Picky eater and food kits; any suggestions?

From what others said about MOW food, it seems MOW needs to improve or customize their food so that people will eat instead of tossing half of the meals out. Or maybe people can just select what food they want on certain days, and opt out on the rest. Such a waste of resources to prepare the food, deliver the food, then just to be tossed out.

There are some simple bag meals out there like frozen meal in bag from I think Birds Eye. 3 minutes to table. Pair it with a loaf of bread. My mother LOVED these simple meals! She, too, tossed many Meals on Wheels.

I’ve experienced old men who won’t eat xxxyyyzzz, and aren’t they helpful? Here you can buy a tub of plain mashed potato, you can buy frozen peas, and you can buy quarter chickens. If he or you can portion them out, he should be able to put together the sort of dinner he probably likes. (My FIL was a WWII POW, wouldn’t eat rice, pasta, garlic, sauces etc etc etc. Only fried chop and 2 boiled veg. Aren't they just the cutest things?)

Surprised to hear Meals has seasoning. I hired someone near my father to cook for him and results were mixed. (Didn't like rice or pasta.) Then we went with supplemented microwave dinners (add rolls, fruit, veggies) but the only ones that had acceptable sodium levels were Healthy Choice and Lean Cuisine, which I also sampled for taste. He did like the Devour frozen line (particularly the pulled pork) which recently came on the market. They seem to appeal more to men but some are complex combinations and he sounds like he wants it simple. The person I hired to cook then became the "meal assembler" as my father couldn't master the microwave and we certainly didn't want him using the oven or stove. There are other delivery services and many groceries offer pre-made meals / entrees you can just microwave or kits you can use to put together a simple meal. Just requires some concentrated shopping and you pay a little more. I would also make casseroles.

I am not much for cooking. That was why I was hoping for kits that would have everything and just throw it together. He has a hard time walking or standing, so going in the kitchen to use the micro is difficult. I got him a hot logic box to have by his chair, he can put things in it and they stay warm. He chokes on rice. He hates tomato sauce. I have gotten him lean cuisine and healthy choice meals, he will eat them but there are so few even among them that he gets tired.

Meals on wheels do not come with any spices on them. Not even salt and pepper! I think he just wants you to cook for him.

Lunch foods are a good go to

sandwiches with chopped or sliced meat, cheese, or peanut butter for protein
lettuce, tomatoes, other veggies
squirt of mayo, mustard or other salad dressing he likes
side of veggies he can eat - hot or cold
low fat, low salt chips - if he can eat them

pasta or rice bowls - favorite chopped meat for protein
warm chopped veggies
top with favorite warm pasta sauce

shepherd's pie or pot pie - meat and veggies in gravy
shepherd's pie - topped with mashed potatoes
pot pie - topped with crust

Mini meat loaves - 1/8# and season with favorite seasoning
plain or top with tomato sauce or bbq sauce
side of warm mixed veggies or coleslaw
roll or mashed potato on the side

Dessert - apple sauce cup or mixed fruit cup

I’m in my 70s and am one of the few who’s a life-long selective eater. I do not eat fruit and veggies. If this guy won’t eat such, he still needs to be getting fiber. Will he drink Metamucil (quickly)?

I live alone and do mostly microwave cooking. I make my own one-minute flax bread and put peanut butter on it. Does he like peanut butter? Loaf of bread and peanut butter will get him through a week of lunches. Cottage cheese? Yogurt? Applesauce? Cheese sticks? Milk, chocolate milk? All things that don’t require much fixing. Instant oatmeal? Pizza (frozen, heat up)? Can he scramble an egg? Heat a rice cup? Fix a grilled cheese sandwich? Heat a hot dog or hamburger patty? Macaroni?

Find out his likes - if he’s a selective eater, he probably enjoys having the same foods nearly every day. I drink Atkins shakes as well.

Meals on Wheels might even fix him a PB sandwich everyday. Selective eating is a recognized food disorder, so they may accommodate this issue. Hot meals are not essential.

If you live close to this person have you thought about making an extra portion or two when you make your own meals. Portion them out and freeze them. He will then have a meal that is probably seasoned the way he would like it.
You could also ask friends to do the same. (Personally if a friend asked me to do something like this I would not have a problem with it at all. As a matter of fact I always have portioned out soup or other meal in the freezer all the time)

My mom gets Moms meals. She likes them a lot better than when she got meals on Wheels. They are simple one entree and a vegetable or fruit. She usually enjoys 90% of them. They have breakfast as well as lunch. Recently she had to go to a puréed diet and they have a separate menu for those. She still enjoys them.

Trader Joe‘s has family-size store brand meals (2-3 servings per package) of the sort you seek: lasagne, chicken pot pie, chicken piccata, squash casserole. They also have great bagged salads & sides (mashed potatoes, etc).

They have meals you can order but can get expensive.

He can go on eating free from meals on wheels and just buy bottles of Ensure for him to drink as a snack, along with healthy snacks like breakfast bars, yougurt and applesause.

There are also frozen meals like Healthy Request that you can buy that are easy to microwave at under $3 a meal.

