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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to ask for your 1 pot Freezable Meals - Meals on Wheels style!

56 replies

LittleOwl153 · 03/05/2019 10:42

So your receipies/ideas please for meals that I can freeze in 1 dish, to be reheated as it is. (Dont mind if they are made in more than 1 dish initially).

I have:

Shepards Pie / Cottage Pie
Fish Pie
Sausage and Mash
Corned Beef Hash

But this must be getting boring...

I have tried pasta - but I can't get that to heat up so it still tastes decent. I cant use anything 'spicy' (So curry etc are out)

My mother in Law is struggling, I need to set up food for her similar style to Meals on Wheels. She lives alone, doesnt eat more than a half ready meal sized portion a day, the physical effort of cooking is too much for her such that she just doesnt bother eating at all. I've put some shop bought ready meals in the freezer - split in half and this seems to have improved things - but this is expensive and not that healthy so now looking to alternatives for the longer term.

She does not qualify for any home help - we are too far away/work so cant visit daily. We will continue to look at alternatives on this front but need to get her eating in the meantime.

OP posts:
Londonmummy66 · 04/05/2019 20:03

I often stir the cooked rice into the protein I'm freezing - eg mince/stew/chilli/curry and rice stirred in together. Better then to reheat in the oven rather than microwave though.

You can freeze Spanish omelette - I often make mini ones in muffin tins that I freeze to put in the dc's lunch boxes. You can add cooked veg and protein to make them a bit more of a proper meal - eg cooked onion, broccoli, peas, chopped tomato and smoked salmon, bacon or cooked chicken - a good way to use up left overs.

IndigoHexagon · 04/05/2019 20:12

Something like this might help with freezing meals with more than one element without them mixing.... one dish to microwave.

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B071WKFKDK/ref=psdcmw_3313551031_t2_B075NG23CT?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

barberousbarbara · 04/05/2019 20:27

I use these for my Mom, who only eats small portions and isn't able to cook for herself anymore. They deliver to her and she pops them straight in the freezer. Their normal size meals are quite small but they also sell mini meals extra which are small but contain the same calories as a full size meal.

LittleOwl153 · 04/05/2019 21:56

@Elfers yes COPD is part of the battle here too.

To be honest I do wonder whether it is a waste of time. Went up there today and of the 14 meals I put in the freezer 17 days ago, more than half are still there. Along with most of the stuff I put in the fridge. (Salad bits, cherry Tom's etc, cheese slices, mini pork pies...) She isn't going shopping and ignoring it as the friend who used to take her said she hasn't been with them in weeks.

OP posts:
UCOinanOCG · 05/05/2019 09:09

We had an issue like this with my 91yo FIL. Filled his freezer with lovely meals but he didn't eat them. The effort was too much. He was losing weight rapidly, He agreed for us to sign him up for LA meals on wheels. He had to pay for this service but it was great. Once a day at lunchtime someone popped in with a hot meal and put it in front of him. He ate it straight out the foil tray and really enjoyed the meals. He is in a home now and gaining strength every day as he is now eating properly.

florascotia2 · 05/05/2019 10:17

When helping to care for a very elderly relative, I made and froze tiny portions of 'traditional' dishes such as beef or lamb stew, but with the pieces cut very small, and a little bit of leek rather than onion (it's more digestible) . Also mince - simply cooked - and, as you suggest, fish pie. I also made little pots of bland things such as parsley sauce or little pats of steamed spinach to go with a tiny piece of microwaved fish, but your relative might not be able to assemble those. Nutrition also came from petits filous, small helpings of yoghurt, rice pudding, baked custard, bread and butter pudding, pureed apples or apricots. Mashed swede and carrot with butter also provided calories. One nurse joked - and she was correct, in a way - 'add grated cheese to everything!' In other words, smuggle extra food value in where you can.

My aged relative was fond of soup and found it easy to handle, and would sometimes eat it with a quarter of a cheese or very mild ham sandwich (soft white bread, no crusts) or a little triangle of bread and butter. This sounds dreadful - and she would never have countenanced this when younger and well - but she sometimes would enjoy a little Heinz tinned pasta - spaghetti, ravioli, macaroni cheese etc. So perhaps the texture of frozen pasta would not be too much of a problem?

We found that salads or almost anything raw - except sliced banana and occasionally a few well-sugared berries - were not a good idea. My relative found the crisp texture hard to cope with, and also fiddly and difficult to eat. Peas were a bit of a struggle, too. Veg were mostly (as above) carrots, swede, parsnip, well-cooked broccoli mashed, spinach, a few green beans. I put celery as well as leeks in stews. In extremis, mashed potato, a few baked beans and grated cheese made a meal.

The PP who suggested children's meals had a good idea. My relative felt overwhelmed by a normal portion. They also really disliked Wiltshire Farm Foods, but they had been a good plain cook who used fresh ingredients and never really been fond of ready meals.

I also agree with PP who suggested fruit cake, gingerbread etc - anything soft textured that will store and can be cut into small slices. My relative liked madeira cake and lemon drizzle, too.

There are 'meals in a drink' - the brand I remember was called Fortisip but I expect there are others. They were prescribed by relative's GP. My relative did not like them but nutritionally, they're v. good.

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