Looking for food prep tips - Mom has trouble measuring things like cereal in a bowl, water in her glass, etc.

When she finishs the small amount she has served herself, does she serve herself more? Is the real issue here that she is not eating enough for lunch?

One approach might be to make breakfast a little more substantial, be sure there is an afternoon snack, make her dinner portions a little larger, and just don't worry about a light lunch.

Buying food in single-serving containers is another approach, but not necessarily frugal. Re-packaging food into single servings is also possible, at least for some food. If you buy a package of Cheerios and divide it up into bowl-size amounts in baggies then Mom only has to pull a baggie out of the box and put it into her bowl. Get Mom a couple of re-useable water bottles in a good size for her. Fill them and have them in the fridge. You can tell Mom to use those instead of filling a glass because then her water is nice and cold. You can divide soup into microwavable bowls with covers.

I think a combination of pre-packaging her lunch items and also increasing food at other meals should take care of your concerns on this topic.

Good luck.

Well, I am a little concerned she isn't eating enough for lunch, yes. She almost always has oatmeal for breakfast, which I prepare and she heats up when she gets up (I get up much earlier than she does). I prepare a serving and a half of oatmeal.

And while I do give her good sized portions at dinner, she won't clean her plate just because there is food on it. If she feels full, she stops eating (but always has room for dessert!)

I like the water bottle idea and cereal idea for the few times she has cereal.

I just get so worried she won't eat enough! We have a doc appointment next week so I'll be able to share my worries then.

Yes, share your worries with the doctor. Is she losing weight? Is there any other evidence of insufficient food intake? I would think if she ate too little a lunch she would want to eat more for dinner. Maybe what she needs overall is less than you expect.

Just a thought, can you make a sandwich and leave it covered in the frig? How about a cottage cheese and fruit plate, all cut and ready to eat. Containers of yogurt are readily available. And for cost effectiveness, you can make a portion of pudding or yogurt from the larger packages.

I think she would like the cottage cheese and fruit plate. She loves that. Not sure about sandwhiches but I'll think about those.

It is possible she needs less food than I expect. We'll find out.

Thank you! The forum here is so helpful!

Just to update, we went to the doctor Wednesday and Mom is doing fine. She even gained 5 pounds in the past 3 months which was good news to me. We dicussed fluid intake to avoid dehydration and even that seems to be at the right amount for her.

One less thing to worry about! :)