This is one of two quiches I made during my ten day stint as the primary home health care aid for one of my in-laws. This one is broccoli, cauliflower, ham and cheese. I blended the egg up with the veggies (which started out riced), in order to hide them from the picky eater I was caring for. Turns out, the only veggie that really needed hiding was the cauliflower. This dish was cut into six pieces, individually wrapped, then frozen. The patient came home from a skilled nursing facility the day before I showed up, and is wheelchair-bound, so my job was to help him adjust to being home, and look after his needs. I decided to also make up a month's worth of food so that the relative that primarily comes in to look after him won't have so much to do.
One thing I made, was a crap-load of pancakes. These will be easy to heat up in a microwave. I took time to purchase a small refrigerator/freezer combination for him, along with a microwave and an ice maker. Another relative and myself set up a make-shift food prep area in the room he is staying in so that he can make his own meals. My hope is that he will sign up for Meals on Wheels since he lives alone, but that could take a couple of weeks to set up and also doesn't cover weekends.
Another easy to make and freeze item are omelets. I made him ham and cheese for breakfast many days and he really liked that, so I made about a dozen more. In addition, I made a number of servings of scrambled eggs.
I filled the main freezer with lots of food! The top shelf is for breakfast -- pancakes, eggs, home fries and more. The middle shelf contains sides like rice, veggies, along with main dishes like the quiche, meat loaf, chicken, pasta, etc.
The plan is for the primary care giver to bring down food every couple of days. We can fit three days in the freezer and three in the fridge. He can make sandwiches for lunch out of cold cuts. We also stocked a few beverages, small containers of yogurts and condiments.
I have promised to continue to cook at home if someone can meet me half
way on the thruway for a monthly drop. It's worth it to me because I
want this guy to be healthy. During this past year, with all his health
issues, he has had to drop a lot of weight. 150 pounds so far.
Relying on delivered or commercially prepared food will not be optimal
for his health. Besides, feeding people is what I do!
That is a great idea. Good for you. I used a small freezer in a motel. The freezer would not freeze water. I don't know if it was this particular freezer or what. Gee, I would like that set-up for myself! I often scramble enough eggs for two or three days. They are best when NOT microwaved where they are hot. Just a bit warm works for me.
ReplyDeleteYou may be saving his life.
He really likes to have ice water (more ice than water), and hadn't known about the small portable ice makers. The one I found was one hundred bucks, then I put a large spring water jug with a dispenser on the table next to it. He just pours the water into a cup and dumps it in the ice maker. He was very appreciative of being given a way to have some independence.
DeleteYou are a saint!
ReplyDeleteHey, I gotta do something to make up for all my other naughty behavi0rs!
DeleteWow, you are really helping your inlaw's side of the family out - I'm sure they appreciate it. I read your post about the curtains, those were awesome too (got interrupted yesterday so didn't comment)
ReplyDeleteOne of my sister-in-laws is really the primary point person and she is exhausted and burned out beyond belief. I am doing this as much for her as I am for him. She is the saint in the family!
DeleteIt is so sweet of you to do all this. I hope your patient recovers fast.
ReplyDeleteThank you :-) He's got a lot to accomplish, that much is for sure! I hope I can do long-distance cooking for him so that much he doesn't have to worry about.
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