Meal box suggestions for MIL?

[MEmama]

FIL has recently suffered a stroke. Both he and MIL are diabetic, have high blood pressure, and are generally poorly managed when it comes to diet and lifestyle. If (and it’s a big if) they choose to listen to the doctors after this latest scare, they will need to make significantly different choices.

DH would like to suggest a meal box subscription to help MIL learn how to cook some healthy meals. She is unlikely to be successful if left to her own devices, so we think a meal box might provide her with not just healthy options, but also reduce her need to go grocery shopping (aka buy junk food) and reduce the time she needs to spend in the kitchen. Caring for FIL is going to be a big job. Also, in theory he’ll be less able to complain about their meals because she can put the blame on the box rather than her own decisions and efforts.

The number of choices is a bit overwhelming. Can anyone suggest a box that is particularly helpful for low sodium, low sugar restrictions? Their typical meals consist of fatty protein and multiple carbs.

[73349]

I've heard good things about Blue Apron. Have not tried it myself as we are a challenge to feed.

ETA: I followed the link for momsmeals listed below, clicked on the things I wanted to exclude, and it told me all they would send me is teriyaki stir-fried vegetables over brown rice, which is what my DH is in the kitchen making right now! 😆

Edited March 25, 2022 by 73349

[Night Elf]

I use Hello Fresh and Home Chef. Both have healthy options but I don't know if they have a specific diabetic plan. Just look at their sites. When I try to look at the Hello Fresh plan, it keeps jumping me back to my account information. I have both plans on pause for now while we save some money. We were getting a box every week and that got expensive. Both are good food, very few problems and customer service in Hello Fresh is wonderful. Like one time they sent me a withered zucchini. I was lucky that I had one in the refrigerator. I used their live chat to complain and they gave me $10 off my next box. In the 4 years we've been using these services, we've had only a small handful of dishes we didn't care for, but otherwise the food is good. It's still a lot of prep because you have to wash and chop everything. But at least it's all put together into one bag which makes it easy to prepare and cook.

[VickiMNE]

I haven't used this as I just heard about it today, but https://www.momsmeals.com seems to be exactly what you want.  Their goal is to provide meals for people just out of the hospital and with special dietary requirements--not an ongoing subscription of recipes and ingredients to make.  They are covered by some health plans as well.

[Catwoman]

Do your in-laws qualify for a service like Meals on Wheels? I'm thinking your MIL might not feel up to cooking every meal right now, and having someone deliver ready-to-eat stuff might be more helpful to her than a meal prep subscription. Also, if she tends to cook mostly the same basic meals, she might not appreciate having to go to the trouble of following specific recipes in the meal boxes, and she and your FIL might not even like a lot of the meal choices.

I know the Meals on Wheels stuff might not be perfect in terms of nutrition, but I'm just thinking that your MIL might be feeling very overwhelmed right now and this may not be a time when she feels up to learning a new way to cook and eat. Once your FIL is back home and feeling better, that might be a better time to offer the meal box subscription (unless you ask her about it now and she is happy about it.)

Edited March 25, 2022 by Catwoman

[MEmama]

1 hour ago, Catwoman said:

Do your in-laws qualify for a service like Meals on Wheels? I'm thinking your MIL might not feel up to cooking every meal right now, and having someone deliver ready-to-eat stuff might be more helpful to her than a meal prep subscription. Also, if she tends to cook mostly the same basic meals, she might not appreciate having to go to the trouble of following specific recipes in the meal boxes, and she and your FIL might not even like a lot of the meal choices.

I know the Meals on Wheels stuff might not be perfect in terms of nutrition, but I'm just thinking that your MIL might be feeling very overwhelmed right now and this may not be a time when she feels up to learning a new way to cook and eat. Once your FIL is back home and feeling better, that might be a better time to offer the meal box subscription (unless you ask her about it now and she is happy about it.)

She loves to cook—the kitchen is her domain. That’s why we aren’t sure she will like the idea of a meal box—we would definitely get her buy in before going that route—but wanted to have some clear options available for her if it does appeal. It would be for after FIL comes home, yes. Sorry I didn’t make that clear.

