I try to let my live-with-me Mom be as independent as possible but she has impaired vision (large blind spots) and constantly puts very little food on her plate. For example, she stops filling her cereal bowl when it is only 1/4 full. Same with putting water in her glass - stops at about half full. Ditto any food that needs spooning from a container. I prepare her morning oatmeal and all dinners, but lunch can be an issue.
I've suggested many times that she feel the plate/bowl/glass or even count spoonfuls but she either forgets or just won't. I love things like bananas and peaches and foods that are already single serving.
Any tips for frugal food prep so she can get her own lunch?
One less thing to worry about! :)
It is possible she needs less food than I expect. We'll find out.
Thank you! The forum here is so helpful!
And while I do give her good sized portions at dinner, she won't clean her plate just because there is food on it. If she feels full, she stops eating (but always has room for dessert!)
I like the water bottle idea and cereal idea for the few times she has cereal.
I just get so worried she won't eat enough! We have a doc appointment next week so I'll be able to share my worries then.
One approach might be to make breakfast a little more substantial, be sure there is an afternoon snack, make her dinner portions a little larger, and just don't worry about a light lunch.
Buying food in single-serving containers is another approach, but not necessarily frugal. Re-packaging food into single servings is also possible, at least for some food. If you buy a package of Cheerios and divide it up into bowl-size amounts in baggies then Mom only has to pull a baggie out of the box and put it into her bowl. Get Mom a couple of re-useable water bottles in a good size for her. Fill them and have them in the fridge. You can tell Mom to use those instead of filling a glass because then her water is nice and cold. You can divide soup into microwavable bowls with covers.
I think a combination of pre-packaging her lunch items and also increasing food at other meals should take care of your concerns on this topic.
Good luck.