Hi, Gloria
how nice that you can stay with your daughter! Running out to shops all the time isn't necessarilly a bad thing as it will give you something to do besides worry, there are some things that would be useful.

Everyone is going to have a slightly different set of issues with nutrition, and different timing. With my husband, the tastebud issues started a couple of weeks into therapy, with sweet dropping out first, leaving bitter overemphasized. I would compensate for that, and then salt left the party. Sour went away at about the same time swallowing became an issue. I was always behind the curve! So, what we decided on was that we would try for good nutrition that didn't taste actively bad and could be swallowed easily. If you look up EricS's posts, he has a great deal of detail on exactly what nutrition is good. The tools I would suggest you gather are as follows:

1. A book on meditation and/or a nearby church/temple/synagogue/mosque if you are so inclined. This is for you so you can better keep it together and keep John in good shape for his therapy.

2. As you mentioned, a blender.

3. A food processor would be nice.

4. A double boiler. Cook 1-minute oatmeal with milk of some sort for a LONG time so it as not lumpy or scratchy. Then, add it with whey powder, more milk or fruit juice, Carnation Breakfast Essentials, bananas or other fruit in the blender. We changed up milk, soy milk and almond milk for nutritional variety.

5. A sense of humor. Remember, the taste of whatever you make will be increasingly different to you and John as therapy progresses. There will likely be some epic fails on the nutrition front; my worst was some kind of green vegan meal replacement powder that turned into quickset concrete in the blender. My husband never even saw that one: it was nasty and scratchy. But, the point is, you need a good feedback loop what he likes or can tolerate that that particular moment in time.

Best wishes,
Maria