Help my husband feed our family

[tiki]

We got Factor meals delivered for a while. After a couple of months they all start to taste the same no matter what you order, but until you reach that point, it's very convenient food. It's a weekly refrigerated delivery so no freezer space required.
Oh, and regarding the cost - it takes a while before you pay full price if you sign up using one of their promotions. 

[dexteroni]

Oof, that sounds major! Since it’s a few months away, I would buy a cheap upright or chest freezer and start cooking to fill it. Have your kids help if they’re old enough. You can prepare taco meat, sloppy joes, chili, trays of baked pasta and lasagna, soup, crock pot dinners, etc. This is a potentially very long recovery, and if you’re completely out of commission, your DH is going to have enough to do with kid stuff, household stuff, and tending to you, without also trying to figure out how to learn something that’s difficult for him. That also gives him extra freezer space to take the kids to the store and stock up on easy frozen foods. Good luck!

[JayhawkGirl]

This is a time to call on neighbors if you have any you’re even somewhat connected to. I’d ask to borrow freezer space and ask if they’ll start crockpot meals for you. And when someone offers a meal train say yes. Don’t hesitate in the slightest ❤️

[Deleted]

More info:

C is 10 and neurodivergent, so not sure how much he’ll be able to help out, but we can try to build his skills over the next month or so.

No room for a chest freezer unfortunately.

It’s knee surgery so no knee scooter.

I think a set menu of the same items every week sounds like the best plan. He probably can do meatball subs, pasta, crockpot tacos , and definitely breakfast for dinner. He won’t be able to stop by the store after work, but we could lean into InstaCart.

Thanks so much, you all always have such good suggestions for this kind of thing.

[expectantsteelerfan]

Do you have an Aldi near you? One of our favorite meals is the 'green bag' of chicken parmesean from there. It's raw, frozen, pre-breaded and seasoned chicken. You just stick it on a baking sheet. I add sauce and cheese and then broil at the end for us, but my kids don't like sauce/cheese and just eat the chicken as is. I make a bag of frozen veggies and call it a meal. I've made it when my kids have had friends over, and they have all liked it.

We also do hot sandwiches (so bread/bun of some sort, whatever meat family members like, heated in the oven quickly till crispy) on the nights when we are super busy but don't want fast food.

Honestly, I would talk with your dh and come up with 7 options that he can make/buy and your family will eat, and then just repeat those things every week.

Good luck! I have a dh who does no cooking too, literally can't make anything other than plain pasta or ramen, and when I've been out of commission, we do a lot of pasta, ramen, pizza, and take out. But those get old real fast and are not healthy.

[dale]

Our local restaurants do a family meal night once per week and we can get a dinner for 4 priced around $30. The Mexican place does their Taco Box, the Italian place does chicken parm and penne, etc. If places by you have this it may help break up the week a little.

[lilac05]

Sept 20, 2024 12:52:55 GMT -5 mcppalmbeach said:

Another easy one…meatball subs. Crockpot, meatballs, jar of sause, hoagie rolls.

This week, I made meatball subs one night and then threw a few of the meatballs into the InstantPot the next night with a pound of spaghetti noodles (broken in half), a jar of sauce, 1.5 jars of water, and a can of diced tomatoes. Set the timer to 8 minutes and mixed it up. 3 nights of meals with about 5 minutes of hands-on time!

Try not to let the length of time scare you. Make a plan for 3 weeks or so and then go from there. Remember that you will be cognitively able to do some things and can an do stuff like sit and chop veggies or verbally support him while he does the actual cooking. You might want him to continue to do 100%after that 3 weeks while you rest and recover or you might get a little stir crazy and just want to have things to do to keep you busy and your mind off of recovery. (Speaking from experience…I was non-weight bearing for almost 6 weeks with two kids under 6. I got really good at doing things on my crutches and wanted to do basic things around the house.)

But also…no shame in a bowl of cereal and a banana for dinner! I usually plan one once a month and my kids look forward to it all month because it’s so different. It’s a treat for them!

[orangello]

I just went through this with the non weight bearing. While my H will putter in the kitchen, he’s not a cook. His biggest challenge was timing - we had sooo many post 9pm dinners because he could not get our pets fed and out and dinner made with any sort of speed. I’d advise you set a schedule and stick to it. Also, trying to eat different or easy things didn’t work for us - we both ended up feeling like we were eating almost junk food, if that makes sense? I’d advise meal prep and freezing whatever of your normal meals you can.

[sadlebred]

If you are near an Aldi, they have some prepared meals.

--Frozen pizza + steamed veggie or salad (use bagged salad kit)
--Cheese and meat tray that everyone can make their own sandwiches from. Just put the cheese and meat on a tray or somewhere to let everyone get what they want.
--I'll second a meal service. Ask on your local Facebook groups. There are usually local ones if you are in a moderate size city.

[sadlebred]

I'd also like to suggest Lasagna Love: lasagnalove.org/. You can make a donation if you want to help cover the cost. All he'll have to do is put it in the oven. It's a wonderful organization!

