Meal ideas carers can manage

strawberryfield2233 · 19 September 2017 at 4:23PM

Glad PasturesNew came along you are quite right the walls pre baked are a bit pricey.
Sometimes a good simple fish finger sandwich hits the spot, again perhaps they could pop those in the oven whilst they care for you then serve at the end of their time

M00minMama · 19 September 2017 at 5:07PM

You guys are awesome.

I have some new ideas that will mean I can have some real food within my budget.

Thank you all so much

maman · 19 September 2017 at 5:22PM

Not sure where you shop but Aldi have introduced some very reasonably priced ready meals. The only one I have myself is the Lamb Rogan Josh curry which with a pouch of microwave rice would make two meals. My DH likes the chicken tikka or jalfrezi.

I buy others for my DH to ping when I'm out for the evening but haven't tasted them myself. His favourites are Macaroni Cheese, Spaghetti Carbonara, Tagliatelle (I think with ham and cheese) and Canneloni both the beef one and the vegetarian. If he's feeling extra hungry he'll have beetroot (vacuum packed long life) or a ping a few frozen peas to go with it.

VfM4meplse · 19 September 2017 at 5:31PM

M00minMama wrote: »

I am getting fed up of cheap ready meals, microwaved jacket potatoes and scrambled eggs.

|I feel for you. My grandmother spent her last few months immobile in a nursing home, and they were stumped as to what too feed a vegetarian. It was an endless round of bread, jacket potatoes, cheese and scrambled eggs and custard - must have been awful for her to be confronted with a sea of yellow when she had been such a good cook herself. We'd bring her meals in when we could, and maintained the supply of fruit (which she loved). I'm going back 30 years now but it sounds like times haven't changed!

In your position I would appeal to friends and family to batch cook for you and freeze - that way you could tell them what you'd like to eat and how much you can afford to spend. All your carers would have to do is to pull out a meal to defrost, and then stick it in a hot oven / the hob the next day (works for soups and vegetable dishes; can't comment on meat). At least then you could eat well and get good value for money.

People are often willing to help if they know someone is in need, sometimes you have to reach out and ask.

Prinzessilein · 19 September 2017 at 5:32PM

Could your budget stretch to a small investment>

A slowcooker hs been suggested before....a morning carer could put it on (cheap cut of meat...veggies on offer....stock from a cube)...and the evening carer could dish up and wash the crock!....a basic model costs around £30ish

If you have a bit more, then a Halo is brilliant....it is a halogen oven, but also turns the food....you could have a carer put some meat, noodles and veg in with a dash of oil when they arrive....15 - 20 mins later you have a stir-fry!...Sausages cook in about 15 minutes....a piece of chicken in about 20...even chips as a treat in 20 minutes....the food doesn't need checking on,so they could put your dinner on first and then do other work for you while it cooks.

Quick and cheap ...but also nutritious is what I call an Auflauf...a sort of frittata thing...any leftovers, chopped up into a microwaveable bowl, add an egg (two if you are hungry) beaten up (I sometimes add a little milk to the beaten egg)...and microwave until the egg cooks, sets and rises....ready in minutes.

Or, a tin of tomatoes blitzed up makes the basis of a sauce, add some grated cheese...or some tinned chopped ham and heat in the microwave and serve with courgetti (a courgette that has been spiralized - you can but a pencil-sharpener type for a few pounds....or buy prepared courgetti from supermarkets...or butternut squash noodles...but buying ready made is pricey)...this steams in the microwave in minutes (pasta takes much longer)

corned beef hash?...microwave a potato and mashup the flesh with tinned corned beef...very quick and tasty!

And don't forget the occasional little sweet-something...especially if you just have a sandwich or eggs for the meal...a banana baked in its skin, and then topped with a splodge of joghurt....or a small apple will microwave-bake in your 15 minute slot, top with golden syrup

PasturesNew · 19 September 2017 at 5:52PM

Prinzessilein wrote: »

corned beef hash?...microwave a potato and mashup the flesh with tinned corned beef...very quick and tasty!

I do that - you can even use tinned potatoes if you don't want to use fresh ones, but cut them first so they don't go pop. It's gorgeous and super fast ... with baked beans

Prinzessilein wrote: »

And don't forget the occasional little sweet-something...

One "quickie" is to get the bags of ready made crumble mix.

