Meal Replacement Drinks Started with Grandma

My grandmother is getting quite old. She has a number of health problems and is having a difficult time preparing meals for herself. She is living in an apartment where she is provided one meal a day in a communal dining room, but she does not always have the energy or desire to prepare additional meals for herself. The doctor is concerned about the amount of weight that she has lost so he has suggested that we buy her meal replacement drinks to supplement the meal that she is provided.

My grandmother is a very stubborn woman. She remembers when my grandfather drank supplement drinks prior to his death and how awful he said they tasted. We tried to explain that there is a greater variety of meal replacement drinks available today, but she wanted nothing to do with them. My uncle decided that he would trick my grandmother into using the meal replacement drinks. She has always liked milk shakes and malts. She does not have them very often because she is borderline diabetic. One day my uncle got a glass from the local dairy queen and filled it with strawberry flavored meal replacement, which he had blended with fresh berries and ice. He brought the supplemental drink to my grandmother and she drank it all. She thanked him for bringing her the treat. When she had finished it he told her what she had just drank. Initially she was angry with him for tricking her, but then decided that he could get her a supply of the meal replacement drinks.

Now my grandmother is getting much stronger and has more energy. It turns out that the greatest part of her problem was that she was under nourished and was taking her medications on an empty stomach. By taking the meal replacement drinks she is getting proper nutrition and is also feeling much better. The supplemental drinks come in a variety of flavors, so even though she is drinking them twice a day she is not getting tired of them. They also have certain products especially formulated for diabetics, which is the one she uses. When I first mentioned to my husband that grandma was suppose to be using meal replacement drinks he thought I meant she needed to lose weight. He has always thought of meal replacement as a means of rapid weight loss. There are meal replacement drinks that people use for weight control, but these have different ingredients than the ones my grandmother uses. There are also meal replacement energy bars for people that prefer to have something to chew. My grandmother has tried some of the bars and has agreed to have a supply of them in her apartment as well.

_{This page was last updated on Monday, August 21, 2006}