5 meals (2 ways) for an aging parent and the rest of the family / soft food & low sodium

0:00 Introduction
1:07 Loaded Sweet Potatoes
2:46 Lola’s Breakfast “Casserole” and Miso Mushroom Oats
4:30 Tofu Soup and Salad
6:33 Air Fryer Salmon and (High Protein Fiber) Mashed Potatoes
8:15 Curry Loaded Sweet Potatoes

Last year, my partner and I moved her elderly mom in with us to become her caregivers...and cooking became a bit more complicated in the kitchen.


Our aging parent needs soft and low sodium food, and the rest of the family does not.


After cooking about 3 meals a day, 7 days a week for over a year, I've figured out how to make pretty much any meal two ways so the whole family is happy.


When I cook meals, I often make 2 versions of every meal. A regular version for the family and a soft and low sodium version for my partner's elderly mom, Lola. They both have similar ingredients, that way Lola doesn't feel left out.


I figured there were a lot of people out there in similar situation who are caregiving for their grandparents, aging parents, or seniors, so I decided to start documenting what I’ve been doing.


One of the biggest game changers I started to do each week is ingredient prepping. At the beginning of the week I take between 1-3 hours to ingredient prep. It’s kind of like meal prepping, but instead of prepping full meals, I just precook ingredients. Kind of like a restaurant style of prep.


This way I can mix and match the ingredients all week long creating an endless variety of delicious meals quickly and easily.

You will see throughout this video that a lot of ingredients such as sweet potatoes, soft steamed veggies, taco beef, have been prepped in advance…making cooking much easier!


Meal #1 Loaded Sweet Potatoes

Our aging parent’s version includes:
•baked sweet potatoes (peeled, mashed, and seasoned)
•black beans
•soft steamed veggies
•vegan beef
•low sodium broth

The rest of the family’s version includes:
•baked sweet potato (not peeled)
•seasoned black beans
•vegan beef
•cheese
•lettuce
•tomato
•red onion
•sour cream
•cilantro
•cayenne

Meal #2 Lola’s Breakfast “Casserole” and Miso Mushroom Oats

Our aging parent’s version includes:
•oat milk
•steel cut oats
•poached egg
•greek yogurt
•fresh fruit

The rest of the family’s version includes:
•miso broth (water, miso paste, dried mushrooms, garlic, ginger)
•air fried mushrooms
•Steel cut oats
•scallions
•toasted sesame oil
•nori roasted cashews (found them at Whole Foods)

Meal #3 Tofu Soup and Salad

Our aging parent’s version includes:
•low sodium broth (low sodium chicken stock, dried mushrooms, garlic, ginger, fish sauce)
•air fryer tofu
•soft steamed veggies
•toasted sesame oil

The rest of the family’s version includes:
•arugula
•air fryer tofu
•air fried rice
•dressing (chili oil, soy sauce, fish sauce, rice wine vinegar, mirin, toasted sesame oil, fresh grated ginger)
•roasted seaweed sheet
•dried mushrooms (that had been cooking in the broth)
•scallions
•nori roasted cashews
•sesame seeds

Meal #4 Air Fryer Salmon and High protein Mashed Potatoes

Our aging parent’s version includes:
•high fiber and protein mashed potatoes (dried potato flakes, can of pinto beans, fresh chives and dill, sour cream, low sodium broth, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika)
•air fryer salmon (covered in sauce made with mayo, whole grain mustard, and honey, then seasoned with garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika)
•soft steamed veggies
•low sodium broth

The rest of the family’s version includes:
•high fiber and protein mashed potatoes
•air fryer salmon
•air fryer asparagus

Meal #5 Curry Loaded Sweet Potatoes

Our aging parent’s version includes:
•baked sweet potatoes (peeled and mashed)
•curry sauce (with coconut milk to lower salt and spice, and garlic powder and onion powder)
•black beans
•soft steamed veggies

The rest of the family’s version includes:
•baked sweet potatoes (not peeled)
•curry sauce
•black beans
•frozen peas
•cilantro
•mint
•toasted almonds
•naughty tomato puff (I found them at the Indian market)

**PLEASE NOTE**
Everyone's needs are different.
I cook to accommodate the needs of our elderly parent’s particular situation. You may need to adjust the sodium levels, softness levels, sugar and ingredients for you or your loved ones.