I'm Going To Have To Make Myself Into A Personal Chef ~ And I'm Going To Need Help

kaneohegirlinaz

kaneohegirlinaz

Wannabe TV Chef
Joined
19 Nov 2021
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5,261
Location
Central/Northern AZ, gateway to The Grand Canyon
Website
mykitcheninthemiddleofthedesert.wordpress.com
You may have read the Caregivers Chat thread that my Mother had a bad fall a few weeks back.
She's not eating and DH & I feel that she's just not physically able at this point to deal with a frozen TV dinner type of meal.
Heat, lift the film, stir, recover, heat, wait 2 minutes, stir again and eat... too much for her.
Mom can't stand for more than a few minutes before the real pain kicks in.
As we talked more about her eating habits, we both commented that if I make her food or we all go out to eat at a restaurant that she likes, she gobbles down her food like she hasn't eaten in a week. She eats every, single, morsel! DH said that's because she doesn't have to do anything and she likes the food.

SO!

I've always wanted to be a Personal Chef, make fresh meals for folks and then just stash the prepared meals in their refrigerator for them to simply re-heat.
I have a few ideas for some ready-to-eat meals for Mom, but I'd love to get some ideas for our great Community.
I've already made a meal up for her from what we had for supper this evening:

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And I know she really wants a good salad.

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I have all sorts of containers that can be used to serve heated back up or cold meals.
I have or can get ingredients that will make meals that will encourage her to eat.
The simpler the better is what DH & I are thinking.
Mom can't seem to deal with even de-frosting something for later. Which is why I'm thinking of taking her fresh meals for about 5 days at a time, I'm there anyways!

Your ideas will be greatly appreciated.
 
Full meals, I'll have to think about a bit more. First idea would be nasi rames (mini rijsttafel on a plate).
But what I was going to suggest is to make big jars of pickles. They'll liven up every meal.
Good luck and I'm sure I'll come up with more, although most will be SE Asian slanted
 
kaneohegirlinaz said:
You may have read the Caregivers Chat thread that my Mother had a bad fall a few weeks back.
She's not eating and DH & I feel that she's just not physically able at this point to deal with a frozen TV dinner type of meal.
Heat, lift the film, stir, recover, heat, wait 2 minutes, stir again and eat... too much for her.
Mom can't stand for more than a few minutes before the real pain kicks in.
As we talked more about her eating habits, we both commented that if I make her food or we all go out to eat at a restaurant that she likes, she gobbles down her food like she hasn't eaten in a week. She eats every, single, morsel! DH said that's because she doesn't have to do anything and she likes the food.

SO!

I've always wanted to be a Personal Chef, make fresh meals for folks and then just stash the prepared meals in their refrigerator for them to simply re-heat.
I have a few ideas for some ready-to-eat meals for Mom, but I'd love to get some ideas for our great Community.
I've already made a meal up for her from what we had for supper this evening:

View attachment 99337

And I know she really wants a good salad.

View attachment 99338

I have all sorts of containers that can be used to serve heated back up or cold meals.
I have or can get ingredients that will make meals that will encourage her to eat.
The simpler the better is what DH & I are thinking.
Mom can't seem to deal with even de-frosting something for later. Which is why I'm thinking of taking her fresh meals for about 5 days at a time, I'm there anyways!

Your ideas will be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Are those silicone bowls? So cute. Where did you find them?

Homemade chicken soup. That stores well in the mason jars. You can make small containers of rice or noodles separately if she can handle adding noodles or rice to her bowl before heating in the microwave since they will get soggy otherwise.

6 Ways to Get Seniors with No Appetite to Eat – DailyCaring

Also how about a few boiled and peeled eggs? Just 2-3 at a time and dry them well so they don't get slimy. That's a highly nutritious snack.

Homemade macaroni and cheese? Layer chopped chicken and broccoli florets underneath in the dish for added nutrition.
 
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Beef stew or similar. Hamburger stroganoff, noodles can be mixed in, with a vegetable side. Salisbury steak with mashies and a vege.

My chicken and yellow rice with the chicken shrddded. It heats up in microwave just fine. Chicken in a white wine sauce with mushrooms and pearl onions over noodles. You could cut the chicken in chunks.

Chicken, shrimp or tuna salad. Crackers to go with.
 
kaneohegirlinaz said:
She's not eating and DH & I feel that she's just not physically able at this point to deal with a frozen TV dinner type of meal.
Heat, lift the film, stir, recover, heat, wait 2 minutes, stir again and eat... too much for her.
Click to expand...
I feel for you because that's what happened to my mum towards the end. She just didn't have the strength to open lids, jars, cellophane film, etc, so we had to make sure there was someone there to ensure she ate (which was also difficult because she was extremely fussy).
Trying to imagine things which will last 3/4 days in the fridge... Arroz con Pollo (chicken with rice) or something similar; chicken with some sort of gravy/sauce, perhaps a tomato-base or an Asian-inspired (soya, rice wine, teryaki type mixture with ginger, garlic); baked pasta dishes, like lasagna, cannelloni, mac & cheese; quiches or pies with pastry bases; hot pots. Fresh salads I'd make for a couple of days, but a potato/egg/beetroot type salad will last for 4/5 days no problem. Any fish I'd use on the first day, but you could do a Salade niçoise which will be fine for a couple of days. I made Nut Roast for my mum (because she was veggie) but meatloaf would work. Make sure she has plenty to drink / oldies seem to hate drinking! Good luck.
 
