Meals for elderly

[wednamenov]

I'm visiting an elderly relative and I want to stock her freezer with easy to defrost single portion items. All from Lidl.

We don't think she eats on her own. She's very unsteady so cooking is difficult. She does get meals on wheels but we think she tries to make them go further than they should. So emphasis is on easy single portions.

So far I'm making batches of soup but I'm only here for two days so I need to think about getting ready made stuff in. There's a Lidl near by which is easiest for me to get to.

She says their ready meals are too big for her.

I've bought chicken and mushroom slices, and pepper steak slices (I plan to freeze these in individual freezer bags). I've got a bag of madeleines and pain au chocolate (can these be frozen in the individually sealed bags they already come in)?Just for occasional treats.

Any other suggestions very welcome.

Has she has a social services assessment? They might be able to to provide a carer to at least assist with 1 meal a day. What do you mean she doesn't eat on her own? You don't think she eats if you aren't there???

Have you actually watched her cook? Turn the oven on/microwave, heat things to the correct temp, turn it off etc. She could do with the OT assessment too. I wouldn't consider mushroom or steak slice a healthy meal!

Have you looked at Wiltshire farm foods? They offer smaller meals for little eaters. There is also parsley box which don't even need freezing. They both provide more rounded meals than pastries.

The Full Range of Meals & Desserts (wiltshirefarmfoods.com)

Parsley Box - Homepage

I don't shop at Lidl, so can't be specific.

If you have takeaway/ freezer safe boxes, you could split the ready meals into 2. Perhaps bulk up with a little extra veg/ carb if half a meal is too small. Or she could just plate up half a cold meal and then heat in microwave - no need to heat the whole meal.

The pain au chocolate will freeze within their individual bags, but just be aware that they might be more susceptible to freezer burn if frozen for a long time. 30 seconds in the microwave from frozen would probably be about right to defrost one.

I didn't realise Wiltshire were so expensive. Looks like £5.59 for a ready meal? I know they are popular, but is that not quite expensive?

Can you order her an online weekly shop to be delivered? Sainsbury's used to have a scheme for the elderly I'm not sure if they still do.

Would a take away delivery daily be cheaper than meals on wheels? Get a deliveroo type service and order for her. You can do a daily check in with her when you order it for her too.

Tesco have some shelf stable meals that are little portions, there is a little chicken casserole, not sure what else.

Meant to say they are near the pot noodles and things like that. Sorry, not Aldi

I wonder, OP, if you're being a little optimistic about her actually taking them out of the freezer, defrosting them, then heating them up?

I would also be more inclined to go with meals that have veg in them, like a chicken/lamb/beef dinner. However they'll be more difficult for her.

It's important that she has some roughage otherwise she could end up with diarrhoea or constipation (or alternate between the two).

An occupational health assessment is a great idea. If she's not keen it can be framed as one of the local nurses popping round just to double check she's fine.

I wonder if she's managing quite poorly but doesn't want to admit it. Occupational health have all sorts of non intrusive equipment that can help.

I used to buy the kids' ready meals by Little Dish sometimes when I wanted a small meal for lunch at work. I think they're about £3 from Sainsburys (maybe other shops stock them too, or something else similar.)
Otherwise I would just make things like a cottage pie / fish pie / lasagne and portion it up into small servings to put in her freezer.

She's very unsteady so cooking is difficult.
Get her assessed. Im disabled and I've ve been offered a stool so I can sit while cooking or washing up. They can assess her bathroom needs etc too, such as grab bars for getting in/out bath or the front door. Lots of little things that can make her life a lot easier that able bodied people don't even think of (like special tin/ring pull openers).

I know you can get individual portion of frozen vegetables in a fourpack that can be reheated in a microwave, perhaps lidl does the same, it has peas, carrots and broccoli in it. (Actually there are loads of different ones, check your store!!)

https://groceries.asda.com/aisle/frozen-food/vegetables/frozen-steam-bags/1215338621416-1215338747117-1215685961786

EDIT. Tonight I've had a frozen cod in butter sauce portion with one of those frozen veg pouches, very easy and quick to do if she has a decent microwave. Very filling.

ByRuby do excellent frozen meals.

M & S do some smaller portion sized meals and good price too, a lot cheaper than Wiltshire foods. I have them and a bag of the steam fresh veg really tasty meals.

