Food ideas

[Hengell]

Hi

We have had to disconnect mums cooker and have arranged for meals on wheels to attend every day. She has got a microwave but seems to be only able to use it to do milky coffee, and not any ready meals. The problem that I have is that she manages todo her own breakfast ie toast, has lunch and pudding and additional sandwiches and cakes with the ready meals, but eats them all apparently in one go. Im i. Work when this goes on, the. Phones me to say she has not had food and is hungry. She does not like fruit or salad, trying to make things that she does not have to cook any suggestions of what I can stock in the fridge prepared with no heating. I think she is entering tnhe stage of dementia where her body forgets its had food. Any ideas please as by the time I come home and I call in with additional food she does not want it and it goes to waste and i cant get ner to reheat it up. Any suggetions welcome thanks

 

[Shash7677]

Hi,

Do you live close to mum at all? I'm only asking as you can buy food flasks, hubby sometimes takes one to work. They are bigger than a normal flask but would keep chunky vegetable soup or any of the chunky soups and big soups warm. If you popped one round in the morning she could maybe have it for tea? Or pop it in on the way home? Has she a kindly neighbour who would warm some soup ( if you provided it) and pop it round? You can put anything in hot or cold. She could have a meal popped into one and it would be kept warm for however long that day it needed to be.

Just a thought, probably on reading seems a bit daft but I couldn't think of anything other than pot noodle or pasta mug shots!!!

Hope you find a solution.

Sharon

 

[CollegeGirl]

Hi Hengell - would she like bits of finger food? Things like snack sausage rolls, mini sandwiches, cheese and crackers, picnic eggs, cocktail sausages, bread sticks, dips, small pizzas, etc. Think childrens tea party and you get the idea!

 

[garnuft]

My Mother is in a similar situation, in her own home.
She will not have any outside input, so no meals on wheels.
Her cooker is disconnected and she doesn't know how to work the microwave anymore.

She doesn't look in the fridge for anything except milk.

She needs somebody with her more and more.

I can't see this changing or how any tweeks can be made.

She is nowhere near the stage that you would think requires to be in residential care but she needs care and attention for every meal and morning medication.

I think if your mum is eating breakfast, lunch and tea (albeit early) and isn't losing weight, I wouldn't worry too much.

I wonder if her calls are for company and things rather than hunger?

My Mam is very needy but seemingly very much herself.

I leave sandwiches out on the bench, some she eats, some she doesn't.

I went in today and she was eating a packet of quavers, her cornflake bowl was there, uneaten and soggy.

It's very worrisome. I share your worries.

 

[Hengell]

Hi all great like the idea of the finger foods will try them and c if carbs may keep her fuller. Only started on the meals on wheels so will have to see how it goes,saves me a bit of time preplanning meals that she forgets to eat, then eats and forgets shes eaten,

 

[Anongirl]

Hi. I order mum's food shop in and get her things like crisps, sausage rolls, pork pies, cold meat and bread rolls. A carer comes in the evening to put a microwave meal in for her. I am pretty sure she doesn't think about having lunch (she never forgets breakfast or dinner though). I think her eating is quite sporadic. I only see her about once a week so it's hard to monitor it. I think she struggles to make herself a sandwich so finger food is the best bet.

She will sit and eat full packets of biscuits though which worries me but there's not much I can do. It makes her happy so I've stopped fighting it!

Someone on TP told me once that too much choice can be overwhelming and I have certainly noticed that with my mum.

It's a tricky one X

 

[chris53]

Hello Hengell, many great ideas here I have used these on my own mum and indeed mum in law, I have found that "the mums" now have more of a sweet tooth, so another little idea was to have little individually wrapped cakes "on show", mini packets of biscuits etc, most important is to be hydrated so maybe your mum is thirsty rather then hungry? as the brain sends the same signals - just a thought I hope mum does enjoy the meals on wheels and will feel like she has had a "proper meal" and is full-so my fingers are crossed for you. Do let us know how things are working out.
Take care
Chris x

 

[Big Effort]

Just some random thoughts on the food front.

I know how you all feel, though I don't experience the anxiety as Mum is 30 seconds walk from my house. Probable causes for the food havoc, in my view, is a)loss of sense of time, so when is meal time = any time. I had to move all food from Mum's fridge or she grazed through it. All of it. Ad lib. and b) it looks as if skills are low so preparing, eating in a logical/rational order are going by the wayside. I noticed this with Mum, as she ate what she likes, so pudding first, then the 'real food'.

Another observation, not criticism, is that a lot of what is being offered is sweet food and snack food....... Mum used to be a really healthy eater, no interest in dessert and sugar until dementia struck. This is in line with the brain-starvation theory or type 3 diabetes..... so perhaps sugery stuff is not the best option.

