Caregiving and Food Preparation
aregiving and food preparation produced interesting meals for my husband's unique situation.
My husband's soul portrait by Allison L. Williams Hill
Giving my husband foods with high water content has been received with appreciation. I became a wholistic health practitioner after taking, enjoying and successfully satisfying the requirements for the Institute for Integrative Nutrition’s program. I enrolled online while we lived in the British Virgin Islands. I thank Joshua Rosenthal, IIN’s creator, for creating an electronic version; I knew a few years before that when we returned to the states, that I would be in the program, continuing acquiring knowledge on a subject I became interested in forty years ago. I was thrilled to be able to fulfill attending IIN earlier.
My Beloved in Hope, PA,1993 by Allison L. Williams Hill
Caregiving and Food Preparation Importance
Food energetics should be considered during and for each
season and for all of the foods’ contents.
For example, my husband enjoys fruit.
Mixed fruit salad’s energy is cool and damp. This is not something that makes him feel
good when the temperature is freezing and cold.
However, I could select specific fruits liked dried fruits or prunes
that would be more suitable because they are dry and warm.
Each person is different as developed by family
history and life experience, one’s own habits, culture, etc. That is why, as a health coach, giving Health
Histories are extremely important.
Asking a care receiver what he or she desires and observing what they
say and do will inform the caregiver about what to do.
Caregiving and Food Preparation Varieties: Experiment With Your Food!
Life is not fixed, so experiment! Discuss things that could be included, tried, and evaluated. Always ask the care recipient. Ask if they would be willing to try something different. Colors, aromas, and textures could be ways of adding interest to already established meal plans.
I found a stove-top mashed potato mix. This was an alternative because we did not have a working stove. I purchased three packages; I was sure my husband would like it as he liked mash potatoes. I made two for lunch. I fed him the potatoes. He ate it. So, I asked him, “How do you like the potatoes?” “I don’t,” he said. I was really surprised! “You don’t like them?” “No.” The best question I asked was, “Why?” He said, “I don’t like the style.” He meant the taste. Well, we continue to experiment. Oh yes, I stopped feeding him what he did not like. He deserves to be happy.
I integrate my studies from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition with everything I do. I completed the program and provide health coaching services. My husband, my family, and I are my first clients.
He was given fruit salads first for breakfast to improve transit time in addition to the vitamins and minerals they provide. Blending them and adding bananas enabled him to still enjoy them. I also blend apples, prunes, and salad greens like herbs and mesclun, an ideal way to increase enzymes and minerals.
I add cut prunes, water, and blend. Sometimes, I include seeded grapes and put the seeds in. This mixture is transferred to the larger blending cup (without the handles because it holds more) and blended with the apple slices. The double blending cuts the apple skins into smaller parts, and the seeds are small enough to swallow. The smoothie improves when it sits covered for about 10 or 15 minutes. It thickens and develops a custard-like texture and a great taste. Make sure it is covered to ensure vitamins to keep its nutritional value.
I prepare plain cream of wheat with Polaner All-Fruit with fiber. I separate some of the cream of wheat into the smaller blender used for grains but with the cross-blade. I don’t wash the cup because the remaining fruit from the smoothie’s skins and prunes go into the cereal. The fruit is blended to smooth and fluffy. It is poured over the cream of wheat in a bowl and folded in. I occasionally taste the mix to see if I need to blow on it to cool it for him. The cereal is pretty tasty.
Boost protein drink was one of the products we received after the second physician assistant meeting at the VA clinic.I purchased other flavors so my husband could have as much variety as possible.I mixed Boost smoothies with different fruits so he could decide what he liked. The cups with more content were flavors he approved. I desired for him to have variety in the limits of foods I could store in the house and what he wanted to eat.
Boost with various amounts of fruits changing their flavors.
The Magic Bullet blends cooked fish and animal proteins - ground turkey, sirloin, with potatoes or basmati, jasmine, or brown rice with hot water. I use the water I boil the potatoes for the starch. I don’t eat meat, so I am ultra-careful in seasoning them. I always attempt to eliminate lumps or grainy textures. All foods require water to blend; this is a good thing because the increased water content aids regularity.
Since I got the Magic Bullet, I resumed making asparagus. I intuited he was to get asparagus only each morning. Some of you may be interested in 18th century information about the power of asparagus. I found the information at Women Warriors, a favorite website created by people who help others and our planet. The cross blades blend it well including the fibrous stalks. He gets it all. For that information go to Asparagus.
Warning: the Magic Bullet was challenging to open after use. A seal formed with warm contents.Customer service said to discard the cylinder with the motor. It may explode. I could not afford the chance. I wrote a letter to customer service thanking the person, by name, who gave me the advice.
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