[Clarita]

I did Blue Apron for a while. I will say she has to be on board with it, because for me it takes longer for me to prepare one of their meals versus what I might cook now. Part of it being unfamiliar recipes, sometimes the food is fancier, and part of it being a very specific amount of food for two people (no leftovers for us). Having said that I did like it a lot and it helped teach me to cook and be comfortable cooking new things. I've used some of the techniques and recipes I've learned from them.

I do know sometimes you may have access to a local meal box subscription service. If you do those might be a little cheaper, but you may have to pick up the box at a designated location. 

[MEmama]

12 hours ago, Clarita said:

I did Blue Apron for a while. I will say she has to be on board with it, because for me it takes longer for me to prepare one of their meals versus what I might cook now. Part of it being unfamiliar recipes, sometimes the food is fancier, and part of it being a very specific amount of food for two people (no leftovers for us). Having said that I did like it a lot and it helped teach me to cook and be comfortable cooking new things. I've used some of the techniques and recipes I've learned from them.

I do know sometimes you may have access to a local meal box subscription service. If you do those might be a little cheaper, but you may have to pick up the box at a designated location. 

Thank you for the helpful insight! 

[HomeAgain]

12 hours ago, Clarita said:

I did Blue Apron for a while. I will say she has to be on board with it, because for me it takes longer for me to prepare one of their meals versus what I might cook now. Part of it being unfamiliar recipes, sometimes the food is fancier, and part of it being a very specific amount of food for two people (no leftovers for us). Having said that I did like it a lot and it helped teach me to cook and be comfortable cooking new things. I've used some of the techniques and recipes I've learned from them.

I do know sometimes you may have access to a local meal box subscription service. If you do those might be a little cheaper, but you may have to pick up the box at a designated location. 

We had a similar experience, except there were always leftovers of the sides if we didn't add extra protein to add more people. I did have to double the time for every recipe until I was comfortable making it partially from memory.

One of the benefits from Blue Apron was picking the three meals we wanted each week.  One of the downsides: the meal selection got worse as prices rose during the pandemic.

We have 4 books of recipe cards from their program, though, divided into pork, poultry, beef, and vegetarian (dh hates seafood), and they are now on rotation in our regular meal plan.  We're comfortable with mixing and matching and changing up the base recipes that Blue Apron exposed us to. 

[Kanin]

17 hours ago, VickiMNE said:

I haven't used this as I just heard about it today, but https://www.momsmeals.com seems to be exactly what you want.  Their goal is to provide meals for people just out of the hospital and with special dietary requirements--not an ongoing subscription of recipes and ingredients to make.  They are covered by some health plans as well.

Wow this is awesome! The cost can even be covered by Medicare/Medicaid. Tucking this info away for the future. Thanks!

[Farrar]

I've done a number of those box kits and I'll just say that it's really easy to choose healthy ones... or not. Like, there's typically a steak, a burger, an option with minimal vegetables. Stuff that's simply not that healthy. And there's typically vegetarian and veggie rich options and a lot of lean protein, minimal carb, veggie meals. Like, your most basic Hello Fresh meal is chicken breast + moderate serving of potatoes/grain + roasted broccoli/green beans + pan sauce. That's like a solid quarter of all Hello Fresh options every single week, just with slightly different flavor profiles. But note that the healthy options tend to be "calorie" healthy not necessarily thinking much about sodium intake specifically.

The best way to moderate their sodium intake is to take away the salt. Seriously. That's what my dad had to do. They literally had a special thing in a corner of the pantry for special baking only. Everything else was either salt already in things (which is a ton of the salt) or they used no salt seasoning.

[MEmama]

2 hours ago, Farrar said:

I've done a number of those box kits and I'll just say that it's really easy to choose healthy ones... or not. Like, there's typically a steak, a burger, an option with minimal vegetables. Stuff that's simply not that healthy. And there's typically vegetarian and veggie rich options and a lot of lean protein, minimal carb, veggie meals. Like, your most basic Hello Fresh meal is chicken breast + moderate serving of potatoes/grain + roasted broccoli/green beans + pan sauce. That's like a solid quarter of all Hello Fresh options every single week, just with slightly different flavor profiles. But note that the healthy options tend to be "calorie" healthy not necessarily thinking much about sodium intake specifically.

