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My 92-year-old mother has gastroparesis. She nearly died (was less than 85 lbs and ready to stop eating altogether) until we little by little found drinks and foods she could tolerate. She is now at 100 lbs and doing much better. She has passed out twice and this week was diagnosed with postprandial hypotension. She is very weak after eating, but can tolerate very little fiber or fat. Also has problems with lactose, fructose and artificial sweeteners. Has to have pureed or soft foods. That's the short list. I was making everything she ate, but I don't live nearby and would like to find foods that are easy for her or someone else to fix (has a part-time caregiver), especially foods for breakfast. Appreciate any suggestions, but would especially appreciate pre-packaged or foods that are easy to fix.

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Does she like drinkable yogurt? I have gastro pareses and it's something I can handle. Rice pudding? Boost or Ensure? I add them to smoothie's. Just some thoughts.... take care
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SIngle serve oatmeal that comes in little round containers and only need boiling water could be a good choice. After adding water it should sit for 15 minutes once stirred. If tolerable a little milk could be added at the end.
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Learn2Cope: A friend serves blenderized foods to her littles. Quite a lot of foodstuffs can be blended. Perhaps your mother can benefit from same. Maybe your mother needs to see her gastroenterologist. As her stomach muscles are unable to work properly and the fact that it takes some amount of energy to eat, it's no wonder she is weak after doing so. Ergo, the postprandial hypotension is making her blood pressure plummet after a meal. Another specialist should be addressing that. Plummeting blood pressure = loss of consciousness.
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Limit simple sugars and simple carbohydrates. Keep complex carbohydrates ike brown rice, oats/oatmeal, quinoa. Don't rely on baby foods b/c they have too much fructose and simple sugars and FODMAP and Histmine-triggers. Avoid fruits and vegetables on the "high FODMAP' list. Lean meats. Prepairing ahead and freezing portions might be worth the trouble. Most pre-packaged foods are going to have ingredients that trigger problems. You may have to avoid all dairy: cheese, yogurt and eggs. I speak from my own kitchen. I struggle with these issues myself, Breakfast is actually my most successful combination: brown rice,/"ovenight" oats/quinoa and a spoon or two of very specific protein powders: I can only tolerate Collagen, Glucosamine and hemp powders. (Avoid whey, eggwhite powders and pea protein.)
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Thank you all for your suggestions and welcome any others that someone might add. After what we went through a year-and-a-half ago, this latest diagnosis hit me like a brick. I felt like I had inched my way up a mountain and then someone just threw me back to the bottom. But I have had time to pause, regroup, and give myself a talking-to. There will be times I feel like I can't do this anymore. But right now I feel like little by little I will find things to help just like I did before.
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Llamalover47 May 21, 2023
Learn2Cope: Thank you for your post.
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Top Chef Meals for Seniors. They have a tab for Special Diets
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Dear Learn, Breakfast ideas that come to mind are instant hot cereals such as grits or cream of wheat. They are low fat, low fiber and easy to make. Your mother might even like the warm breakfast. The unflavored may be the best option, then add whatever toppings your mother likes and tolerates (lactose free milk, sweetener she tolerates, pureed fruit she tolerates, etc.)

I think making dinners in bulk and freezing them is a great idea. I did this for my M-I-L using divided, microwavable, plastic lunch containers from the grocery. I purchased several packs and told her to save them, and I would pick them up and reuse them (Homemade Meals-on-Wheels.) I label the meals with tape, so she knew from what she had to choose.

You may also want to meet with a dietitian (doctor can refer you) to see what other options you can feed your mother. Has the doctor tried some medications to treat the gastroparesis? Wishing you the best.
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Learn2Cope May 20, 2023
For quite a while I was I was preparing and freezing all of her food for her. She has vision problems and I got pretty creative at putting each food in distinctive containers to make it easier to tell them apart. Then I would take a picture of the contents of the freezer, refrigerator, and kitchen cabinets. If she forgot where something was, I would pull up the picture and tell her where it was. Actually, I still do that.
Local dietitian is nice, but not very helpful for my mom. Her doctor? Sum total of her advice: "Eat small meals." She was hardly eating anything at the time. My mom responded: How long do I have to live? The doctor said: "You don't have to die - you can go on a feeding tube." Didn't even hand us a sheet with a suggested diet. I went to work on researching foods and trying things. Right now when she is having problems we are trying to determine if it is her gastrointestinal problems or this latest diagnosis.
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Just wondering if some of the infant foods and toddler foods would work. I have seen some recently that are "organic" and there are some that are "plant based"
I would like to think that they have no artificial sweeteners and limited, if any other sweeteners.
I am not one to typically suggest baby food but if this would help your mom then it might be worth a try. The other advantage is they are small portions so it would be easy to have several throughout the day without having to worry about food sitting out.
If you visit on a regular basis if you can make meals, puree them and freeze in zip top bags or vacuum sealed bags in single serving portions. Lay flat to freeze they would be easy to grab and fast to thaw.
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Learn2Cope May 20, 2023
Baby food has been a staple in her diet, especially those in pouches. Even there, apple juice and applesauce are a frequent ingredient, a little high in fructose for her. Amazing high in sugar some of these foods are. But I do need to go back and look at some of the other toddler foods we have tried in the past. Might be a good option in the mornings, either alone or with something else. For quite some time I cooked all her food and froze in individual portions. Pureed many foods and then used "baby food trays". They are like ice cube trays with larger portions. Then I would pop them out and put them in a zip lock freezer bag.
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A caregiver on here gave her mother applesauce and jello in snack cups.
Always available when there is not something to eat or cook.
I even keep them on hand. If I go too long without eating, I cannot concentrate to prepare something, so I grab one from the refrigerator and eat.
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This is a very restrictive diet. You can look to see if there is a chefsforseniors chef near her who might be able to help you. The chef will consult if this is feasible
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