Simply microwave any fresh fruit for a few minutes, or open/drain some tinned fruit and nuke it hot then sprinkle about 1/3rd of a packet of crumble mix over it and shove in the oven to brown for 15-20 minutes or so... time depends on whether you do it in an oven, or under a grill. Instant custard goes a treat.... or Dream Topping (a favourite of mine).

I'm also a HUGE fan of chocolate spread (4ldi, 80p for a 400 gram jar) - instant chocolate fix served on a bit of toast or a toasted muffin.

Tinned creamed rice is a permanent feature in my house. Eat hot or cold. Get a big mug and microwave it - and add a spoon of jam, or some dark sugar.

Another thought is "fish in sauce". You can buy "boil in the bag" types, or you can buy a variety of frozen fish fillets and get in a couple of packets of instant sauces that catch your fancy. Serve with the usual real mash, instant mash, oven chips or a jacket spud, with either frozen mixed veg or tinned/frozen peas.

I don't use an oven or a hob to cook... I only use: a slow cooker, a microwave, a toaster oven and a £5 toaster. I cook my entire Xmas dinner, fresh, with this lot.
I've no food processor either. I don't have many cooking dishes and I wash up by hand (begrudgingly)... so like to minimise all fuss from getting food onto a plate.

As a general rule, if I can't think of it and cook it and start eating it in 15 minutes I've lost interest....

Because you're relying on somebody else to do the cooking - and have to be mindful too of mess/clearing up too I guess ... you'll just have to use even more packet/tins than I'd usually use, but they are viable ingredients.

I always say it's better to have 90% of a perfect dish you fancy with some work-rounds, than moan you can't have XYZ because you're only prepared to accept 100% top quality every time that's faultlessly served.

I should also point out "the bleedin' obvious" ... supermarkets have many ready meals - some inexpensive, some to give you a heart attack. Some supermarkets deliver. You can spend some hours pawing through them all online and make a list to discover new delights .... maybe.

If you have a combination of a good sized freezer and a good supermarket that delivers, you could just pick more interesting microwave ready meals to try .... or use them as inspiration to DIY something similar.

Clearly budget is important, so you're probably not up for buying in some Higgidy Pies at £7 each (I kid you not!), but would favour ready meals in the sub £1.50 ranges. There are fewer of these to buy these days as they've reduced the cheap ranges to the bare minimum and introduced designer brands (the b4st4rds!).

Emulating ready meals is easy for some meals... others require a bit more thinking about to achieve them easiest within the given timescales.

Fancy a spag bol? Nuke spaghetti in a water bath for just 4-5 minutes and make up a couple of spoons of frozen beef mince with a couple of spoons of frozen chopped onion with some tomato sauce and a splash of Worcester would "get you sorted".

Sausage & mash? That's ready cooked sausages and frozen mash, instant mash, or nuke a spud then mash it with a fork.

PasturesNew · 19 September 2017 at 5:58PM

Gadgets: As has been said above, there are many new-fangled "one job" gadgets that might hit the spot.... if you have a particular leaning towards one dream meal or another.

If you are missing something, then it's worth investigating things such as:
- good soup makers
- pie makers
- omelette makers
- air friers
- those "new" electric all-in-one pots that do whole meals
- an assortment of microwave cooking gadgets.

We're all different and all crave different items when access to all foods becomes restricted.

Over time think about what you miss and research whether a particular gadget will really solve that problem for you.

M00minMama · 19 September 2017 at 10:13PM

Thank you for this. As some of you have said, it's easy if you have a big budget but harder when it's very low.

I'm still adjusting to the frustration of not being able to cook anymore and then being told no beans or pulses meant I was stuck for ideas. Thanks for giving me your suggestions. I've made a shopping list and will be getting some decent stuff in very soon.

[Deleted User] · 7 October 2017 at 11:25PM

Stir fry is quick and cheap - noodles, frozen stir fry veg, meat and sauce
Pasta - with pesto is quick or any other sauce in a jar
Tinned beans are a no no but how are you with tinned spaghetti? I like it on toast with some grated cheese too.
Coucous meals are quick
You can get meals in a tin, like stewed steak, curries ect
Fish portions in a microwave pouch! Takes only a few mins, eat with tinned potatoes and tinned veg.

vodkawitch1 · 8 October 2017 at 11:05AM

Are meals on wheels not available to you, as they do some qood quality meals.

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Meal ideas carers can manage

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