The deadline for Abbott’s CFChef Challenge recipe contest is September 28. Individuals living with cystic fibrosis, their families, friends, caregivers and others are invited to submit original recipes for a CF diet, or traditional recipes adapted to a CF diet, online at www.Chef4CF.com.
CFChef is a new online nutrition destination developed to help meet the unique nutritional needs of people living with cystic fibrosis. In addition to serving as an online nutrition resource, the CFChef program will allow those touched by CF to share and receive support through recipes and meal tips.
Many people living with CF are unable to properly digest food due to lack of digestive pancreatic enzymes, which may result in malnutrition. To get enough calories to promote normal weight gain and growth, individuals with CF may need to consume up to two times as many calories as a person without the disease.
“When cooking for someone with CF, you have to rethink the nutrition ‘rules’ that apply to the general population. ‘Low fat, low cal’ is not the goal,” explains Suzanne Michel, a registered dietitian at a leading children’s CF center in Philadelphia. “In my 30 years of working with people with CF, I’ve learned that mealtimes can be challenging for families. The CFChef resource addresses those needs, providing useful nutritional information, recipes and tips for people living with CF from infancy to adulthood.”
Submissions for the CFChef Challenge recipe contest will be accepted in four categories: breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack. The top recipes will be judged by a panel of experts including: Boomer Esiason, CF advocacy leader; Suzanne Michel, CF expert dietitian; Michael Symon, a Food Network “Iron Chef”; and Ali Christensen, “America’s Got Talent” contestant and CF patient.
“As a parent of a college-aged son with cystic fibrosis, I know how important nutrition is,” says Boomer Esiason, former NFL quarterback and CF advocate. “The CFChef program offers the opportunity for the CF community to connect and share creative recipes while receiving educational information about nutrition.”