There are two restrictions:

no acidic foods as she has mouthsores from the chemo;

she can't choke down dairy because she complains of a metallic taste
(and she used to love cheese and milk) which makes her gag. Dairy as an ingredient should be okay, as long as it doesn't contribute to the taste of the final dish significantly. The one exception to this is yoghurt - she's been eating the Dannon sort with fruit (peach, strawberry) in it and the taste is acceptable.

Also because of her taste buds being affected, foods which are really soft in texture just aren't palatable - such as soft cooked spinach, mashed potatoes, that kind of thing.

Beverages are also a problem, since they either are too acidic (fruit juices) or taste so bad to her that she just can't force herself to drink them except in tiny amounts. The only thing she can stand in any quantity is Sprite.

Caloric content isn't a factor - she's below 90 pounds at the moment and can use all the extra weight she can pack on.

I'm personally stumped - I'm an okay cook but this is out of my league, I'm afraid. The nutritionists at the hospital where Meg goes for chemo just don't have the time to work out an individual menu for patients, so that's not really a resource.

At any rate, does anyone have some good ideas on how to prepare vegetable dishes? Meg's doctor has stressed she needs to put on weight and needs the nutrition especially from green leafy stuff. I was thinking perhaps dishes which also incorporate nuts? Mainly for the fats and proteins.

-I don't know if her aversion to dairy would include butter, but how about baked acorn squash halves with butter and brown sugar? I don't actually have a recipe for this, but I tend to start them in the microwave (halve acorn squash, poke a few holes in skin, microwave for about 10 minutes on high, cut side down, turning once or twice) then turn cut side up, add about half a tablespoon of butter to each half, put in brown sugar as desired, toast in oven until brown sugar is melty and crusted. If the butter is not acceptable, you might be able to do this with just brown sugar or with applesauce as a moistener. Squash is good and nutritious, and the butter and sugar will supply some calories. Baked sweet potatoes are good with butter and sugar too if she'll tolerate this combination.

If you look on www.epicurious.com, there are a number of vegetable recipes that include bacon (with greens such as cabbage and kale, green beans, etc.). Not much protein to speak of, but the bacon would supply flavor and fat and she'd get nutrients from the veggies.

-I'm surprised your friend's daughter is allowed dairy; my friend was told to avoid it. I'm also surprised that the doctor said she should have leafy green veggies. Chemo patients have a terrible problem with diarrhea and uncooked fruits and veggies would only aggravate the situation.

Again, pasta fills the bill in so many ways, and also will put weight on her if she eats enough of it. You can also experiment with sauces made with tofu and other vegan foods.

If the clinic/hospital/doctor/nurses don't have time to give some solid and reliable advice here, it may pay to go to a professional nutritionist and pay whatever it costs to get a menu designed for her. And there's the library too, of course.