need help with a food hamper

mandco

I'm looking at putting together a food hamper for my nan for xmas and need a little help.
she has issues with food and will only eat/use single serve fully sealed items as soon as somethins been opened anything left over gets thrown away. despite getting some help to cope with these issues shes getting worse to the point that now she wont even drink tea/coffee,she doesnt buy milk even her toiletries have to be individual use or she'll throw a whole bottle away the doctor is concerned about her weight as shes eating so little her weekly shopping list is 7x microwave ready meals plus cuppa soups & chot choc sachets :eek: she got rid of her cooker as she never used it so she only has a microwave/kettle for heating food.
shes very proud and wont except charity so need to make it seem like a luxury present rather than heres a hamper of food if that makes sense? really struggling to find a decent choice of single serve food
so far thinking
heinz squeezey tube soups
individual sponge puddings+maybe some custard pots?
luxury hot choc sachets
maybe some single serve biscuit packs? anyone know of anywhere that sells them?

she wont eat pasta/rice and nothing homemade either
any ideas/advice appreciated

my3girls

Oh dear sounds really tricky, I hope you manage to get everything your looking for.

In regards to the individual biscuits Ive only seen them at the local hospital cafe lol, the individual sealed ones, theyre only a matter of pence though so you could get those.

Does she eat dried fruit or nuts? I get my girls the the individual packets of dried fruit from asda/tesco and they're really tasty, they do little individual packs for school lunches etc and will be a lot healthier.

What about a couple of cereal bars will she eat those?

J
X

Maysie

When you go and stay in hotels and b & b they sell individual biscuits so maybe a wholesaler.

These are my favourite biscuits
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lotus-Caramelised-Biscuits-Individually-Wrapped/dp/B0012Z6W3Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345364927&sr=8-1

found here cheaper but not looked at postage


http://www.coffeebuyer.co.uk/mall/productpage.cfm/thecoffeebuyer/_LOTUS/360488/300-individually-Wrapped-Caramelised-Lotus-Biscuits?utm_source=GoogleShopping&utm_medium=organic?utm_source=GoogleShopping&utm_medium=organic

If you think where do businesses buy there products that might help.

sachets that are one use loads on ebay like
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HOLIDAY-TRAVEL-SHAMPOO-SACHETS-HERBAL-ESSENCES-100ML-/130746672360?pt=UK_HealthBeauty_Other_RL&hash=item1e711be4e8

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/40-X-5ml-SACHETS-PANTENE-PRO-V-EXTRA-STRENGTH-FOR-HOLLIDAYS-EVERYDAY-USE-/110936308968?pt=UK_Health_Beauty_Hair_Care_Shampoo_Conditioner_PP&hash=item19d451bce8

oooooooo spotted a travel size section on ebay
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/Travel-Sample-Sizes-/72801/i.html

what about the pick and mix cheeses in surpermarkets? In aldi they do a pack of crackers that come in portion packed sizes inside. we used them for packed lunches.

Maysie

thinking about it have managed to get the individual wrapped biscuits occasionally in 99p store.

found them in small portions here http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LOTUS-CARAMELISED-BISCUITS-TEA-COFFEE-HOTEL-INDIVIDUAL-WRAPPED-25-50-100-300-/221040327734?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Food_SM&var=&hash=item337707bc36

honey portions :O never seen them before lol they also have jams on that listing
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honey-Portions-10-x-20g-Individual-Sachets-Pots-Hotels-/300575866442?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Food_SM&var=&hash=item45fbb7be4a

chunkychocky

You can get individually wrapped tea bags and individual sachets of coffee, individual sachets of sugar and individual cartons of milk. Maybe this would encourage her to drink something other than hot chocolate?

Gettingtherequickly

Jacobs do packets of crackers which contain packs of 3. My mum is a widow and buys them as, although expensive in comparison, it is cheaper than throwing out nearly full packets. Cheese portions at the last minute to go with them.

Nescafe and other brands do sachets of latte etc.

Gettingtherequickly

Just had a thought about the toiletries. If you manage to get a supply of various bottles, would she be happy to keep the empty ones for on the premise that you are recycling them, but you could fill them up much more cheaply with nice shower gel etc? Or if you want to be really mse, value baby shampoo etc?

kingfisherblue

B&M have individual portions of Duerr's strawberry jam and marmalade. They come in a tray with about 12 portions and cost 99p.

Tesco sell the little pots of milk that you see in cafes. I buy them for Brownies, as the adults occasionally like a hot drink and they have a long date on them. I think they are 89p a box.

You could add Ainsley Herriot cup a soups, as they are a bit more luxurious than ordinary ones - or at least, a bit more pricey, so your nan might think they are luxurious.

If your nan has a freezer, you could add a few fresh or frozen meals to the hamper.

You could also consider having some foods delivered by Wiltshire Foods or a similar company. I know that there are some older people near me who receive these deliveries.

Small tins of peas, beans, etc are suitable for one person. Even if she has a small appetite and doesn't eat the full tin, it is less wastage than a larger tin.

Chemists sell sachets of soups and milkshakes for weight gain.

Cheddars biscuits come in small, individual bags.

Individual pies might be appropriate - Goblin do meat and potato pies, as well as steak and kidney puddings. You can buy them at supermarkets for about 69p each, or B&M have them @ two for £1.

Lotus caramelised biscuits can be bought individually wrapped. Tesco sometimes has them.

Long life yoghurts, individual jellies, and Ambrosia pots of custard or rice pudding could be suitable. Ambrosia also have individual 'crumble pots', which have a custard and fruit compote in one side, with a crumble in a smaller attached pot on the other side. They're about 69p each, but Morrison's and Tesco sometimes have them on offer at 4 for £2. Flavours are apple, apple and blackberry, and rhubarb.

Kellogg's have a multipack with eight individual packs of cereal - your nan could add milk, yoghurt or custard to these, or eat them dry.

Individual bottles of flavoured water, or small cartons of fresh juice would be suitable cold drinks.

Some bakeries have individually pre-wrapped cookies, especially around Christmas time. They also have individual Christmas puddings.

Chocolate bars and small packs of sweets might be good if your nan has a sweet tooth.

Spendless

Do you have a Home Bargains near you? This week I bought a packet of gingerbread biscuits. Inside are mini gingerbread men with 3 to each individually wrapped packet (think there's either 12 or 15 bisucits in total, so 4 or 5 small packs). Fabulous bakin boys also do muffins, cupcakes or flapjacks that are also individually wrapped.

Barneysmom

will she eat tinned food?
those little tiny tins of red salmon are cute

Owain_Moneysaver

dried packet soups have no nutrition - they're basically flavoured salty water. If tinned soups are acceptable, then look for high-calorie cream of... versions and wait until Baxter's are on multibuy for the 'luxury' touch.

Penguin, Kitkat, etc all come in individually-wrapped biscuits in multipacks.

Cheese is also a good high calorie source of protein and calcium - look at the lunchbox offerings for individual items.

You might also want to get some individually wrapped single-use disposable plates and cutlery in store in case things get any worse.