Can anyone help with dietary advice?

I wonder if any of our community could help my friend out with a bit of dietary advice for her mum.

Her mum recently (about three months ago) went to live in a very nice care home. She’s 81 and still relatively active for her age. She took the decision to go into the home herself, as she was finding it hard to manage in her own home, even with my friend’s help.

She seems to have settled well, has her own furniture and precious possessions in her room and appears to have a little circle of friends already.

But despite being otherwise contented, she hates the food. She always cooked for herself and was very good at it, unlike my friend, who would admit she’s not the slightest bit interested in anything that isn’t edible after 3 minutes in the microwave. Mum apparently says that everything tastes the same and ‘like school dinners’. It probably doesn’t help that the diet there is low in salt due to those suffering from hypertension and has little other seasoning because of ‘plain’ eaters.

But the end result of this dislike of the food is that she’s losing weight. My friend has had a discussion with the home’s management and they are more than happy for her to supplement the food with anything she cares to bring in, but wonders what that ought to be.

She has a busy career and although she can take mum out for a meal on Saturdays or Sundays, and calls in for an hour, on two or three evenings during the week, given her own lack of prowess in the kitchen, she’s stumped to know what to provide. Actual meals would be pretty much out of the question.

She’s already taking in things like soft fruits such as bananas. Some things are out of the question because of false teeth.

She’s thought of some of the more obvious snacks, but doesn’t want everything to revolve around carbohydrates, unless there’s no alternative.

She says her mum’s digestion is still pretty good, and it’s only the chewing problem that restricts her diet much.

Does anyone have any good ideas?

[bantam12]

If she could be given some freezer space maybe something like Wiltshire Farm Foods delivery could work, the meals need heating but not to difficult and apparently they are very good.

[Hidden in reply to bantam12]

Now that's a brilliant idea... really thinking outside the box. Thank you! I'll pass that suggestion on. Actually, when I think about it, it might even be a good idea for my friend too with her disinterest in cooking!

[bantam12 in reply to Hidden]

They do a really good range of meals and also mini meals for those who eat less. I know a few people who order from them and are very happy with the meals.

[sassy59]

Hi Callendersgal has your friends mum suggested what she might like? Some seasoning might be good for her, Parmesan cheese (labelled and kept in their fridge), soft fruits and flavoursome breads could all help.

Hope something can be sorted soon. Do let us know. Xxxx

[Hidden in reply to sassy59]

Hi Sassy59,

Another great suggestion. A little parmesan could go a long way to adding some flavour as could some of those grind-on herb/spice mixtures that exist nowadays. With everyone's great help I think we'll soon have this lady spiced up and eating again! Thanks so much.

[Hidden]

Great to have another endorsement for Wiltshire foods Mydexter! Thank you so much for your input.

[dogdogtv21]

A good multivitamin AND MINERAL a day will ensure she is firing on all cylinders and improve he mood and apatite, x.

[Hidden in reply to dogdogtv21]

That's true dogdogtv21. Not sure what supplements if any she has at the moment, but I'll be sure to mention it to my friend. Thanks so much for your input.

[starveycat]

Have you thought about making her smoothies. You can use any fruit and vegetables in them and add some fruit juice just a thought

[Hidden in reply to starveycat]

Hi starveycat,

That’s another really great idea to pass on to my friend and such a good way to ensure nutritional content. Thanks so much.

[19581979]

Hi

What meals did mum used to cook? This would help in looking at what she would like. Also a portion of Apple pie or rhubarb crumble is always a possibility. At least there is some of your fruit in there even though there are a lot of naughty additions as well and you don't have to use much pastry or crumble. Small amounts of tinned fruit in juice can be helpful. You may notice a trend. I love puddings. Main meals I find are much more to personal taste in how they are prepared.

best of luck to your friend.

Gillx

[Hidden]

Hi Gill,

Well I do know that my friend has spoken wistfully of days gone by when mum would cook all of those traditional British things like roasts and pies as well as chicken curries and apparently had a legendary list of things she could conjure from a pound of mince!

And yes, I’m with you on the puddings and certainly if my friend’s anything like her mum, mum will like them too. We have been known to indulge in one or two!

And if you can’t be a bit naughty in your eighties, when can you? So thanks, I’m sure that could be part of the answer too.

Thanks so much for your suggestions and good wishes.