What foods can I fix for my Mother?

My Mom's doctor suggested that I supplement her meals with "Boost" nutrition drink. I get the high protein version and she likes it so much that she's gaining weight!

For meals, try scrambled eggs. You can add chopped vegetables and meat so it's like an omelet which my Mom loves. Very nutritious and packed with protein. I know it sounds kind of "yuk" but would your mom eat canned pastas? There are some great ones in the freezer section which can be kind of mashed up or the good ol' standby - Chef Boyardee. It's enriched for kids and is easy to chew. Could she chew up soft bread? A crustless tuna salad sandwich is something my Mom craves from time to time and generally she loves to eat things she used to cook for us. Chicken gumbo made with shredded, well-cooked chicken, spaghetti with meat sauce, chili, broiled fish (finely shredded), etc. Sometimes the familiarity of her own recipes seems to improve her appetite.

I'm sorry you're faced with trying to tempt your mom to eat. It must be very exhausting and depressing. I hope you find things she really loves to eat and can chew.

I too am having a difficult time getting my Mom to eat, nothing tastes good to her. She has been diagnosed with Gastroparesis, Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I was responsible for all the meals for my mom, who is 88 now, and in respite care. My mom loves to eat, I think it's one of the few pleasures in life left to her.

For breakfast, she loved hot oatmeal with fresh fruit...I cut the fruit into tiny bits, so that she could easily chew and swallow. I cut up strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and bananas and topped the oatmeal with it. Then I added a little honey and whipped cream on top...she insisted on having it every morning, she loved it so much. Also, salads. I used romaine, and added tiny chopped bacon, all sorts of different veggies, and I sprinkled it with crushed ritz crackers. The salad was cut up so tiny when I was done it was almost like a 'salad soup' when the dressing was added. She sucked it down like a hoover. Pasta, it's soft. She loves mac and cheese, and chicken alfredo, also cut up very tiny for easy swallowing. Yogurt. Milkshakes. Fruit Smoothies. All were well accepted. Soups are a good one, and chowders. I make homemade soup and chowder, and it's delicious and easy for mom to eat. Fruit salad, easily made at home, chopped very tiny, and very refreshing on a hot day. Top it with some whipped cream. When I'd make a sandwich for mom, it was always a hot one, then I'd squash it flat, and cut it into very small pieces. She loved it. Rice and gravy, with very small, soft bits of chicken or beef. Any bread I gave her with the meal, I made sure was soaked in gravy to make it soft. Eggs, with a little cheese and some chives. Delicious and soft, easy to swallow.

I simply got creative. I love to cook anyway, so that wasn't a chore at all, and I enjoyed being inventive. My mom is diabetic, and I said the hell with it at her age. I did give her sweets on occasion...she especially loved a small slice of cheesecake drizzled with chocolate sauce, and soft baked oatmeal cookies. At her age, 88, with so few pleasures left, the hell with the sugar. Her sugar levels were always within range anyway, sugar or no sugar.

Hope this helps a little. Any food that you eat, they can eat, provided it's just cut up very small and is easy to chew and swallow. Oh, and fish! My mom loves fish, and fish is very soft, too.