They Hated It. in These Foolish Things

I went to see Mom and Dad on Saturday. I wanted to make sure they had not only a good, healthy meal, but that I brought them extra so that they could make leftovers a couple of times.

[Athena] recently sent me a delicious-looking recipe: chicken, zucchini and feta meatballs. YUM! I decided I’d make three batches of meatballs, a whole bunch of quinoa, a yummy tzatziki sauce, and a big watermelon and peach salad. And I’d take two of the batches to Mom and Dad and we could have them for lunch on Saturday and save some for later.

Caveat: mom’s tastes have gotten very particular and I know she no longer likes a lot of spice in her foods. So I took out the jalapeno that I would have put in the meatballs. And she doesn’t really like onions, so instead of diced onions, I used onion powder. All-in-all, I made a bit of a bland version of this recipe, but I also tasted them and I liked them!

On Saturday morning, I took the dog to daycare and then came home and carefully packed the meals into my cooler and set off for the three-hour drive to Mom and Dad’s, listening to a 3-hour long podcast the whole way.

The good news is, they looked great when I got there! Since mom has officially been diagnosed with dementia, she’s gotten some of the attention she’s needed: a part-time home health care person, a physical therapist who comes to their place several times a week, and a nurse who comes weekly for vitals. Dad’s getting a little bit of a needed reprieve (though in the beginning it still seems like a lot of work for him).

My bro and SIL were out running errands, so the three of us sat down to eat lunch without them…

Now, the thing about my parents is that they have always been good Midwestern meat and potatoes kind of people. They loooove their burgers and fries and mom has especially gained a massive sweet tooth in her older years. Fine. But it would still be nice for them to put something healthy in their guts, right?

I guess I was wrong.

They both turned their noses at the whole meal. Well, they loved the watermelon salad, but the meatball/quinoa/tzatziki combo? Mom said it was “weird”! Hahha! The exact word she used to describe it!

Honestly, my feelings weren’t really hurt. I knew it was going to be hit or miss.

But they WILL NOT eat anything that’s outside of their comfort zone anymore (not that they ever would, honestly. I don’t think they’ve ever tried sushi or even Indian food!).

And of course, they were grateful that I’d come to visit and brought some food and knew that it came from my heart. But I asked them what they really wanted instead and mom asked for pie.

So I ran out to their local grocery store and picked up a cherry pie in the bakery and some vanilla bean ice cream and ran back to their place and they were happy(ier).

So now I’m trying to think of anything I can possibly do to get them to eat something healthy. I know mom loves sweet potato fries, which I think are healthier than regular potato fries, and she’ll eat ground turkey (I made a Mexican salad on one of the days when I was there for two weeks in June and used ground turkey)… so maybe it’s turkey burgers and sweet potato fries…

Anyway. Lesson learned. NO NEW FOOD for mom and dad! Only comfort food for them.

Any other ideas for healthy comfort food??

xo,
GS