Here’s a couple for an example. You can get them delivered from Ocado too

Lasagna, if necessary split in to 2 small portions with garlic bread.

I’d get some of the ready made tuna salads that can sit in the cupboard too. They aren’t too big and don’t need heating.

I also have pukka pies with cauliflower cheese. You could swap the pies for the M & S lidded steak pie (much less pastry).

Also look at salmon steaks you can microwave,

One thing my mum loved (especially when she wasn’t eating much in her later years), were the individual jelly pots. I appreciate they aren’t a meal in any shape or form, but they are nice for a wee treat and keeping them hydrated. I also bought the fresh soup cartons and froze portions in little tubs so they were easy to microwave. The trick is to make it easy but nice.

I find that splitting ready meals into 2 portions before freezing works for my elderly mum as she always says they’re too big.

my Mum loved mashed potato - especially with cheese.

You may need to be very careful with the meals on wheels if she's storing them.

I would get her some small packets of biscuits (border do ones with 2 biscuits in), kitkats, bags of crisps/crackers, fun size chocolate bars and leave it somewhere close to her chair so she's always got something really easy to eat... any calories are a bonus. You can also get high calorie drinks like a milkshake (Ensure type) to have at hand.

Can you get a SS assessment re a care visit at meal times? And another good check may be with a dentist... sometimes it's difficult to chew and that hampers eating.

When my Mum's dementia began to get worse, she had increasing difficulty in managing use by dates, and got very confused with heating frozen food from the freezer or fresh ready meals from the fridge. She had meals on wheels at lunchtime, and for the last couple of years she was at home, I bought her the long life ready meals from Parsley Box for her evening meal, which made life so much easier. The meals don't need any refrigeration, and everything cooks in the microwave in about 2 minutes. There was quite a good selection of different types of ready meals, and they seemed to be expanding their range all the time. It was a couple of years ago since I last bought the meals, but from what I remember, they were more balanced nutritionally than most supermarket ready meals, and the portions were small enough that they weren't daunting for older people with diminishing appetites. The Parsley Box customer service was excellent, and everything arrived within a couple of days.

The M&S mini meals were brilliant for us. If you're worried about getting enough calories in, the M&S fresh porridge is delicious and calorific for its size, as are mini magnums, individually wrapped cakes (or the two slice Mr Kipling packs eg Angel slices, Lemon slices), individual tubs of mousse or trifle, and a box of chocolates left lying around always seemed to disappear!

Tins of big soup are quick and easy. Also rice pudding or custard pots as an extra for easy extra calories

I know people think M&S is expensive but it is popular with older people because they have a great range of fresh ping meals that cost £2.50 or perhaps now £2.75 for inflation.

And single serve veg bags that go into the micro to be steamed for like 75p

You could replicate the m&s meals by making massive portions of mash, boiled then browned sausages, loads of cooked mince, pork chops, roasted potatoes etc and make your own freezer meals and buy the takeaways cartons etc.

But honestly I would check the out the M&S single meal range, it’s usually on the end of an aisle of the fresh ping meal section and is really cheap

While you’re there please check out her ability to read and understand the instructions and then follow them to cook the food. As well as how safely she can get the food in and out of the microwave / oven and then carry it to a table.

Thanks for all the responses. To clarify ...

Her 3 sons are all in the USA but each phone every day. They all adore her and are heartbroken they can't do more.

I live in Scotland - my aunt is in Ireland, on her own. Very very lonely.

She has a carer who pops in once a day to help

No dementia - sharp as a tack

Very frail and often poorly. The loveliest lady. Proud too.

Has a walker and a flat kitted out with things to help her.

She gets meals on wheels - not sure how often

The meals was a concern raised by her sons before I came. They think she doesn't eat anything for breakfast or dinner because of the effort. They also think she eats a bit of the meals on wheels and then another bit the next day. She is very thin.

She has fruit and veg delivered, but sons noted she's only interested in fruit (again they think cooking is an issue).

So I'm flat freezing single portions of homemade soup and will suggest she takes out one the night before to defrost and just reheat in the microwave. I don't actually know if there is an M&S here. If there is I'll check it out. Soup because it's quick and I can get a lot in the freezer. She seems thrilled by the idea.

So I wondered what else I could do.

Lidl madeleines and pain au chocolate come ready wrapped (if they can be frozen in those wrappers) and would be a treat with a cup of tea.