My father is in a similar shape and ADORES when I make him Sheppard's Pie in bulk.
Basically any kind of one pot meal that can go over rice, mashed potatoes or pasta works well with him, plus the carbs are good as he needs the energy and to put some weight back on.

All about the production line, then freezing and he pulls 2 or 3 at a time a day or 2 in advance to thaw in the fridge, nukes for 5 min, stirs and good to go.

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If you're going for fresh meals, keep in mind that in order to keep things safe you can't really keep meat for longer than 3 days. Vegetarian meals keep well for longer if they aren't salads. Is your mom capable of understanding when to eat a certain food if it's labelled?
Otherwise it might be better to avoid meat and fish unless you give it to her on the day of arrival.

As for what you can make, oven baked dishes are very good (lasagne, moussaka, sheperd's pie etc) , chilli con carne, curries and stir fries if your mom does like spicy food, soups and stews will also keep well. And you can prepare a batch of pancakes or similar for her to have an extra easy meal during the day.
 
Windigo said:
If you're going for fresh meals, keep in mind that in order to keep things safe you can't really keep meat for longer than 3 days. Vegetarian meals keep well for longer if they aren't salads. Is your mom capable of understanding when to eat a certain food if it's labelled?
Otherwise it might be better to avoid meat and fish unless you give it to her on the day of arrival.

As for what you can make, oven baked dishes are very good (lasagne, moussaka, sheperd's pie etc) , chilli con carne, curries and stir fries if your mom does like spicy food, soups and stews will also keep well. And you can prepare a batch of pancakes or similar for her to have an extra easy meal during the day.
Click to expand...
Ooh, pancakes! Yes.
 
There're already many good tipps. What makes things easy is to freeze everything and anything can be frozen except for fresh salads. There'll be some foods that don't work out good when frozen, but all stews, heavy salads (like egg or noodle salad), casseroles, some desserts, and meat cuts can be reheated.
Easy stuff for the microwave: goulash, meatloaf, pasta with sauce, chili con Carne, birilla, moussaka, Cole cannon, gratins

Easy stuff that can he eaten thawed, consider to put some extra protein inside, but watch the portion size as more protein makes it more vulnerable to spoil: eggsalad, beef salad, rice salad, pasta salad, cole slaw, any mixed salad with: corn, beans, lentils, celeriac, beets, blanched cabbages, parsley root, parsnip
 
PabloLerntKochen said:
There're already many good tipps. What makes things easy is to freeze everything and anything can be frozen except for fresh salads. There'll be some foods that don't work out good when frozen, but all stews, heavy salads (like egg or noodle salad), casseroles, some desserts, and meat cuts can be reheated.
Easy stuff for the microwave: goulash, meatloaf, pasta with sauce, chili con Carne, birilla, moussaka, Cole cannon, gratins

Easy stuff that can he eaten thawed, consider to put some extra protein inside, but watch the portion size as more protein makes it more vulnerable to spoil: eggsalad, beef salad, rice salad, pasta salad, cole slaw, any mixed salad with: corn, beans, lentils, celeriac, beets, blanched cabbages, parsley root, parsnip
Click to expand...
Yes, freezing is good but I didn't mention it because kaneohegirlinaz said her mother isn't able to defrost anything right now.

Mom can't seem to deal with even de-frosting something for later. Which is why I'm thinking of taking her fresh meals for about 5 days at a time, I'm there anyways!
Click to expand...
 
True, I understood that her mother just has trouble with a certain kind of frozen store brought ready made meals. But the food can still be frozen for making it easier to organize. If there’s a big freezer it can be filled when there’s time. Then our new private chef just has to thaw or reheat the food.
 
PabloLerntKochen said:
True, I understood that her mother just has trouble with a certain kind of frozen store brought ready made meals. But the food can still be frozen for making it easier to organize. If there’s a big freezer it can be filled when there’s time. Then our new private chef just has to thaw or reheat the food.
Click to expand...

Yes, with home cooked meals in plastic containers, you can pull them out of the freezer a day in advance, and let them thaw in the fridge. Then, it only takes a minute to heat them up in the microwave.

The only problem for people that age (like my mom) is remembering to take food out of the freezer a day in advance.

CD
 
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Bulk is the way to go. I make up 6 to 8 meals for my friend butchers church.
1.5 kg of mince or steak can .make 6 to 8 meals up. I freeze them.The church give out to.needy people . I do it twice a month.
I'm told the meals are amazing. I alternatively make a meal up for butcher from leftovers as well.
Home cooked is best

Russ
 
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