topic Re: Paging House Cat! in Kitchen

Paging House Cat!

Sammijo10 — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 15:14:36 GMT

While this message is intended for House Cat, anyone that can help me with this suggestions is, of course welcome to jump in.

House Cat, I know you did a lot of cooking for your elderly parents when they came to live near you. I'm now in the same situation and would love some of your meal ideas. I'm repeating my go to meals so much and I notice they are starting to not eat as much as they should.

So far, I've got pot roast, chicken pot pie, meatballs and pasta, vegetable beef soup, Italian wedding soup.

Any casseroles in your repetoire you can share with me!? Anything that mushes veggies, starch and protein together and can be cooked to within an inch of it's life will do nicely! Thank you in advance.

Re: Paging House Cat!

Zhills — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 15:30:31 GMT

I'm not HouseCat, but have some suggestions. When I worked with Kelly Assisted Living I found that people tended to like foods they remember from when they were young. Nothing fancy!

I had one client that went "ga-ga" over a simple hot dog and bun! Even if you need to chop the dog, the flavor would be there! I was surprised at how much they enjoyed it.

Put the things they like on a plate separately one night and combine them in a dish the other night. They like the familiar. I'm sure House_Cat has some great ideas!

Re: Paging House Cat!

house_cat — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 15:37:34 GMT

@Sammijo10

I'm just about to start my work day, so I don't have a lot of time, but I promise to think about it and get back to you.

The best general advice I can offer is to choose foods that are easy to pick up with a fork or spoon and easy to chew. For instance, on Thanksgiving, rather than making a turkey, I bought sliced turkey breast from the deli. It was much easier for them to chew and it worked really well. Forget about lettuce and those kinds of greens - virtually impossible to handle and chew. Ground beef, rather than any kind of steak and even ground chicken and turkey. If you make noodles, skip the long ones like spaghetti and choose shapes that fit in a spoon. I also made them a lot of thick, creamy soups. It's easy to sneak in all kinds of nutrition in a form that's easy to consume and digest. I have an immersion blender and that was a godsend.

In any case, I do have recipes to send you. I'll catch up with you asap.

Re: Paging House Cat!

Sammijo10 — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 15:37:43 GMT

Zhills, good pointers, thank you! My Mom LOVES hot dogs! Its funny, I bring them good home cooked food two, maybe three times a week - with enough to last for an additional meal or to pop a portion in the freezer to mike later. Always include protein, starch and/veggies. My brother comes for a visit and my Mom tells him as he's about to go to the store - "I don't get any veggies, buy some frozen veggies!" Maybe because they are semi hidden in the dishes she gets she forgets they are there. My bro and I laughed at that for a while.

Re: Paging House Cat!

Zhills — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 15:46:05 GMT

Bless you for being a good caregiver. House_Cat was also! So many children just wouldn't bother.

Thanks to both of you........and ALL of you who are doing the same for your parents!

Re: Paging House Cat!

Sooner — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 16:07:47 GMT

Be careful of anything they could choke on like hotdogs. Also, ground meats and jarred or packaged gravy mixes even are great.

My mom always likes tacos and burgers. Avoid hard things because of tooth issues. Rice and beans are good choices if they like them. The ground meats and gravies are good with rice also.

Chicken and dressing is good--make dressing with cornbread and freeze it. It doesn't get as soggy and is easier to eat.

Re: Paging House Cat!

janeec — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 17:07:22 GMT

I did a lot of cooking for my parents several years ago. David Venable's recipe for a ravioli bake was well liked and froze well. I also made a hearty multi-bean soup with smoked ham hocks for them. It froze well and was nutritious.

Being Pennsylvania Dutch, I made chicken pot pie with a few extra vegetables in it. Hard-boiled eggs can be a good snack.

I bought them a vitamix so we could make smoothies for them. A trick to add calories and nutrients is to add powdered milk to soups, etc.

Easy macaroni and cheese (I like to add chopped ham) is 4 cups milk, 2 cups macaroni (uncooked), grated cheese (at least 2 cups or more) in a 9 x 13 dish. Melt 1 stick of butter and pour on top. Bake 1 hour at 350. Sometimes I add buttered bread crumbs on top. I mix everything in my baking dish.

My parents are now in a senior living community with meals provided and it is much easier for all of us. Good luck.

Re: Paging House Cat!

Kachina624 — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 18:56:42 GMT

@Sooner wrote:
Be careful of anything they could choke on like hotdogs. Also, ground meats and jarred or packaged gravy mixes even are great.

My mom always likes tacos and burgers. Avoid hard things because of tooth issues. Rice and beans are good choices if they like them. The ground meats and gravies are good with rice also.

Chicken and dressing is good--make dressing with cornbread and freeze it. It doesn't get as soggy and is easier to eat.

@Sammijo10 The suggestion @Sooner. made, made me think of this recipe which would be perfect for your senior meals. I cook chicken breasts in my pressure cooker until they shred, about 25 min., save the broth to use in the dressing recipe, then switch to "slow cook" and make the dressing. I use more than 6 oz of dressing mix.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dressing

1 whole chicken, cooked, boned and chopped
1 6oz pkg stuffing mix
1 large onion chopped
1 cup chopped celery
3 eggs beaten
1 10 oz can cream of chicken soup
2 cups chicken broth
1-1 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/ 4 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp butter cut in small pieces

Grease crockpot. Combine all ingredients, top with butter. Cook covered on high 3 hrs. Do not remove lid during cooking. Serves 10

*This dressing is so good, I make it without meat to go with a turkey at holiday meals.

