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Elderly parents
Original poster

Making nutritious calorific food - sweet or liquid!

40 replies

loveyouradvice · 26/04/2019 16:00

Hi my 82 year old Mum is now just drinking iced coffee and eating cakes/puddings, with occasional quiche - unless she is with one of us when she will sometimes eat a savoury meal, but often not.

She has lost a shocking amount of weight and just forgets to eat, thinking its normal not to eat much at her age. Her mother was tiny.

I've realised I need to start making more food to deliver.to her rather than sending Ocado as I don't think she is getting the nutrients - we can get to her twice a week.

Any thoughts on quick and easy and very nutritious sweet food that lasts for 3 days? I've put my initial ideas in the next post and would love some more?

OP posts:
MotherForkinShirtBalls · 26/04/2019 17:00

Would she drink eg horlicks or complan?

AnnaMagnani · 26/04/2019 16:53

Are you sure she doesn't have an underlying health problem? Loss of appetite is often a sign of something else.

woodcutbirds · 26/04/2019 16:48

Sorry that should read 180 not 150.

woodcutbirds · 26/04/2019 16:48

Hi
My sympathy.
Make a rich cake batter with lots of eggs and a mix of soya and almond flours to replace the wheatflour, as they are higher calorie with more protein. Then add cream or bitter icing and strawberry jam if she likes sponge, or stir in melted chocolate and top with chocolate fudge spread (melted chocolate stirred into condensed milk) if she likes chocolate cake.

Recipe:
75g ground almonds
75g soya flour
50g self raising flour
150g sugar
150g butter
4 eggs
1 heaped teaspoon of baking powder
almond or vanilla essence

beat sugar and butter together, add beaten egg, add flours and flavourings. If batter needs loosening, add a tablespoon of single cream.
Bake slowly in oven at 150 for 40 mins to 1 hour in a greased tin lined with baking parchment

Fairylea · 26/04/2019 16:46

I know this is not what you’re asking but would it be worth a check up and blood test to check there’s nothing treatable going on? Losing weight like that might be a symptom of something else.

Alicecooperslovechild · 26/04/2019 16:43

Also, Esure drinks (my mum's are prescribed but you can buy too). They are long life milk shakes in various flavours designed for those that don't really eat.

Alicecooperslovechild · 26/04/2019 16:41

Be careful on the mousse - uncooked eggs aren't great for the elderly.

Apple cake, banana cake etc - anything with fruit in it.
Trifle?
Proper old fashioned fruit cake?
A sweet potato based soup?

Good luck with it all, my parents are similar and it's very difficult.

OlderAndMaybeWiser · 26/04/2019 16:23

How about finding a recipe for cakes that contain sweet potato/avocado/beetroot etc. There is many ways of making chocolate cake with these things in and you don't actually taste the vegetables- just tastes like a really rich cake! Lemon and courgette is another.

Makes things a bit more nutritious than sugar etc. And sweet potato and avocado in particular are high calorie.

Original poster
loveyouradvice · 26/04/2019 16:17

Yup I've started tipping the double cream into things - not something I've ever done before being a bit on the round side.

Mmmm - banana custard, great idea - and she used to love rice pudding

OP posts:
hatgirl · 26/04/2019 16:12

Use double cream in things like soups etc

Things like nut butters on crackers or toast or oatcakes

Protein based drinks used by athletes body builders

SaveThePangolin · 26/04/2019 16:09

Also, sliced up bananas in hot or cold custard. Rice pudding. Sliced up strawberries sprinkled with sugar so they go a little syrupy.

SaveThePangolin · 26/04/2019 16:04

My elderly mum used to like those thick milkshakes you get in bottles, and also thick and creamy yoghurt, which she'd never liked in her life! I think they were quite soothing.

BogglesGoggles · 26/04/2019 16:03

Check out Keto cake recipes. They tend to have a good amount of prodtrin.

Original poster
loveyouradvice · 26/04/2019 16:02

Oh - and am I missing out any food group that's obvious and really matters???

OP posts:
Original poster
loveyouradvice · 26/04/2019 16:02

This is what I'm thinking so far:

I'm planning to make decaf iced coffee with organic milk as we realise she may be getting dizzy from drinking 4-6 of the supermarket cartons a day now.

And then cheesecake, and chocolate mousse, to get both calories and nutrition into her - ie eggs! Fruit crumbles and tarts go down well, as does banana bread or almond cake. And she loved a stem ginger/cream/yogourt concoction I made for her this week.

I think I'm looking at dairy - eggs - nuts - some fruit - and possibly just possibly some cold veggie soups now that summer is here: she used to love them - Plus a daily vitamin tablet.

Not a great diet but not sure I can do more.

So two questions:

  1. Great food you make for sweet-toothed parents, especially highly nutritious or quick to make?
  2. Other ideas - and what you've done in a similar situation
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