Picky eater and food kits; any suggestions?

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.