[lostrn]

Sept 20, 2024 20:25:48 GMT -5 sadlebred said:

I'd also like to suggest Lasagna Love: lasagnalove.org/. You can make a donation if you want to help cover the cost. All he'll have to do is put it in the oven. It's a wonderful organization!

My cousin volunteers with this organization! It's really great.

[lostrn]

I would definitely switch our normal grocery shopping to convenience items as much as possible. Bagged salad kits, deli meals, breakfast for dinner, sandwiches. I'd look into pre-marinated meats he can just throw in a pan and put in the oven. That sort of thing doesn't require much talent, just knowing where the pans are in the kitchen.
It definitely sounds challenging but I think it will end up going better than you are anticipating. At least after the first couple of weeks!

[lilac05]

As an aside, this may end up being good therapy for him, too! The brain can continue to heal and recover for a lot longer than we used to think following a stroke! Having to consistently work to follow similar tasks may be a good challenge for his brain! Obviously work within reason and have reasonable expectations, but he might surprise you and be able to do more by the end than he can do now!

[arehopsveggies]

Cooked meat ahead of time takes up less freezer space than full meals.
I always cook a TON of chicken and shred it and freeze it before any big medical stuff. Same with ground beef.

Then it’s easy to add to simple things

Shredded chicken + enchilada sauce + cheese

Ground beef + taco stuff

Ground beef + spaghetti stuff

Shredded chicken + box rice pilaf

Shredded chicken + bag of cabbage slaw + soy sauce + rice or noodles

[lindyanne]

I would also look at stocking the freezer with some proteins that are cooked that you can easily throw into a meal (taco meat, pulled pork) and also find some crockpot meals that are basically dump and cook (Mississippi pot roast comes to mind - I am sure there are a lot more but I don’t use the crock pot much)

[audry80]

Cook bacon and freeze it. It takes up little room and can make BLT sandwiches.

Do you have an air fryer? So many ways to cook easy meals.

[statgirl]

I would do a 7 day rotation (any order that works for you):
1. Soup and grilled cheese
2. Hamburgers
3. Cereal
4. Rotisserie chicken
5. Chicken salads or quesadillas
6. Frozen lasagna or frozen premade meal
7. Grocery deli (tenders/fried chicken/sides)

Have bags of steamed veggies, fruit (even pre-chopped from grocery), or salad greens/kits to finish off the meal. You can use your freezer space for the veggies and premade frozen casseroles/lasagna.

I could eat the same thing every day and not care (Salad with carrots, cucumbers, french fried onions, scrambled eggs or other protein, and honey mustard dressing was my spring dinner when my husband travelled) but I know that some people avoid repeats. For a season of life, I would lean in on a routine even if it isn’t “perfect” every day.

I am a decent cook but I am also overwhelmed in the evenings. We eat a lot of biscuits, pancakes, baked goods, tacos, chicken and rice dishes, and quesadillas because those are what I can get on the table quickly or what my 9 year old can make (he asked for shortcake biscuits one day and I told him only if he made them—so he did. His older brother was jealous I trusted the younger one to cook, so he made pasta from scratch. They now each cook a meal a week with a little help from me).

[sadlebred]

I know you said you didn't have a lot of freezer space--does one of your neighbors? Any chances they would be willing to put stuff in their freezer for a few weeks that your DH can come get weekly?

[cricketwife]

I also handle the cooking in our house and if my husband cooks, he often makes baked potatoes. It’s sooooo east to just throw them in the oven. We serve with cheese and sour cream and it’s a very satisfying meal.

Also, chicken breast in the crockpot with any Indian curry sauce is so easy. We serve with rice, but you could buy naan and make it super easy. Throw some peas in the crockpot at the end for some veg.

Also, I think if you had a rotation of 8 meals it would be plenty. It would get you off the “ugh, it’s Tuesday, baked potoatoes again.” And should be doable with all the ideas in this thread.

I haven’t dealt with this, but I also handle everything food in our house— the planning, shopping and cooking so this would also be a challenge for my husband.

I have been a recipient of lasagne love and I agree with everyone who says it’s great. My only advice is to clarify how the lasagne will arrive. Ours was delivered at dinner time so I was expecting it to be cooked and ready to eat . It was a huge frozen lasagne which took a LONG time to cook! We were still extremely grateful, of course!

[jane6672]

Sept 20, 2024 15:12:48 GMT -5 @villainv said:

More info:

No room for a chest freezer unfortunately.
.

If it’s an option, we LOVE this little Midea deep freeze. Doubled our freezer space and the footprint is very small — less than 2’ square. You can fit quite a lot in.

www.amazon.com/Midea-MRC04M3AWW-White-Freezer-Cubic/dp/B00MVVITWC/ref=asc_df_B00MVVITWC/

[archiethedragon]

you don’t need to worry about it. I am sure your husband is on a message board right now asking for ideas for how to feed his family when you have your surgery.

