Harriet Hodgson - The Family Caregivers Cookbook: Easy-Fix Recipes for Busy Family Caregivers

The Family Caregivers Cookbook: Easy-Fix Recipes for Busy Family Caregivers Copyright 2016 by Harriet Hodgson. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, digital, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except for inclusion in a review or as permitted under Sections 107 and 108 of the United States Copyright Act, without either prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center. The information in this book is not intended to serve as a replacement for professional medical or dietary advice. Any use of the information in this book is at the readers sole discretion. The author and publisher disclaim any and all liability arising directly or indirectly from the use or application of the information in this book.

A health-care professional should be consulted regarding your specific situation. Readers are advised to seek the guidance of a licensed physician before making changes to their health regimens. While every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this book is the most current, new research findings may invalidate some data. Published in the United States by WriteLife Publishing, Inc. www.writelife.com 978-1-60808-160-8 (p) 978-1-60808-161-5 (e) Library of Congress Control Number: 2016940178 Book design by Robin Krauss, www.bookformatters.com Cover design by Ellis Dixon, www.ellisdixon.com Cover photo and author photo by Haley Earley, Photographer Frances Armstead, NDTR, RD, Nutrition Consultant Harriet HodgsonsThe Family Caregiver Series from WriteLife Publishing www.writelife.com The Family Caregivers Guide: How to Care for a LovedOne at HomeAffirmations for Family CaregiversA Journal for Family Caregivers: A Place for Thoughts,Plans, and DreamsThe Family Caregivers Cookbook: Easy-Fix Recipes forBusy Family Caregivers Visit www.harriethodgson.com to learn more about this busy author, grandmother, and caregiver. Visit www.thecaregiverspace.org/author/hhodgson to read her caregiving articles.

Acknowledgments John and Harriet Hodgson Photo courtesy of the Post-Bulletin newspaper, Rochester, MN, and P-B photographer Elizabeth Nida Obert. Thank you to nutrition consultant Frances Armstead for her appreciation of food and wise counsel. Thank you to my granddaughter, Haley Earley, for her photography talents and technical help. Thank you to Terri Leidich, President and Publisher of WriteLife Publishing, for believing in The Family Caregiver series. Although Ive never met Terri, from working with her I can tell we are kindred souls. Finally, thank you to my husband John, the inspiration for The Family Caregiver Series.

You continue to amaze me and I love you more each day. Contents This book is written by a family caregiver for a family caregiveryou. The at-a-glance recipe format helps you prepare meals efficiently. All of the recipes in this collection are original. I have added healthy fruits and vegetables when possible. The sodium, sugar, and fat have been reduced without compromising on flavor. Icons help you find your way through the pages quickly.

Heres a recipe map: Recipe Title Lead-In (personal story and/or information) Prep Time (basics plus extra information ) Oven Temperature (if applicable) Servings (normal size) Ingredients (listed in order of use) Method (includes bowl and pan sizes, cooking tools) Caregiving Tips (from the authors on-the-job experience)

	A measuring cup marks the Ingredients section of the recipe.
	A whisk marks the Method section of the recipe.
	A star marks the Caregiver Tips section of the recipe.
Read the entire recipe before you start cooking. Save steps by gathering all the ingredients ahead of time.

Enjoy cooking healthy meals for your loved one and yourself!The purpose of this cookbook is to help you prepare easy-fix, healthy food for the loved one in your care. Enjoy cooking healthy meals for your loved one and yourself!The purpose of this cookbook is to help you prepare easy-fix, healthy food for the loved one in your care.

It is based on my nineteen years of caregiving, decades of cooking, and love of food. Although Im not a professional chef, I was a food writer for the original Rochester Magazine, (when it started years ago in my hometown of Rochester, Minnesota), learned basic and advanced cooking techniques, and created many original recipes. Ive made airy souffls, gallons of soup, tossed a dizzying array of salads, baked French baguettes, turned our kitchen into a biscotti factory, produced thousands of cookies, made egg roll wrappers, flipped countless burgers, prepared a wedding dinner for seventy, roasted a Christmas prime rib as long as a log, entertained my physician husbands patients, and made cookbooks for family members. These experiences have been a culinary journey, and I have enjoyed every moment of iteven the recipe failures. Im a made-from-scratch cook, an approach that halted abruptly in 2013 when my husbands aorta dissected. After three emergency operations, two months in the hospital, and six months in a nursing home for therapy, my husband John was released to my care.

His dismissal was a nutrition wake-up call. For eight months I had been eating on the run. Instead of eating complete meals, I snacked and made poor food choices. Much as I hate to admit it, I often ate standing up due to time constraints. I visited my husband three times a day, at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and there was little time for anything else. While my husband was recovering, I moved us out of our three-story home, and built a wheelchair-friendly townhome for us.

Visiting my husband, monitoring construction, and clearing out the home we lived in for more than twenty years stressed me as I had never been stressed before. I was running in all directions and my unhealthy diet became worse. Dinner was a bowl of cold cereal or ice cream. I took over many of Johns tasks, ran the household, and managed our finances. Hurried and stressed, I often bought frozen meals and ate fast foodpoor decisions for someone like me with high blood pressure. As the months passed, I realized I missed home cooking.

Mixes and frozen meals have improved markedly, but they didnt taste homemade to me. Your caregiving experiences may be similar to mine. After rushing to prepare food, using too many high-salt mixes, and eating too many frozen meals, many of them high in salt, you may yearn for something homemade. Despite good intentions, you may not be able to follow through with your plans, and come up with excuses in self-defense. I dont have enough time. The grocery store is so far away.

My cooking skills are limited. I like to eat, but I dont like to cook. There isnt enough counter space. I dont have money for kitchen gadgets. Everything I make turns out weird. Why bother?