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My Father and his wife are both over 80 years old (89 & 86) respectively.
They called me a couple of days ago that they were in need of us children assisting with meals, it was very hard for my father to say this, I know him. So I know they are in need. There are five children that live about 20 minutes from them. I just want to do my part to help them. "Meals on Wheels" delivers their lunch, so that is not an option. They don't really like that food anyway.
Both get around slowly. Mom is hunched over due to back surgery some years past and sleeps most of the time. Dad has diabetes and is having issues, he sees a Dr. for Renal care, and walks with a cane. The kitchen is available for reheating food stuff. Oven and microwave.


What types of foods are easiest to prepare, nutritious, and won't be a cost burden?

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On a farm, we have a lot of freezer space and long trips to shops. I freeze cooked rice, pasta or noodles in small plastic containers, freeze the additions (curry, stirfry veges etc) in separate containers, and keep the freezer stocked with bags of frozen peas, corn, and baby beans. Between shopping trips, I can choose very different meals by combining what we feel like at the time. If your parents are capable with the microwave, something along these lines might be a step between cooking and full frozen meals. You and siblings could provide the cooked bits, and it’s worth buying a small freezer if needed.
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Choose one main item, e.g. a Rotisserie chicken that they can be used for several meals - chicken and rice, chicken pot pie, chicken salad and chicken soup. Or use ground beef and do likewise. Make it EASY.
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I do meal prep for us on Sunday for the week. If it’s a week I’m making meatloaf or another freezer friendly meal I make two and freeze one. Comes the week I’m away or I’ve got a lot going on my family can plan on one of those meals. I always plan on extra so I have leftovers for lunch but that could easily be dropped off for Mom & Dad for the next day. When my mother was in her last year I’d be there for the weekend and do her shopping. On Sunday I roasted a chicken and then during the week she and my Aunt would get several dinner meals out of it. One night was just the left over chicken, potatoes and veggies. Another night they cut up some of the meat and had creamed chicken & peas over rice by warming the meat and pea up in the microwave in cream of chicken soup.

I know the kidney diet is strict about what can and can’t be had. Make sure everyone contributing has a copy of the list.
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How about initiating a sign up sheet where everyone could take a turn providing a meal? If there are adult grandchildren perhaps get them involved as well. You can even buy compartmentalized plates for the meals. If you all are too stressed or not chefs perhaps a meal service that you all chip into? There are also meal services through local churches or the area agency on Aging but many seniors as you have learned dislike them. Casseroles, stews,soups are good options. Preparing their favorites is a good idea as well.
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I make egg muffins, hot dishes, and meats for my mom. I put hot dishes in small single serving plastic containers and freeze. I also use a larger size container with 3 partitions and a lid for some meats, mashed potatoes, and vegetables (tv dinners) and these can be frozen. It works well and she loves it.
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When you all prepare your evening meals make an extra 2 or 4 portions and freeze them. If each sibling does this just 1 or 2 nights a week that is a lot of extra meals that you can bring them. All they would have to do is microwave their dinner.
When you visit bring fresh fruit with you that can easily be added to their daily meals.
I used to make a LOT of soup and I would freeze the soup in 2 cup portions (I used Ball or Mason jars) very easy to thaw and heat up soup. As my Husband needed food pureed and thickened it was super easy to process his portion. Adding extra veggies meant I did not have to use a commercial thickener soup and stew was thickened by the veggies.

I did find that making lasagna was another easy one to do. Rather than making my lasagna in a 13X9 pan I lined 3 loaf pans with plastic wrap then I would lay 1 noodle in each pan and go from there. Once made I would pop the pan in the freezer. When it was frozen I would remove the lasagna from the pan, wrap it in foil and put it back in the freezer. When it was tome to have lasagna I wold unwrap and put it in the loaf pan and thaw over night or I would pop it in the oven and bake. Baking from frozen added about 30 minutes to the bake time.
The loaf pan size lasagna was just enough for the 2 of us.
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NeedHelpWithMom Feb 2020
So smart to use loaf pan for lasagna! Great tip!
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We cooked for my inlaws for 2 years before they moved to independent living. We bought plastic storage containers and made things like stew, soup, meatballs etc and packaged enough for the 2 of them for one meal.
They still made breakfast; he ate oatmeal and she liked cold cereal. They never asked for help from us; I just realized that they were not cooking, and were eating out and then eating the leftover restaurant food for a couple days. it was a gradual thing but it got to where her dementia was so bad they could not go into restaurants so they started to fast food, and mostly drive thru. But what we did not realize when they got to this point, there was a lot of other stuff that was being mismanaged despite what my FIL said. Medications were not handled properly and doctor's instructions were ignored or they just did not admit to the doctor what was really going on. So it is great that you and your siblings can help with the meals but I would suggest you get very nosy and stay looking at other issues. If someone is not going to the doctor with them, it is time to start and make sure they fill out the HIPAA form at the MD so you can f/u with MD if you are not able to attend. I think you will be surprised what you find. This whole "food thing" is often the tip of the iceberg, as we discovered.
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One of the things you can do is join one of the food companies that prepare the food already all you have to do is pop it in the oven think it’s called hello fresh the food is already paired put an individual serving trays and all you have to do is either microwave it or put in the oven. I heard it’s great food and it covers the food triangle
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TXGirl82 Feb 2020
The OP might also look into Schwann's. They deliver.
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Please read labels if you decide to buy prepared foods. The sodium and sugar levels can be very high. Sugar levels on some yogurt brands are as high as if you’re eating candy! I like Siggi’s yogurt, low grams and it’s creamy and delicious!