The best way to moderate their sodium intake is to take away the salt. Seriously. That's what my dad had to do. They literally had a special thing in a corner of the pantry for special baking only. Everything else was either salt already in things (which is a ton of the salt) or they used no salt seasoning.

Yeah, it’s going to be a massive challenge. We will be very surprised if either of them is up for the task, unfortunately. They’ve ignored all the advice for decades, it just seems unlikely they will be willing to make all the changes at this point.

MIL was receptive to the idea of meal boxes, though, and I think even if they don’t choose the healthiest options (honestly, they won’t), at least it could help lessen some of her endless grocery and kitchen tasks. She does understand taking care of him is going to be hard work. 

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

Possible choices.  (I've been to the websites but have never used them and didn't evaluate them for cost etc. since I don't know your budget etc.)

https://diettogo.com/?clickid=RTLXMxRrTxyIRfqR68RfhUy5UkGQliUBRXyLVc0&irpid=2104074&ircid=3159&sharedid=&s=diettogo-partner&coupon=PARTNER-50-PERCENT-OFF-1WEEK

https://www.bistromd.com/the-program/diabetic-program?utm_source=CJ&utm_medium=Affiliate&cjevent=c3f4d287ad2811ec82ccf3d80a1c0e0d

[J-rap]

I've tried different ones:  Sun Basket, Blue Apron, and Hello Fresh.  They often have different options for diet or simplicity.  Sun Basket has many meals that say "pre-prepped" so veggies are already chopped, etc.  Blue Apron now has options that are simplified, like putting everything on one cookie sheet, etc.   I'd say that generally they feel quite healthy and would all be good options.  Sun Basket is the most consistently healthy and organic.  (They're also the most expensive.)  Blue Apron does require you to organize the ingredients yourself.  They come all mixed up in a box, and you sort them out according to the recipe.  (The other boxes have the ingredients already sorted out -- one bag per recipe).  In case that makes a difference!

If you don't like cooking, I think all of those now (Sun Basket for sure) have meals already made -- just pop them in the microwave.  I love to cook though so I don't get those.

Interestingly, I started using these when my own dh had a stroke at age 50, and they were a great distraction for me during a very difficult time.

Edited March 26, 2022 by J-rap

[Lady Marmalade]

I think you need to read Moonhawk's amazing compilation thread. 

 

[katilac]

If they have grocery delivery, you could occasionally make an order of healthy and healthy-ish convenience items for them. Fruit and veggie trays are the obvious healthy option, but even a sandwich or cheese platter can be an improvement if they might otherwise default to complete junk (which is so easy to do when you're busy and stressed). 

[Eos]

I ended up giving three weeks of Sunbasket to ds and dil when she had a difficult loss, the ingredients were quite nice and they liked it a lot.  They also have fully prepared meals which they didn't like as much but only because ds loves to cook.  Pricey, though less than actual takeout/grubhub.

[MEmama]

11 hours ago, katilac said:

If they have grocery delivery, you could occasionally make an order of healthy and healthy-ish convenience items for them. Fruit and veggie trays are the obvious healthy option, but even a sandwich or cheese platter can be an improvement if they might otherwise default to complete junk (which is so easy to do when you're busy and stressed). 

I really like this idea, but honestly food like that will go uneaten. I don’t know that FIL has eaten a vegetable in decades (he would count French fries as vegetables tho). They are going to have to make changes on their own, no amount of input from us has ever had a meaningful impact and at this point it would just frustrate everyone. DH and I are working on accepting the fact that real changes probably won’t be made, almost certainly not long term.

I’m encouraged that she is receptive to the idea of a meal box subscription for the short term. I think it will be helpful if we can narrow down the options for her so it isn’t so overwhelming. She seems most open to the idea of frozen, prepared trays (though I’m not sure how they are different than regular frozen TV dinners from the grocery, unless they are specifically low sodium).
 

Although they wouldn’t be my choice for lots of reasons, prepared trays might help prevent her from adding more salt, butter, etc to the dishes like she would if she had to assemble the meals using fresh ingredients. She already has herself convinced that sea salt is low sodium and is planning to use it instead (in the same quantity, of course).