My dad was an over-the-road truck driver for as long as I can remember. He's 65 years old this year, and retired about a month ago. He was living with my sister and my aunt for a while, but my aunt moved out, leaving just him and my sister (who is 31, 360 pounds at the same height as me and never learned how to cook).

I went to see them for the first time, aunt-free, this past weekend. I've been worried since I realized it would be the two of them....a non-cooking sister and a dad who ate in truck stops pretty much ONLY for about 30 years. I think now he was better off with truck stop food.

Went into the house, and after a bit I peeked into the freezer. About 10 pounds of ground beef. That's all. Opened the fridge...whole milk, hot dogs, a couple of ham steaks, butter, white bread. That's all. On to the pantry. I nearly DIED. About 20 boxes of high-sugar cereal, white rice, oatmeal (maple and brown sugar), sugar, canned soups and about two dozen boxes of hamburger helper.

When we got there, my sister had just "made him lunch," which consisted of about 4 cups of instant white rice with half a stick of butter (not light butter, not whipped butter, "real butter" at about 100 calories per tablespoon) and 1/4 cup or more of white sugar. The "protein" was two pieces of thick cut bologna fried in leftover bacon grease. She ate the same thing.

While my dad was outside, I tried to talk to her about it. His blood pressure on a good day is 180/90 (he's being treated), and he has chest pains. I told her hamburger helper and hot dogs are horrible in sodium, which is BAD for him. Encouraged her to try to get him to eat more veggies (told her about roasting broccoli, heck, even CANNED veggies), chicken instead of beef, even turkey smoked sausage sometimes. She listened with one ear while playing a computer game. My dad won't listen either - said he doesn't know "how we live" without real sugar or butter.

A big part of the problem is that now he's on retirement as his only income. He's bringing in $1,500 a month, total, and right now his bills come out to about $1,480. Chicken, at the only store in their town, is about $6.50 a pound. Beef is $3.50 a pound. Hamburger helper (the generic version) is usually on sale 3 for $5, or even 10 for $10.

So I guess I did what I could for that time...I'll go down again in a couple of weeks to check up on 'em, maybe take my sister some copies of some of my recipes. We live too far away for me to cook for them and take food, or I would. It's up to her I guess...Just upsets me a lot.

I would suggest the first recipes you give them incorporate the foods they already buy/eat. For example a chili made with canned tomatoes or bottled salsa and canned beans added to the ground beef. That's how I eased my way into healthier eating, didn't take away any foods I was used to eating initially, just kept making them healthier.

That's what I was thinking, caryesings...that's how I started too. Just eating my normal stuff, but eating less of it and trying to make it better. I never though I'd see the day that type of pantry would horrify me...hopefully they'll get there.

Yep, the food I eat now would have horrified me a few years ago. If someone had handed me a diet sheet with the meal plan I have now developed for myself, I wouldn't even have tried it.

It's definitely scary, but it's soo much cheaper to eat unhealthy foods. How often do you visit? Could you afford to bring them some healthier groceries to mix in with what they're already eating? Or could you visit and while you're there make them some food they can freeze and pop in the microwave for individual servings? At least then you'd know they wouldn't just be eating what you've described.

I've thought about the groceries, or even little meals...think I'll try the recipes first and work more on my sister. That way SHE gets some skills she needs too. It will help in the long run to do it that way, if it works...