apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Two years ago I broke my collar bone and had to have surgery. Every day for about a week my Grandpa called me to take my order, then went to our favorite Jewish deli in Denver (Zady's) and brought me blintzes, pastrami ruebens, latkes, and bagels with lox. Good deli food is the best!

I used to freeze pasta with sauce in individual portions, but I found they needed to be eaten within the week or they turned mushy.
Since it's summer, I would try freezing some lighter food, like a bulgur pilaf with carrots and mushrooms, or other whole grain salads, which I find freeze very well. For lunch today I had whole wheat couscous with cauliflower and almonds that I had frozen a while ago; it was great and still very toothsome. Make a vinaigrette that she can keep in the fridge for a week, or just cook the grains with broth and wine for extra flavor.

Beans also freeze very well after being cooked, though I'm not sure how you could turn them into a complete dinner without her doing some prep work...

I know it may sound cliche, but one of my absolute favorite pull-it-out-and-heat foods to eat is lasagna. It can be kept in the fridge for a good while and heated when convenient. I like to bring a salad and fresh bread also when I can. The leftovers are great too. Everyone I've done this for loves it!

*sorry for strange descriptions - English is not my first language and I'm not too good with food translations*

I have got some health trouble and often do not have the energy too cook. Then the options are fridge/microwave or no food. All the things below do well with freezing, and are very edible once reheated.

Spaghetti. Make a truckload of sauce and freeze that in separate bags from the spaghetti (I think it tastes better if you don't warm it up mixed together - I don't like soggy food).
If you freeze spaghetti - or rice - in separate bags, you can freeze different kinds of sauces to go with it so she can choose what she feels like eating.
(rice with spaghetti sauce is great too).

Bean stew. (onions, minced meat, bean of choice or a mix of different beans.. I like brown beans and white beans and kidney beans, tomato, mais/corn (for color and taste), bell peppers, maybe a little garlic if she likes it.

Indian Curry. This can be frozen with rice mixed in or separately. Chicken, onion, broccoli or cauliflower (or both), and curry paste from a jar ;)

Apologies in advance for the site promotion, but we recently posted a similar article on tips for bringing food to grieving friends. Although it's a little different, I think some of the tips about how to help by bringing food without smothering actually cross over here.

http://jcarrot.org/jews-bring-food-tips-for-feeding-grieving-friends/

I like to bring muffins for the freezer. That way there's something special there for breakfast or a snack.

Quiche! Can be breakfast, lunch or dinner, meat-filled or vegetarian! Plus so comforting in my mind.

The quickest way to find good freezable foods is to look up once a month cooking (OAMC) recipes. I hope this link works.

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?q[]=OAMC&ls=h

Their top dish with OAMC in the name is Bacon Wrapped Chicken, followed by French Toast Sticks and Chicken Packets.

One thing you definitely want to consider is that if your friend is going to have to be sedentary, she will need food with fiber and not just a lot of high-fat, high-salt comfort foods. Think lentil soups, wheat muffins, bean burritos, etc.

Kathryn,

I don't have any suggestions to add; all of these are so great. Just wanted to say...What a kind friend you are.

Similar situation with an old roommate.
She loved that I left her boiled eggs and chopped chicken breasts so that she could eat them in a salad, sandwich, wrap, or as snack by themselves.

Perhaps some frozen fruit. My roomie loved frozen pineapple.

Here are also some recipes of foods that freeze well.
http://www.recipezaar.com/cookbook.php?bookid=29659

Hope this helps!

I have been the bedbound person, and with progressive, chronic illness it happens often. I love the suggestions above but wanted to add that not only food, but one piece of equipment gets me through times that I'm stuck in bed.

A mini fridge.

I am able to keep prepared foods cold while my parents are at work, and it's always nice to have cold drinks, and snack foods nearby so you aren't stuck all alone with nothing to eat and no way to obtain food.

I also LOVE getting care packages from friends and family full of magazines, books, dvds, and silly stuff to keep me entertained, also it's nice when they keep you "in the loop" so you don't begin to feel left out and isolated when you can't get around.