My new best friend in the effort to keep chemo constipation at bay…

This is a modification of a low carb focaccia-style bread that I have been making for several years, usually using other low carb seed and nut meals, such as almond meal, pecan meal, or ground chia seeds. But when the rubber hits the road, flax and psyllium are the best sources of both soluble and insoluble fibres for bulking stools and attracting and holding onto water in the large bowel.

I am currently on Day 3 of Cycle 3 of my Taxel/Carbo protocol. On the previous cycles, this has been a time of 3 or more days of no bowel function, leading to very severe constipation and fecal impaction. But not this time… 

My protocol goes like this, working around the 72 hour fast:

Every day – Two slices of flax/psyllium bread (with butter, cheese, peanut or other nut butters, salmon salad, etc)

Tuesday – have 2 slices of flax bread during the day, stop eating after supper. Start fast.

Wednesday – Nothing to eat. Coffee, tea, water and 500 mls bone broth. Drive to London (3 hours).

Thursday – Chemo day. Have one dose of PEG laxative (Restorlax or similar) in water in the evening. Does not break fast.

Friday – Break fast with supper meal. Have 2 slices of flax bread as evening snack.

This has worked like a charm, with big soft BM’s every morning. You can’t imagine how happy that makes me!

So, here’s the recipe that has made such a difference for me:

Flax/Psyllium Focaccia-Style Keto Bread

1 3/4 cups flax meal

1/2 cup psyllium husk

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2-3 envelopes of stevia or other non-caloric natural sweetener

5 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup of extra light olive oil, avocado oil or melted coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Prepare a pan.  10×15 inch baking pan works best.  Line with oiled parchment paper or silicon mat.  In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients with a whisk to remove any lumps. In another bowl, mix eggs, oil and water very well with a whisk to eliminate any obvious strings of egg white.  Add egg mixture to dry ingredients and stir well.  Let batter sit for 2-3 minutes to thicken up, but not too long or it becomes hard to spread.  Pour batter onto prepared pan and use a wet spatula to flatten out the mount until it’s about 1/3 inch thick and level, shape into a rectangle for best browning and easy portioning.  

Bake for about 20 minutes, until it springs back when you touch the top, and/or is visibly browning.  Let cool and the cut into about 15-18 slices.  A pizza cutter works great.  Store in the fridge and use two slices daily for bowel management.  Freezes very well.