Freezing meals for elderly

evergreen

My Mum in law does not cook for herself anymore, and I started freezing dinners for her, but now that is more or less the only dinners she eats. Trouble is I was freezing them in special Sisterna freezer to microwave plates with covers, but they take up a lot of room in her freezer. Are there any plates I can get that can be wrapped in cling film and then put in freezer bags, that can then be put in microwave, as these would not take up so much room in her small freezer. Also the list of things she now says she doesn't like is endless, so although I have suggested meals on wheels she says no. Can I make things with rice or spaghetti in and freeze them. I would be grateful for any advice. Thanks.

grunnie

In my area the meals on wheels came from the local school canteen and my late MIL and mum were quite happy to have the same meals as my 3 sons were having and also neighbours grandkids. She would say I got stew did you have stew bet u didn;t have the green beans ( she hated them) but she did love the sponge puddings and custard. In our area u only got meals on wheels 3 times a week so I cooked meals and delivered them each night. It was also new people to speak to as they would get her a plate and cutlery out for her if I forgot.

HappyMJ

evergreen wrote: »

My Mum in law does not cook for herself anymore, and I started freezing dinners for her, but now that is more or less the only dinners she eats. Trouble is I was freezing them in special Sisterna freezer to microwave plates with covers, but they take up a lot of room in her freezer. Are there any plates I can get that can be wrapped in cling film and then put in freezer bags, that can then be put in microwave, as these would not take up so much room in her small freezer. Also the list of things she now says she doesn't like is endless, so although I have suggested meals on wheels she says no. Can I make things with rice or spaghetti in and freeze them. I would be grateful for any advice. Thanks.

Rice freezes very well so yes you can make dishes with rice and freeze it. It does dry out a bit but that's not a problem.

Noodles on the other hand not quite so good they tend to also go a bit too dry. Maybe if you made the noodles with a really wet sauce then they won't be as dry and will survive the freezing process.

Cyclamen

If she is reheating in a microwave would she be ok with microwave rice in pouches.

I have no idea about the plates that go from freezer to microwave but will be off to look soon..we use plastic 'takeaway style' tube we buy in bulk.

have you discussed whether she would be eligible for any care support..someone to come in an dheat up your meals, plate up etc?

PennyForThem_2

Did she cook for herself before? I freeze meals for one in containers which when frozen I decant into plastic bags with a label.

So I batch cook for example a stew which divides into 4 one person sized portions into one sized plastic containers. Once frozen I plop out the frozen portion into a plastic bag and label.

When ready to eat I can place frozen portion into the container I used or a similar shaped ceramic dish and microwave.

Depends on her cooking ability and confidence I guess. My 80 +++ year old neighbours get frozen meals delivered for storing in freezer and microwaving when required.

This is a supplier of one off portions (though I find them too salty for my taste and I tend to cook all my own stuff).

http://www.cookfood.net/menu/main-meals

PasturesNew

I just randomly googled to see what styles/shapes might be available and saw this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/MICROWAVE-DISHES-REMOVABLE-COMPARTMENTS-COOKWARE/dp/B008MZK1JU

I thought if you froze veggies in the 1/4 shapes and mains in the 1/2 shape then they could be dropped into the main container on a whim.

You might need to buy two sets: one for you to use as templates for freezing; one for the recipient to use for reheating.

That way the only items in the freezer will be the frozen food wrapped in plastic bags and labelled.

Of course, without being able to buy a ready supply of the empty "cups" she'd have to transfer the food from a freezer bag into the 1/4 or 1/2 cups. But the suppliers might also supply spares of the cups if you enquire, thus enabling you to freeze the food in the cups and keep it in them.

Ilona

I freeze portions of stew, soup, curry, in margarine tubs. These fit in my freezer very well. To microwave I turn it upside down and push down on the bottom to free it from the tub, and put it in a small pyrex bowl. Need to stir several times to ensure it is heated throughout. For a smaller portion look for smaller tubs.
Ilona

MrsCD

I used to freeze spare meals when cooking for my family to take to my MIL's. I used the 5 for £1 microwaveable plastic tubs from the pound shop. The carers came in four times a day and we would lift one or two out each evening to defrost in the fridge for lunch and/or teatime. The system worked pretty well most of the time.