The most challenging task for me in my role as mom's caregiver is what to give her each day for meals that she will actually enjoy eating. She tends to be a very picky eater and simply will not eat if she does not like the taste of a food item. I was told by a hospice worker that the last sense to go is the desire for sweets. My mother will choose chocolate truffles over green beans any day! Thank you for your ideas in advance and may God Bless you for all you do for your loved ones.
Add flavors of choice:
brown sugar, walnuts and raisins
Maple syrup and bananas
Chopped apples, brown sugar and cinnamon
Honey and almonds
Date syrup and almonds
Peaches and cream
Peanut butter and banana
Or any combination you like. I use almond milk, whipping cream or half and half depending on the weather and the calories I desire. Heavy cream in cold weather helps keep you warmer, the fats increase your metabolism and help you stay warmer. This is a go to breakfast for us when we are camping, its fast and easy and we stay full until lunch time.
I cook several pounds of bacon and freeze it to use as needed.
I keep hard boiled eggs on hand when we are super busy.
I also make and freeze blueberry pancakes.
Banana nut muffins. I make cupcake sized and freeze half of them. 1 loaf recipe makes 24.
Any fruit muffin really. You can sprinkle sugar on top of hers to add sweetness.
I use molasses or date syrup on grits.
Halva is a great breakfast food, it is a sesame based middle eastern food and can be found in most stores.
A good quality bread with a drizzle of maple syrup and peanut butter.
Of course fortified cereals. But the vitamins are sprayed on and end up in the milk, so drink the milk.
Carnation instant breakfast is a good way to get vitamins and minerals in your diet.
Almond milk, honey, nuts of choice chopped, fruit and chia seeds. I make a few at a time and always wait a day to eat. Chia seeds absorb liguid and this is like a pudding.
Yogurt with fruit compote and granola.
French toast can be made in large batches and reheated, I add maple flavor to my eggs with a bit of vanilla, cinnamon and sugar then grill ham for a nice sandwich to go.
I hope that gives you some inspiration and gives m9m some good eats.
God bless you and give you strength for this journey. May this time be peaceful for your family. Hugs!
I read something that said if you have some sweet foods with your meal it enhances the flavor of the rest of the food. I wish I could find it because it does work.
I find that if I have a meat in the fridge I can put a meal together pretty easy, also I keep baked potatoes in the fridge all the time. If nothing else I can always serve loaded baked potatoes for dinner.
I use sweet pickled beets to serve as the sweet thing with meals, good source of vitamins and yummy.
Honey butter carrots
Sweet corn with a bit of sweetness added, i also blend it up and serve as cream corn.
Sweet potato is a great dish and super healthy. You can add pecans or walnuts to add protein, brown sugar or maple for sweetness and butter for added calories and healthy fat. Serve whipped with a nice sweet bread for a healthy sweet meal.
You can make sweet salad dressing with mayo, red wine vinegar and sugar and serve it over broccoli with diced apples, pumpkin seeds, celery, dried cranberries and bacon. Mix it up by using sunflower seeds and raisins with some crispy bacon bits or add some purple onion.
Coleslaw is another sweet food that served with corn bread is a nice meal. I add poppy seeds to my dressing for added sweetness. Mayo, sugar, lime, celery seed and viola, you have slaw dressing, chop cabbage, carrots and sweet onion and you are good to go. It stores well.
Chicken pot pie is easy and when made with new peas and sweet carrots has a sweet under tone.
Casseroles are good to have in the fridge or freezer.
I will come back if I have any more sweet ideas.😀
Aim for smaller meals/snacks throughout the day instead of large portions, which can seem overwhelming to many elders.
Use high contrast dinnerware - those red plates we read so much about for foods that are bland in colour and lighter plates for her darker coloured foods. Since she is on hospice I wouldn't worry too much about a balanced diet for her so you might have to plan different menus for each of you or just ensure that you are also providing lots of healthy options along with her favourites , and remember you can always add extra spices to your portion at the table or after her portion has been served if she likes thing to be bland.
Soups and smoothies are a wonderful way to include a lot of veggies and can be a full meal for her and an appetizer/snack for you.
Brown ground beef and freeze in meal size portions. Use for spaghetti, tacos, casseroles.
Freeze soup and stew in single portions - I use 16 oz Solo cups and label with Sharpie. After it's frozen, I put the pucks into a ziploc. You can heat up one serving at a time.
When DH has a day where I think he hasn't eaten enough calories, I make pudding - you know, the simple recipe with cornstarch. We also do rice pudding and tapioca.