Instead, with this in mind, I have tried to add in lots of fiber, to slow digestion, so mueseli in the morning with loads of chopped fruit (think loads, banana, pear, grapes and so on). I have started to make my own very fibre-filled biscuits, using a little sweetner (honey), wholemeal flour, oatflakes, bran and coconut oil as the fat. Two of these seems to keep her fuller.

I make lots of vegetable bakes, so chopped veg of all descriptions, put in oven and roasted with coconut oil (but you can use any oil you please). Mum seems to love this, and will eat it hot, cold or warm....

Final suggestion. For so long I did it all alone. Turns out the neighbours want to help, just as we are prepared to help our neighbours. Maybe a nice neighbour can pop the plate in the microwave, so she gets a hot lunch at lunch time. Two birds with one stone, someone sees her and can report to you if something is amiss, and the neighbour knows how to tell when it is meal time, so everything isn't eaten for breakfast.

Good luck, BE

 

[Sindy B]

My father really struggles with his appetite. In fairness he has had stomach ulcers all of his life, so his appetite was always variable. But now, he eats virtually nothing except sweet foods. His carers prepare him a hot meal everyday, but invariably he throws it in the bin, or on the garden (mostly when he thinks no one is looking). He will eat any amount of chocolate, biscuits, cake and puddings. I am just grateful that he eats anything.


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[FifiMo]

SindyB,

There is no point in wasting money on food that your dad is not going to eat and quite frankly, I would rather he was eating than not eating. If that means he gets sweet foods then that is what I would give him. You can pack a lot of nutrition into sweet food also. Custard made with whole milk and even some cream added is nutritious. Pour it over some jam sponge and you have a nice meal. Home made rice pudding is another favourite or bread and butter pudding. You can even get individual syrup sponge puddings that can be done in the microwave, so the carers should be able to prepare food that they know he is going to eat. You can also have snacks such as pots of rice pudding or custard or jelly. You can even get large cartons of custard these days too so that would be a good fall back for a meal.

Having been down the road where someone stops eating, I will always advocate that, unless there is a medical reason not to, that we give the food that they will not just eat but also enjoy. Dementia robs people of practically everything else and if they get joy from a bar of chocolate or a packet or 3 of biscuits then let them have it. The more the better!

Fiona

 

[pippop1]

You can get lots of desserts in pots that don't need to be in the fridge and last for months. There are also ready prepared jellies like this which I think could be helpful for hydration.

 

[Old Soldier]

Hi all great like the idea of the finger foods will try them and c if carbs may keep her fuller. Only started on the meals on wheels so will have to see how it goes,saves me a bit of time preplanning meals that she forgets to eat, then eats and forgets shes eaten,

Have you spoken to your GP about prescribing Ensure Plus drinks? They each contain 330kcal and come in many different flavours which you may select those that you know she likes

 

[Rageddy Anne]

Fortunately my husband doesn't mind if his food is hot or cold, so I can leave him a freshly made pasta bake and he will eat it when he thinks he's hungry. He'll happily eat crackers and cheese too, or pate with nice bread ready sliced. He'll always find the cake, buns biscuits custards etc without my leaving them out, and he loves crisps. But if I didn't make sure he has salads and fruit he'd never seek those out.

 

[banger]

Re Eating or not eating

I am fortunate that my wife is still at home with me so I can keep an eye on what she eats. I have been through the stages of her not eating which is part of the progression of Alzheimer's. Starting with stopping eating part way through a meal as if she forgot what the food was for or how to use a knife, fork and spoon. The way around this was to feed her, but this also failed after a few months. She would open her lips and keep her teeth closed. When I got food in some would be spat out. The next stage was to mash all veg and mince the meat. Potatoes, cabbage and carrots mashed together may not look nice but it worked. I also found that by adding spice or herbs to give the food a stronger taste also worked as often meet and veg can be a bit bland. We are now at the stage where the food has to be pureed. Fruit is given to her as a smoothie which also works well. Also thick soups are enjoyed. Ice cream and jelly will get liquids in. Her doctor has prescribed Fortisip which she enjoys. The main thing for us was, and still is, to make food with strong flavours. However as we know no two dementia suffers are the same what works for one may not work for another. My problem now is I do not know when she has eaten enough as the plate is emptied each time. I am not sure where we are going next on the food front but I will find a way around it.

 

[missbabs]

This is my first post and it has been helpful reading everyone's suggestions.

My mum will eat reasonably well if eating in company, but left to her own devices would eat sandwiches and sweet food, or else survive on tea and biscuits. Today we had a battle of wills as she wanted to put a stew with veg back in the freezer. I can only hope the evening carer persuaded Mum to eat it.

The family is keen for Mum to eat 'proper' food as she seems more alert and cheerful. We do not live close enough to pop in at frequent intervals so are reliant on carers for most of the time.

We will certainly try some of the ideas, thank you..