'Posh' meals on wheels?

[findingherfeet]

My dad has been single and divorced for over 20 years and has never learnt to cook.

He eats an appalling diet of takeaways and ready meals and is quite overweight/high blood pressure etc

He has recently had a bout of ill health and depression and is very much of the view that his ready meal dinners are good for him (despite saying they don't fill him up so he snacks on biscuits..)

He's a bit of a food snob, only waitrose will do.

Just wondered if there's a meals on wheels type company that does food that's a bit fancy but would be a healthier more varied option.

[CMOTDibbler]

I've bought Wiltshire Farm Foods meals for my parents, and they like them, and they are a balanced meal. The desserts were really good.
They prefer (well, dad does, mum can't express a preference) Waitrose ready meals overall though, and stock up when the offers are good as they seem to freeze well.

You could try Cook for a change though - the quality is supposed to be good. Don't think they include veg etc though

[twentyten]

My mum found Wiltshire foods a little bland- she loves m&s ready meals.

[spababe]

Cook are frozen meals you cook at home but taste and are made just like home made. I keep them in the freezer for those 'can't be bothered to cook' days (rural living and no takeaways plus we are fussy)

[findingherfeet]

Ok so maybe ready meals are not the end of the world then, that's good.

Thanks for ideas. Will investigate and I guess it's better than him having a curry every night! (Progress)

[LOLeater]

I'm a fan of Cook - the food is absolutely delicious. Very easy too. You just put them in the oven for 40 mins or so. The Indonesian vege curry is yum!

[tribpot]

Could he persuaded to put a few jacket potatoes into his diet? Surely ANYONE can cook a jacket potato (my microwave even has a programme for it).

Cook is definitely worth a look.

[nottheparrot]

One of the great things about Cook is that you don't defrost the food first, so that you don't need to decide hours earlier what you want to eat. We have used quite a few of them and never been disappointed. They are a bit pricey, but worth it!

[findingherfeet]

Tribpot, oh you would think so!! (Sigh) seriously I'm going to need to persuade him to use the oven for the Cook etc meals, microwave is 'quicker' heck, I don't think he's ever boiled an egg....

[tribpot]

Well, I would think about getting him a microwave that defrosts (and oven cooks as well). Seriously, all I do to do a jacket potato is weigh it, put it in, put the microwave on the jacket potato programme and put the weight in. 11-ish minutes later, voila.

If he's used the convenience of programmable cooking, don't fight a losing battle with the proper oven. He won't like the fact it doesn't turn off when it's done (and may well burn things to make the point). Plus if he's defrosting meals for one the microwave is a better size anyway.

[NotCitrus]

A combo microwave oven may help then, as it turns off when finished just like a microwave. And Cook meals are fab - some are very expensive but there's many that are cheaper, and a lower calorie range. The Moroccan Tagine is especially good.

[littlesupersparks]

Wiltshire farm foods do deliver but I'm sure waitrose/m and a are tastier...

[TrustMeImLying]

We had Wiltshire Farm food for my nan. There is lots to choose from but others have said, were very bland and you had to add extra salt/pepper/butter for favour.

We also tried Oak House Foods, they were slightly more expensive but tasted really nice (I tried everything we fed Nan as she couldn't communicate, I wasn't just stealing her food ).

[hoedown]

As other posters have said, Cook are very good. The Birds Eye Steam Veg bags are a great microwaveable option for added vegetables with the Cook meals, and/or to bulk out his Waitrose ready meals to make them a little more filling and nutritionally balanced. All of the supermarkets sell them.