I love yogurt and fresh fruit for breakfast. You can buy lower sugar yogurt and cereal as snacks for them. When my husband travels for work and I don’t feel like cooking I will eat breakfast for dinner!

Soups are not hard to cook and have much lower sodium than canned soup. Stews are great too. I find that a lot of older people like basic food. They like the simple foods of their youth, not frou-frou gourmet items.
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jacobsonbob Feb 2020
I eat yogurt every day, and I like the "plain" fat-free type that doesn't have the added sugar. The flavored types tend to be too sweet--undoubtedly because the manufacturers add sugar or another sweetener.
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Delivery services such as Mom’s Meals have a wide variety including diet specific choices for diabetics, renal patients and more. They arrive frozen and can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 14 days. They deliver all across the country and have a number of different plans to choose from. Just an idea.
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Why not just get frozen food? These aren't the TV dinners from 50 years ago. Although you can still get those if you want. There are many delicious healthy options to suit any palate. Just load up their fridge every week and then they can microwave them when they are hungry. Look for sales and it's pretty cheap. I stocked up on a bunch of stuff at the dollar store for a $1 that sells for $4-$5 at the supermarket. That stuff ranged from guilty pleasure, bacon crusted turkey, to super healthy vegan bowls.
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CarolAlt Feb 2020
Just remember to read the nutritional values on packages. Most grocery store frozen meals are loaded with sodium or don’t meet other criteria caloric restrictions (ie. sugars, carbs).
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Smithson:

You can buy many tasty shelf stable pre-cooked prepared meals at Walmart, Costco, Amazon, or other similar stores.

These shelf stable foods do not even need to be refrigerated.

Some of the brand names of these products are: Ready meals, by K&J meats, Compleats by Hormel, Healthwise, turkey chilli, Ready meals by PACE, Barilla italian style entres, Prego ready meals, etc.

The shelf stable meals are fully cooked and can be eaten at room temperature or heated in a microwave.
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There are many choices in the frozen food aisle of your local food market. I eat quite a few of them myself, I especially like the Healthy Choice ones. Pop it in the microwave and eat, toss the container and I am good.
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Doesn’t MOW provide dinner as well? In my experience they deliver 2 meals a day - lunch and dinner. I would check and ask them to provide both.
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BBS2019 Feb 2020
Our local MOW will deliver a hot lunch and a frozen dinner for later.

Given the diabetes and renal issues, MOW may be the best answer since they have diets for diabetics/renal patients. Frozen stuff from the supermarket may not be foods they can eat due to health issues.
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As mentioned, crockpot cooked meals are perfect as they can be frozen and reheated without destroying the flavor or texture. As a bonus, the cooking process tenderizes the meat so everything is easy to chew. There are tons of recipes available online. Just about any combination of meat and vegetables with some seasoning and you have several meals for the week. Be cautious using too many prepackaged meals. They are generally high in sodium and carbs which is not good for your dad’s renal problems and diabetes. Hoping this all works out!
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The simplest is to just make more of whatever you are having for yourself, then plate up the extras for them. If you are freezing for later I have the most success with all in one dishes like stews, hearty soups, shepherds pie, chili etc in single serving containers.
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NeedHelpWithMom Feb 2020
Yum!
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We used to prepare meals for my mother when she was still at home and semi-independent. We bought plastic containers with dividers so we could put a complete meal in one container. She could then put what she wanted on a plate and heat it in the microwave. Hopefully all your siblings will take turns so it doesn't fall on one or 2 people.

One of the items we found handy to buy were prepackaged and pre-cooked meals in the grocery store. I cook from scratch so I thought some of those would be disgusting but they were surprisingly not. Hormel has containers with beef stew, chicken, turkey and dressing/mashed potatoes, noodle dishes, etc. already in one package. We'd throw a vegetable with it and you had a well rounded meal. Also, when cooking for yourself, make extra for your parents. Many things can be cooked ahead of time and frozen for later. We even had containers for breakfast items. Scrambled eggs can be reheated. Boiled eggs are good for any meal. You really just have to get creative but if everyone pitches in, it won't be too time consuming to handle.
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You’re a wonderful son to be so thoughtful to your parents.

What about something simple like a roasted chicken and veggies? Do you know how to make a vegetable soup? Soup and salad is easy.

Maybe a meatloaf with side dishes. Do you have a crockpot? A pork roast is delicious in a crockpot. Soups cook nicely in a crockpot as well.

I would package them up in individual servings for them to make it convenient. Best wishes to you and your family.
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Isthisrealyreal Feb 2020
But no noodles in the crockpot.
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