My MIL will not eat meat. She says she's a vegetarian but won't eat veggies! I don't think she even knows the difference. Any recipe ideas?

Your MIL has ALZ/dementia and therefore, is likely confused by what constitutes being a 'vegetarian', especially since she's refusing to eat vegetables. My suggestion to you is not to drive yourself crazy with this. Offer the woman a variety of different foods with many SWEET tasting options, since dementia patients most often lose their taste for anything BUT sweet tasting foods: yoghurt, ice cream, jello, puddings, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, bite sized foods such as cheese & crackers, grapes, fresh orange slices, watermelon chunks, melon chunks, milkshakes, fruit smoothies with protein powder thrown in, etc. Offer her small bites/meals 6x a day vs. large meals 3x a day. See how that works. Elders esp with dementia lose their desire for large meals, especially when a big plate is put in front of them. I wouldn't worry too much about 'nutrition' at this point, but about getting SOME food into her body; that's more important than 'what' food she puts into her body. Some food is better than no food, marginally 'healthy' or not. At an advanced age, and with dementia at play, who really cares about grams of protein vs. grams of fat & cholesterol? Let her eat what she LIKES to eat and call it a day.

Best of luck!

Beans? I love them. There's a company I used to be able to get them only online, but now in my corner specialty store.....Rancho Gordo. Has all sort of great heirloom beans. I will get a
I Joe Mire Poix (all cut up carrots, onions and celery) and cook them forever. Sometimes add Kale, or chili powder if a chili. I can eat on them wrapped in a tortilla forever, and have lots to freeze.
I love cheese casserole, as well, and add a can of campbell's tomato soup layered in, as my Mom used to. I add bacon as well but can use fake bacon as well.
I wonder if it's a "thing" because at 80 I am losing my taste for meats as well.

If I had to cook for this, I would use a grain like rice or couscous, with a sauce I made from vegetables and reduced with a stick mixer so it doesn’t look like an individual vegetable. I’d probably make two sauces, one green (frozen peas are a nice colored base) and one red (tinned tomatoes and beans, plus the orange veges like pumpkin). A white dob of sour cream or yogurt would be nice too. Just remember that for completed vegetable protein you need a combination of grains and pulses (ie peas, beans, lentils). Cook in bulk and freeze.

There are too many options to list, it is all going to depend on what she does like to eat and how those foods are prepared in her culture - what was she eating before?
A lot of people gag at over cooked veggies, a lot of other people despise veggies that are so quickly cooked they are barely warmed through..... what is her preference?
Beans and lentils are totally different things when served as baked beans, refried beans and in a vegetarian chili, or an Indian dahl.
Does she like and can she tolerate salads?
Grain bowls?
Soups are always my easy go to suggestion, the varieties are endless and extras can be frozen. Curried pumpkin or squash made with coconut milk is a special favourite.

My Mom had similar issues and had stopped eating. We did solve it, but I found out that chewing was getting difficult for her, so we had to cook things so they were very soft, meat and veggies may just be too tough. She also lost most of taste, so things did not have any value. So, how we did this, cook things much more, use different sauces, ground meats with onions work well, fish also is great. We asked her to choose her recipes and prepare a shopping list with things she likes to eat so she owns her choices. She is diabetic, so she can choose a lot of things but has to have the right calorie content and vitamines. Also she drinks one Ensure (high calorie chocolate) drink every day to get the calories she needs without having to consume solid foods. These worked well

How about an appointment with a Dietician?

What WILL she eat? Have you spoken to her doctor? Does she have any issues with swallowing? Sometimes they suggest protein shakes or milkshakes/smoothies with veggies mixed in but I wouldn't start anything like that without talking to her doctor to see if there are any underlying causes. Is this new? Did she eat meat before? Does she have a meat aversion, texture issues, or issues with chewing it? There could be any number of things going on so I would start with a call to the doctor.

Mac and cheese and cheese lasagna come to mind. Potato cheese soup (crumble bacon on top of yours instead of cooking it in the soup) and a baked potato bar (where everyone puts their own toppings on) might be good too. A cheese quesadilla is quick and easy. I know everything I said is cheese, those are the easiest ones I can think of.

What is her definition of meat? For some people, it is just red meat. Chicken and seafood is okay. For other people, chicken, fish (both fresh water and from the sea) and seafood are out. Tofu, beans and lentils are the closest they get to protein.

Once you get her definition of meat, you'll have lots of possibilities.

Another way to figure this out is to see what she cooks for herself and others.

Its all a puzzle....

Oatmeal.