form.
I will do my best to get back to you soon!