Bea’s Hit Parade of Favorite Foods

For years Bea was very careful with her diet. She never ate certain foods - including ice cream - because the doctor had said she should watch her cholesterol. Now that no one is monitoring her blood or cares about triglycerides, the foods that were supposedly bad for her have become all she wants to eat. I can always get her through dinner with a few allusions to which dessert is on the evening menu.

Really elderly people find it tough to chew, so I try and give Bea dishes that can be easily swallowed. Hamburger was an old favorite, but I have noticed that these days she will only accept a few bites. Fish, however, is ideal. Luckily Bea likes fish, so we have it a lot. Porridge is also good. Sven makes a wicked porridge with raisins. Bea opens her mouth like a little bird when I feed her. It reminds me of the way my children used to open their mouths as babies.

Bananas are easy to hold, so they have become regulars in our shopping cart. I also give her yogurt and, of course, that all-the-nutrition-you-need-in-one-drink potion, Ensure. My mother drinks liquids through a straw, including the occasional glass of wine.

As Bea was having dinner tonight, zipping through the salmon so we could start on a bowl of delicious rice pudding, we reviewed what she likes best. Here are her favorites, in reverse order:

3.) rice pudding
2.) chocolate pudding
1.) ice cream!