[loira]

Salad is my go to when I've got a meal that needs a side of veggies. Saves prep time and also dishes.

[hbomdiggity]

Where will you be, physically? Like will you be in a room nearby to walk him through some things?

My rec would be Costco lasagne and bagged salad; and Costco meatballs, Raos sauce, pasta.

I agree with making a month plan, see what works and go from there.

I’d also get instacart/Shipt if you don’t have it already, so you can get groceries and meals delivered.

[dontlook]

I don’t know if it’s above his skill level, but I’d lean into semi-homemade meals. My target has pre-cooked chicken breast. I add with a jar pasta sauce, add a veggie, and boil noodles. The other night it was chicken and broccoli Alfredo.

I can use that pre-cooked chicken to a bag of salad and some kind of breadstick that can go into the toaster oven.

Crockpot meals like stew or chili might be easy enough to talk him through.

I would definitely stick to a set rotation of 7 or so meals. Find meals that work and eat them over and over again.

[sandandsea]

I’d get a weekly rotation of easy things and just repeat it.

Breakfast for dinner -pancakes and eggs
Pizza
Heat up frozen lasagna/potpie/costco prepped meal
Tacos
Spaghetti
Grill - burgers/chicken/steak

[Deleted]

Sept 21, 2024 12:12:52 GMT -5 hbomdiggity said:

Where will you be, physically? Like will you be in a room nearby to walk him through some things?

My rec would be Costco lasagne and bagged salad; and Costco meatballs, Raos sauce, pasta.

I agree with making a month plan, see what works and go from there.

I’d also get instacart/Shipt if you don’t have it already, so you can get groceries and meals delivered.

I will be in a room nearby where I could theoretically talk him through stuff…but for both of our sanity, I think we would prefer meals he can cook independently (but ask me the occasional question if needed). I can’t think of anything worse than “Okay, start by turning on the oven. It’s the one that says ‘start.’ Okay now grab the carrots and chop them. What? Doesn’t matter which knife. Cutting board is above the fridge.” I might slowly go crazy….but also, none of us are above pre-cut carrots!

[heygrey]

This is when I wish GBCN were an actual village because we could get a lot of shit done for each other. I will not be watching anyone's kids, but I will cook you meals and clean your house without judgment while you're unable to do it yourself.

One suggestion I don't think I've seen - prebaked pizza crusts and whatever toppings. I've gotten them from the grocery store, but my local bakery has some I like better that are fresher. Jarred sauce, preshredded mozzarella, whatever protein and veg he can rustle up. DS(10) and I do this often when H is working away. It uses up random bits of leftovers, but feels like a new meal. The baking instructions are right on the package and it's a pretty kid friendly meal to help assemble.

[dexteroni]

Sept 21, 2024 12:12:52 GMT -5 hbomdiggity said:

Where will you be, physically? Like will you be in a room nearby to walk him through some things?

I don’t mean this to be argumentative, but this would be the worst possible option IMO. OP will have a long recovery and I’m guessing she’ll be managing pain and fatigue. She absolutely does not need to be holding her DH’s hand during this time.

[hbomdiggity]

Sept 21, 2024 13:09:58 GMT -5 @villainv said:

Sept 21, 2024 12:12:52 GMT -5 hbomdiggity said:

Where will you be, physically? Like will you be in a room nearby to walk him through some things?

My rec would be Costco lasagne and bagged salad; and Costco meatballs, Raos sauce, pasta.

I agree with making a month plan, see what works and go from there.

I’d also get instacart/Shipt if you don’t have it already, so you can get groceries and meals delivered.

I will be in a room nearby where I could theoretically talk him through stuff…but for both of our sanity, I think we would prefer meals he can cook independently (but ask me the occasional question if needed). I can’t think of anything worse than “Okay, start by turning on the oven. It’s the one that says ‘start.’ Okay now grab the carrots and chop them. What? Doesn’t matter which knife. Cutting board is above the fridge.” I might slowly go crazy….but also, none of us are above pre-cut carrots!

Oh, I didn’t mean that, but more of “how long should I put this in the microwave again?”

[Deleted]

Sept 21, 2024 14:45:45 GMT -5 hbomdiggity said:

Sept 21, 2024 13:09:58 GMT -5 @villainv said:

I will be in a room nearby where I could theoretically talk him through stuff…but for both of our sanity, I think we would prefer meals he can cook independently (but ask me the occasional question if needed). I can’t think of anything worse than “Okay, start by turning on the oven. It’s the one that says ‘start.’ Okay now grab the carrots and chop them. What? Doesn’t matter which knife. Cutting board is above the fridge.” I might slowly go crazy….but also, none of us are above pre-cut carrots!

Oh, I didn’t mean that, but more of “how long should I put this in the microwave again?”

Oh yes, I will definitely be able to answer quick questions or clarify instructions if he needs it. Well, maybe not for the first few days, but after that I will certainly be able to.