Re: Paging House Cat!

Sooner — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 21:51:42 GMT

@Kachina624 wrote:

@Sooner wrote:
Be careful of anything they could choke on like hotdogs. Also, ground meats and jarred or packaged gravy mixes even are great.

My mom always likes tacos and burgers. Avoid hard things because of tooth issues. Rice and beans are good choices if they like them. The ground meats and gravies are good with rice also.

Chicken and dressing is good--make dressing with cornbread and freeze it. It doesn't get as soggy and is easier to eat.
@Sammijo10 The suggestion @Sooner. made, made me think of this recipe which would be perfect for your senior meals. I cook chicken breasts in my pressure cooker until they shred, about 25 min., save the broth to use in the dressing recipe, then switch to "slow cook" and make the dressing. I use more than 6 oz of dressing mix.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dressing

1 whole chicken, cooked, boned and chopped
1 6oz pkg stuffing mix
1 large onion chopped
1 cup chopped celery
3 eggs beaten
1 10 oz can cream of chicken soup
2 cups chicken broth
1-1 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/ 4 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp butter cut in small pieces

Grease crockpot. Combine all ingredients, top with butter. Cook covered on high 3 hrs. Do not remove lid during cooking. Serves 10

*This dressing is so good, I make it without meat to go with a turkey at holiday meals.

@Kachina624. This is our recipe except we sauteed the onions and celery; did not add eggs; used italian seasoning rather than poultry; and used homemade cornbread (which we made the day before to soak up more juice).

Good stuff isn't it????? Thanks for posting this! I never had an exact recipe.

Re: Paging House Cat!

Kachina624 — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 22:00:07 GMT

@Sooner. This is one of my all-time favorite dishes. I make it and eat it 4 or 5 days in a row with a big spoonful of cranberry sauce. I think the eggs thicken it. Only one pot to wash. If it makes 10 servings, they're very small.

Re: Paging House Cat!

house_cat — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 00:57:29 GMT

@Sammijo10

I've been thinking about this on and off all day. Other than what I've already said, I was trying to think of their favorite things to eat. It seems like they adopted the taste buds of teenagers their last couple of years. I knocked myself out making casseroles and nourishing foods, yet these were the things they most liked:

pizza

McDonald's hamburgers - the small, original ones

grilled cheese sandwiches

peanut butter and jelly sandwiches

ice cream - Mom loved those little sundaes from McD's

donuts

chicken pot pie from KFC - full of sodium, but they loved it - they would share one between them

any kind of soup - my dad liked the Progresso hearty ones with meatballs and stuff like that

pasta

meatloaf

mashed potatoes

chicken nuggets and fish sticks

lunch meat on hamburger rolls (they were easy to hold and chew)

liverwurst - blech....

polenta (essentially Italian grits)

white bread - smaller and cheaper the more they liked it

pancakes for dinner - why not?

My point is, don't make yourself crazy trying to provide variety. The more familiar the food, the better and always opt for soft and easy to eat.

When I would lecture them about nutrition my dad would say, "I'm 93, I must've done something right", lol.

Bless you for doing it, Sammijo. It's a labor of love. I was stretched to the max for four years, but I'm thankful I had the chance to care for them. I wish you strength and patience.... lots and lots and lots of patience :-)

Re: Paging House Cat!

Sammijo10 — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 17:49:01 GMT

House Cat, I can't thank you enough. Taste buds of teenagers is so true! They are in love with chicken nuggets and Subway! My husband says the same thing to me - don't knock myself out making super casseroles, cause the flavors aren't something they appreciate.

Dad is quite mobile, but very forgetful (not to the dangerous point yet) and my Mom isn't quite mobile enough to cook (uses a walker and can't stand for a long period of time).

Dad at 90 has never had to do a lick of cooking beyond breakfast in his life. He makes a good scrambled egg and instant oatmeal, but I had to talk him through heating up a Sam's Club large frozen entree yesterday (we've had a whopper snowstorm here in upstate NY and I couldn't get there, even though they are only three miles away). When my Mom complains that he doesn't know how to do anything, I tell her she's the one to blame! LOL!

Patience is certainly the watch word here. I know it will get worse before this stage of their (and my) life is through, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Thanks for the list, some are new to me, and I will most certainly make use of it.

Re: Paging House Cat!

ECBG — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 23:55:15 GMT

I'd like to add cooked apples, greens, steamed carrots, steamed broccoli with cheese, twice baked potatoes which can be frozen.

Re: Paging House Cat!

house_cat — Thu, 31 Jan 2019 04:40:34 GMT

@Sammijo10

I'm glad to be able to help. I'm always envious when I hear from anyone in upstate NY - I think it's one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Stay safe in the snow.

Re: Paging House Cat!

KatieB — Sat, 02 Feb 2019 00:23:43 GMT

@Kachina624 Your recipe sounds so good. Can't wait to make it. Sounds like a good old southern recipe, but I don't think you're from the south... I know it will be good...