What to make for sick friend?

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Kracker

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My neighbor, who is also a friend is not well. She had 3 aneurysms
repaired and an artery in her leg cleaned out because it had plaque.
She's off her feet for several weeks. Her husband is helpless in the
kitchen and I'm afraid they will be living on canned soup and junky
take-out. They are not healthy eaters to begin with, not out of
carelessness but because that is their culture.

I'm planning to spend Sunday making a few meals for them that they can
freeze and reheat. I thought about a lasagna, but I've been out of the
casserole business for years and I just know you wonderful folks will
come up with all kinds of ideas to help me fix some stuff for these nice
folks.

How about some suggestions. It is food for two older people who eat
small portions of "American" food. Nothing exotic or spicy, please.
--
Janet Wilder
Way-the-heck-south Texas
Spelling doesn't count. Cooking does.
 
In article ,
Janet Wilder wrote:


Have you thought about cooking stuff for them and putting it in vacuum
bags for freezing? Drop it in boiling water stuff. Any type of stew,
lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, pulled pork with or without sauce,
mashed potatoes, vegetables, etc. I'm sure there's something better
nowadays, but Seal-A-Meals froze well and were dirt easy for camping
twenty years ago and the concept endures. It's like you cooked it
yesterday.

leo
 
On Fri, 18 Feb 2011 22:47:19 -0600, Janet Wilder
wrote:


Casseroles, like chicken or tuna noodle?

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
 
Janet wrote:


Given the reasons for her surgery, I'm guessing she's on a very-low-fat diet
and has been told to cut way down on salt. Most casseroles are pretty high
both in fat and salt. I'd suggest making chicken & rice using skinless
chicken breasts. Maybe add some vegetables like broccoli, carrots, green
beans, or peas.

Bob
 
On Sat, 19 Feb 2011 00:03:38 -0600, "Storrmmee"
wrote:


I'm thinking about Tetrazzini now.

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
 
"sf" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
The Joy of Cooking Tuna Noodle casserole recipe calls for 1 cup of
Campbell's condensed soup[I use cream of celery rather than cream of
mushroom], and a can (7 oz.) of tuna, and 2 cups of cooked noodles. Some
seasoning. I also make this with turkey, then usually with mushrooms. Use
wide egg noodles. Add a bit of milk if it seems to dry. Top with bread
crumbs and bake it for a bit, though that's not at all necessary.

In the Joy of Cooking cookbook it's called a great emergency dish. It is!

Kent
 
Kent wrote:


Probably not the best thing to feed someone who just had 3 aneurysms
repaired. The salt in the condensed soup could make her blood pressure go
up.

The nutrition information on the side of a can of Campbell's cream of celery
soup says that half a cup of the final soup (after it's been diluted by an
equal volume of water) has 860 mg of sodium, which means that a cup of the
condensed stuff (i.e. without diluting) has 3440 mg of sodium. The Center
for Disease Control states that "Groups most likely to develop high blood
pressure from sodium are advised to eat less than 1,500 milligrams of sodium
daily."

Of course, not EVERYONE has their blood pressure go up as a result of
dietary sodium intake. Maybe she's one of the lucky ones! But I'd rather not
be the one to feed her that casserole without being absolutely sure. (Oh,
wait: By "emergency dish", did you mean "dish likely to cause an
emergency"?)

Bob
 
In article ,
virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz says...

Bob, please check that again. According to the Campbells Web site the
nutritional information is for "1/2 c condensed" and the same is true
for the cans on my shelf, which further state that a 10-3/4 ounce can
contains approximately 2.5 servings, affirming that the information is
for 1/2 c of the _condensed_ soup not the diluted soup.

Also, they make at least 3 different condensed cream of celery soups,
the regular kind, "98% fat free", and "Healthy Request" with 640, 480,
and 410 mg of sodium per 1/2 cup condensed respectively. That would be
1720, 1290, and 1102 per can or 1280, 960, or 820 per cup.

It's still a lot of sodium but one serving split among 2 people wouldn't
come near the 1500 mg level even with a full can and the highest sodium
level they claim.

An alternative that might be worth a try is to cook the noodles in 2-3
cans of Campbells low sodium cream of mushroom (60 mg per can, not
condensed) amd then proceed as before.
 
Janet Wilder wrote:


I googled heart healthy casseroles and a lot of sites popped up,
like the Eating Well site. Casseroles are easy in this situation,
it would just be nice to give them one that will be good for your
friend and her husband at this time.

nancy
 
On Fri, 18 Feb 2011 22:47:19 -0600, Janet Wilder
wrote:


Beef with mushroom barley soup
Chili (this can be quite mild)
Empanadas (again, these can be mild, but are very easy to re-heat)
Chicken pot pies
Shepherd's pie
Pasta sauce and a few boxes of spaghetti
Stromboli - sort of a home made HotPocket.

