Cookbooks, Pots & Pans, Cooking Tools, Pantry and 6 Major Problems

Section A; Lesson 1:

I went to various stores, purchasing certain items, that will make cooking easier for my father and he MIGHT just do it after I leave.

#1 problem - He's lost way too much weight from not eating 3 meals a day. He will come in at night, nuke some pre-made vegetables, maybe a piece of meat if he remembers to defrost it and that's a good food day.

#2 problem - His memory is bad so teaching him things to make without using an actual recipe won't work, he does not retain directions.

#3 problem - He has very bad eyesight so reading a recipe from a book, or directions on a box (or from the box) is pretty much a NO GO.

#4 problem - He tends to put the food in the pan and walk away to do something else and it is overdone and inedible so seconds are out of the question.

#5 problem - He is frugal and might not buy the right items because they are too expensive and he might substitute what he thinks would be OK and more often they are NOT.

#6 problem - He's not technical so digital anythings might not get used and he has NO COMPUTER!!

Knowing all this I bought:
A 5 quart Crockpot
An immersion blender
A mechanical timer
1 really good knife
A bamboo cutting board
5 different spice blends (Italian, Greek, Cajun, French and Chicken)
A cheese shaker for kosher salt
A 1/4 cup SS measure
A really good pair of kitchen scissors
A can opener that takes the lid off
A jar opener

I filled his pantry with:
Canned tomatoes - 1 of each style (diced, stewed, whole, pureed and fire roasted)
Grains - Bulgar, quinoa, farro, brown rice, barley and polenta
EVOO
Balsamic and red wine vinegar
Low sodium stock in a box - chicken and vegetable
Whole wheat pasta - spaghetti, penne and rotini
No Yolk noodles
Italian Tuna Fish
1% milk in juice boxes - a 6 pack

I bought him 2 cookbooks:
The Soup Bible
Slow Cooker Revolution

The Soup Bible had a large print, and both had lots of pictures so he sees what he's making.

All this was done right after his Open Heart Surgery. Once he went to stay with his girlfriend, all the lessons flew right out the door and he ended up back to bad habits and ended back in the hospital.

This time he knows he has no choice but to get serious with his diet.

After they fix his leaky valve, he will go home & I will spend a week with him, retraining.

In the meantime I will print a few basic recipes in large print, place them in sheet protectors and into a binder. I have to hope he will use them.

Next I need to sit down and go over all the foods he really will eat.