Keep in mind, the older a person gets, they start eating less

A bit more background information about Richard and the OP from another post:

https://www.agingcare.com/questions/when-do-you-throw-in-the-towel-457935.htm

LS2234- you are very kind to be helping a friend so much. Be careful about doing too much that you might get burned out.

My mother enjoys Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers, a variety of frozen dinners with relatively low salt levels so you can eat 1-2 a day. Mom loves fresh fruit so I add a couple of apples, peaches, bananas or a bowl of grapes, strawberries, cantaloupe to the steamer for a quick and easy meal. Mom and I also enjoyed home made soups (often with a slice of cornbread) and many days eat soup for one meal. I rotate making pots vegetable beef, chili, potato, and chicken noodle which we eat from for a couple of days and freeze the remainder for later.

So my advice is: Does He have FAMILY? If so, HIS FAMILY NEEDS TO KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON....
IF he doesn't have any family... Then someone needs to call social services to make sure he is getting the care he needs.
It is gut wrenching to listen if there will be a RETURN KNOCK... We have a wonderful pack of neighbors who looked out for him.. This was a number of years ago... He has gone to Heaven..
Now it sounds like you are in the same situation without backup.... YOU need backup as much as he does....
My other friend, next door neighbor, helped assist Mr. Mr. to get a real estate agent, and get his house on the market so he could live with his sister. It was a good thing. I felt so relieved when I didn't have to LISTEN for a return knock...
One morning I didn't get a return knock... I looked around, and peeked through his gates. only to find him sitting on his bench in the backyard smiling at me. Talk about panick !!! I don't know why he didn't say anything...It scared me...

If he gets hungry enough, he will eat whatever he gets on his plate... Simple foods..
Microwave: corn, carrots, broccoli,,, marie calanders, tv dinners, marie calanders,
Frozen egg dishes.. may be a bit more compl;icated.

protein shakes,, ensure,,, carnation protein powder...

You are caring for a friend... My neighbor's wife died... he was alone... my friend, next door to him would make a pot of coffee every morning... I would make a bagel and cream cheese sandwich for him, go to her house for a cup of coffee. walk to his home next door place the food and coffee on the ground , knock and wait for an answer.... He would knock back... I knew he had something to eat if he chose to....
His sister finally picked him up and took him to her home...

Most veggies, broccoli, and be heated in microwave with a bit of water, a bit of lemon, a bit of butter, for 1-1/2" minutes.. ? approx. look it up online.. Can he handle a microwave?

That is the question... can he still handle a microwave without burning himself?
Most grocery stores will have readymade meatloaf all you need do is warm it up in a microwave.... can he do that?
Frozen corn? rinse in colandar the amount he wants to eat.. tastes better, then warm it up in microwave. Heck,, my dad used to eat fresh corn on the cob... RAW. He liked it like that.
Most stosres have ready made salads... mix it and eat it.
Trader Joes is notorious for ready to eat food. The Kale chicken salad is great.

perhaps, TV TRAY FROZEN FOOD? TYSON'S. OR Marie Callanders chicken pot pie.
Whole foods groceries, or Sprouts... grocery store, ready to eat meals. Microwave.
Boston Market used to be a fast food place, but I think it's all frozen foods now. They were good...
Fridays frozen food... All of this is frozen food section of your grocery store.
Whole foods and grocery stores will have freshly made food to go.. salads, etc. Ralphs, or Albertsons, or Vons, you can choose chicken, 2 sides of whatever they allow you to have...
Try the DELI SECTION OF YOUR LOCAL GROCERY STORE.
Or find a local FARMERS MARKET.
Look online for food delivery in his area... I am sure, that someone will be happy to help out.. Grubhub, and others.. Uber Eats.

Hello LS2234. I thought about your question for a while and I can't think of any food kit that will fit what you're looking for. The ones I know of are the fancy and expensive food kits where you have to put together and cook.

If I were on a budget and looking for good old fashioned simple food, I probably would look at Sam's or Costco's frozen and ready to eat food. The foods come in large quantity and are relatively inexpensive per serving. I have seen ready-to-eat grilled chicken breasts, potato salads, cooked frozen hamburger patties that you can pop in the microwave for 2 minutes, rotisserie chickens, cooked pasta, cooked rice, etc. For vegetables, you can buy the frozen vegetables in microwavable bags, so all you have to do is nuke them for a few minutes and voila they are done.

You can mix and match to create a variety of meals and portion them out, label and freeze them for Richard. So all he has to do is choose what he wants to eat and heat them up.

When husbands Aunt was going to be away for a while, she got some plastic divided plates. She then made up large batches of food and filled each plate. Wrapped the plates in foil, labeled what it was and froze. Then all son had to do was throw in the freezer. Crockpots are great for simple cooking.

Meals on wheels usually have no seasoning. Not even salt and pepper. That usually has to be done by the person eating it.

You may need to take on cooking for Richard as well as his other care. You can purchase enough food to make and freeze enough for several meals. If he is capable of using a microwave, purchase some microwave safe dishes and put his meals in them.