Try to advise them to remove whatever they are going to eat the next
day, from the freezer the night before. It'll cut down on frustrating
re-heats that can get complicated with a thick layer of foodstuff and
be frustrating to someone who has little kitchen technique.

You, smart woman, probably do not need the next advice, but I's
recommend everything be frozen into small-serving container. Things
that obviously go into the microwave put into plastic, and things that
need a slow oven re-heat put into the aluminum containers you find at
the dollar store.

Something else that might be nice, if you know they like pizza or
Chinese food, is to arrange a gift certificate of sorts with a local
place that delivers to their door.
 
On 18/02/2011 11:47 PM, Janet Wilder wrote:

Given the nature of her medical problems the first priority should be
that the food is heart healthy.Maybe making her something healthy and
tasty will help her down the path to healthier eating. That means nu
butter, low salt, low fat, low sugar. Fruit is good. Bran muffins
could be a good idea, though she should know that commercially made
muffins are not a good choice.
 
baked ziti
chicken and dressing
meatloaf
muffins, banana bread, pumpkin bread
fruit
carrots and celery sticks -- cut up and stored in ice water
cold cuts, chicken salad, tuna salad, cheese, small rolls
They might appreciate some nonfood necessities like toilet paper,
paper towels, cleaning supplies, pet food.

Tara
 
In article ,
Janet Wilder wrote:


Small meatballs in a sauce.
Grilled chicken breast meat.
Meatloaf.
What "American" food do they eat?
Creamed something over toast or noodles
Ham and scalloped potatoes

Good luck. Good of you to do it, too.

--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of St. Pectina of Jella
"Always in a jam, never in a stew; sometimes in a pickle."
Pepparkakor particulars posted 11-29-2010;
http://web.me.com/barbschaller
 
On Fri, 18 Feb 2011 22:47:19 -0600, Janet Wilder
wrote:


I wouldn't bring caseroles and such for someone recovering from a
serious medical issue, those typically need to be too rich to be tasty
and if not to their taste will go to waste... and some with that
particular medical issue have been given a restricted diet, I'd not
pretend to be their doctor. Instead I'd check their larder to be sure
they have a variety of plain frozen vegetables. Bring some fresh
produce for salads and fresh fruit to eat out of hand. For protein
consider preparing a basic meat loaf, roast a simply seasoned chicken,
perhaps some lean frozen hamburger patties for pan frying. Also some
healthful snack foods like a variety of dried fruit, a few packages of
jello, individual serving cups of ices and sherbet, some canned fruit
as well. I'd keep things simple, this is about supplying a proper
diet, not tooting ones own horn by showcasing ones culinary talents.
Myself I'd just prepare a couple extra portions when I cook dinner,
phone well in advance to ask if they'd like pork chops with buttered
greenbeans and potato salad, pasta with sausage, beef stew, homemade
vegetable beef soup, spam n'spinach quiche... I'd offer to do this
once maybe twice a week... they may become offended by too much
charity, or just take advantage, I don't know them, but they're your
friends, so. It really makes no sense to bring surprise package food,
it'll probably end up in the trash. I know if I weren't feeling well
the last thing I'd want is someone elses cooking shoved at me (she had
enough of that in teh hospital). I'd much more appreciate someone
making up one of those gift baskets of fresh fruit, dried fruit, nuts,
jams, crackers, and already prepared foods that I'd just have to open
a package... tins of sardines are always welcome. I honestly think
it's very presumptuous to treat two grown adults like they were
indigent and retarded. I think when people bring cooked food it's
more about gold stars for oneself than honest generosity. I bet
those people are quite capable of calling for decent meals to be
delivered, and assuming the husband drives I'm sure he can do take
out... btw, not all take out is crap, maybe your speed is happy meals
at the drive thru clown but nowadays the finest five star eateries
will happily prepare anything on their menu to go. I'll occasionaly
pick up a full meal from some of the better restaurants around here, I
don't always feel like cooking nor do I want to eat out, and I don't
cook fish, liver, or any schtinkies at home. I eat here about once a
month but I also bring home dinner from this restaurant a few times a
year, it's not five star but it's not even close to fast food:
http://www.quarrysteakhouse.com/qsh/index.html

Why did you need to say "They are not healthy eaters to begin
with, not out of carelessness but because that is their culture."

Of course it's all about you... and that is a very nasty bigoted
remark.
 
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