I’m creating recipes and meals for the elderly.
Specifically my Mother, who has strange tastes.
These are the concerns and situations I need to adapt to:
Inability to chew due to poor or no teeth.
Bite sizes: Small enough to swallow whole easily.
Hydration: Not too dry, so swallowing is easy
Variety: In vegetables, color and flavor, textures and meal types
Presentation: Appetizing and appealing
Portion sizes: Single meal sizes to eliminate waste or spoilage.
Portion sizes: Small portions to mix or double as desired.
Freezer Space: Inability to utilize pantry items, so frozen meals dominate.
Freezer Space: More compact packaging containers to fit more meals.
Freezer Space: Labeling. Easy to see contents
Freezer Space: Ice maker: If unused, remove bin and trays.
Recipes for the Elderly, flavorful and easy to eat
My way of cooking is healthy and natural, with as few adulterated ingredients as possible. I believe that soup is a workhorse in providing a large array of vegetables, prebiotics and can be highly nutritious. A few simple vegetables provide a rich flavorful sofrito or base to build countless variations. Looking forward to something interesting and enjoyable, is healing and stimulating. The same horrid thing over and over again, becomes mentally and emotionally crippling.
Culture is a critical factor in what is pleasing to someone, especially immigrant culture, people who have not assimilated into the fast food American way of eating, but have retained their rich food heritage. The “one size fits all” menu is particularly demoralizing to these people, or anyone who values fresh, good food well prepared with care and ingenuity.
My heritage is Eastern European. Hungarian. I was born in Budapest, grew up in the British colony of New Zealand. Entered into my teens in the suburbs of Chicago, in an ethnic mix of predominantly Italian, Polish, Irish, and less so German and Greek. They brought a richness to the delicatessen’s, diners, bakeries and shops. It was a beautiful mix.
I cook well and often, and love food. My own experience of delivered meals when I was recovering from spinal and hip surgeries, was illuminating. They were so boring and structured to be very un-delicious, even the good ones. I was soooo very happy to be cooking for myself as I recovered.
Food is history, memory. The familiar foods of childhood are so much more important to us than we think. We long for those familiar comfort meals, especially when ill or aging.
Hospital food, and meal delivery service meals while I was recovering from surgery were so disappointing. I think more so because the meal becomes the highpoint of the day. Something other than the endless monotony of just laying flat staring at the ceiling.
My Mother. I know her eating habits better than anyone, and they are quite out of the ordinary. Her dislike of meat. Her adoration of dairy, to the point of eating bread smothered with sour cream as a meal. She would perish without bread. Sugar is a food group. So, I am making for her, what she made for us, especially the things she loved to make for herself. Her tastes are quite simple in a way. White bean soup. Lentil soup. Simple vegetable soup. These I will put in every rotation. Simple pasta dishes. And of course, my childhood favorite; palacsinta. But I will throw in some experiments here and there.
My friends and I are aging also. My personal preferences as well as feedback from my friends have been invaluable. Sickness, cancer, autoimmune disorders, allergies and extensive dental work, are part of our lives now. Surgical recovery is commonplace. I am very fortunate to have such wonderful friends support me and help me develop these recipes to share with you all.
mizandie.com 