On my way home this afternoon, I swung by Marion Senior Services to meet with the volunteer coordinator.
Pending a good background check, I will officially be a Meals on Wheels volunteer very soon! I can’t wait to get started and think that delivering meals to people in need will be a very special and rewarding experience.
One thing I found rather interesting after speaking with the volunteer coordinator is that you have to be 55 or older to be a senior companion volunteer. Kind of strange, huh? I’m sure there’s good reasoning behind the decision, but I thought it was odd. This 27-year-old will stick to meal delivery for now!
Dinner
Since I already had the crock pot out for breakfast this morning, a crock pot dinner this evening was a no brainer.
Earlier this week, Ryan bought a London broil, a rather inexpensive cut of meat, at the grocery store. This morning I placed it in the crock pot and covered it in reduced sodium beef broth and let it cook on low for about eight hours. 
About and hour and a half before I took the meat out of the crock pot, I added four chopped carrots, three chopped celery stalks and about a cup and a half of broccoli florets.
After removing the London broil and vegetables from the crock pot this evening, I poured more beef broth over everything before shredding the meat with my fork and stirring everything together. It tasted like beef stew! Ryan and I loved it!
I’m hoping to crawl into bed a little early tonight and possibly break into a new book. We’ll be voting on the July PBF Book Club book tomorrow, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know!
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I’m not a huge fan of slow cooked beef, but the hubby loves it. Whenever I make it for him in the crock pot, he has three dinners or lunches out of it. Works for me! 😀
Have fun with the meals on wheels!
we have a TON of leftovers! london broil for the week! 🙂
I think you should put “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”
back up for the running…I remember it losing some months back. It’s on my Kindle and I am waiting for an excuse to read it…I was saving it for my work book club when it’s my turn to suggest but I want to choose something light instead.
I also recommend “Daughter of Smoke and Bone” by Laini Taylor….loved it!
Call me crazy, but I’ve never even HEARD of London Broil! Strange! It looks delicious, though 🙂
I thought Molokai by Alan brenert was amazing! It’s a must-read for sure.
Meals on Wheels is such a great organization, that’s awesome!
How about “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed? Everyone’s talikng about it lately. Love crockpot meals! This looks tasty!
yayyayy i’m so happy to hear that you’re volunteering for something so awesome!! I love hearing and reading about that. And I still haven’t tried london broil!
I think it is great that you are going with Meals on Wheels. Pennsylvania just did cut backs and my grandmother is no longer getting her meals delivered in person, they are using FedEx, now. Anyway, she has been really upset that she no longer gets to see the person that delivered her meals for years. She is, also, worried about the other elderly people in the area that only had the delivery people that came to visit them. It really is a great organization and means a lot to the people that receive the visits.
Checking in on the seniors is such an important part of the program. That really stinks 🙁
Wow-that’s sad to hear. How exactlyare they saving money though? FedEx ain’t cheap!
i’m so sorryto hear that, laurel. 🙁
You should definitely read If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things next!
I am so happy that you are going to be a MOW volunteer! I am a MOW volunteer coordinator and we need tons of help in my area. It is so hard to find reliable volunteers who are willing to spend their own money on gas. The seniors will love you and you’ll love them back. You’ll be great!!
i’m really excited to be involved! thanks for your enthusiasm, katie!! 🙂
Dinner looks hearty and comforting! Delicious!
I started the book “After You” by Julie Buxbaum 2 days ago…and I am already almost finished. It’s a great book, as is her earlier novel “The Opposite of Love”.
My latest post has 3 books on it that I just read and really enjoyed!!!
My grandma lives alone and gets meals on wheels – it’s a great program! Thanks for volunteering 🙂 I already wrote on your Facebook page, but my suggestions are The Last Letter from Your Lover by Jojo Moyes and Arranged by Catherine Mckenzie
Oh that’s so awesome that your going to do Meals on Wheels! I actually went to a senior center last week and spoke with an older woman for a class of mine. We had to interview someone & it was so much fun & the director even told me if I wanted to volunteer to let them know and I definitely plan on doing it. I love helping those in need. Makes me feel great 🙂
okay that looks delicious! I need to start making some real meals for dinner!
Mmmmm hubby has been requesting something like this for dinner lately that will “provide lunches all week”, but I’ve been too lazy to cook this week ;p This sounds perfect tho!
The Fault in Our Stars! I just started reading it after hearing about it on twitter from Ashley Spivey (former bachelor contestant from Brad’s season!) So far it’s really good!
I think that’s great that your volunteering through this senior services program and the junior league! I’m a social worker for the past ten yrs so I appreciate all volunteers!
I was at Barnes and Noble the other day and picked up a couple books that looked really good, Little Bee and The Kitchen House. I’ll admit, I’m already halfway through Little Bee, and so far it’s excellent! Would be a great book club read.
Love this idea! My father-in-law makes the BEST London broil, but I’ve never attempted it!
I love that you are doing Meals On Wheels. That is something I would totally enjoy.
I can speculate on the age thing from my personal experiences…some of comes down to simply being even close to a “peer.”
I did a program for about 6 years with Alz/dementia clients and I can tell you that some times the client was most likely taking issue with me as a “young woman” (on the flip side with some clients that was my advantage).
Depending on generation, gender, and cognitive issues the elderly relationship with a much younger person can be “complicated.”
I actually learned with a couple of older male clients to use older men I knew. They just knew better how to talk to each other. Likewise there were some females that did better if I could track down an older female.
It was an extremely educational experience for me. For all the compassion we can have for the aging process, we just aren’t living it yet.
I hope you enjoy Meals on Wheels. So many seniors just need a visitor in the house. Even the caregivers enjoy another adult to talk to.
thanks for sharing your insight. i was disappointed i couldn’t help in that way, but it does make sense.
I know. I bet you anything that you get at least a client or two with meals on wheels that turn into much deeper relationships.
Savages was a great book! The author used a very unique style of writing and I couldn’t put it down. I can’t wait to read the prequel and see the movie.
We should read Life of Pi for the book club! I saw a trailer for the movie earlier today!
I volunteered with Meals on Wheels for 4 years and I loved it. I came to know each person by name and I looked forward to seeing them and catching up. On my last day (we moved to a new city), I was so sad that I cried at the end of my route. It really is a very rewarding experience–they are so excited to see you walk through the door!
That’s awesome that you’re working with meals on wheels! I’ll be doing the same when I go back to school this fall.
And I love using the slow cooker in the summer – it keeps the oven from heating up the whole house!
My grandpa used to volunteer with Meals on Wheels! It always sounded like a very rewarding experience!
such a great organization to volunteer for. I am sure that many people will appreciate it!!
I think On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves would be a good choice for July! 🙂
Nice going on volunteering- great use of time :)!
suggestion: fifty shades!!! i wanna know what BLOGGERS have to say about it, lol!!!
That dinner looks so good! I am now craving pot roasts and stews. I love the broccoli in it too, totally going to have to add that in my next stew.
I think that is great that you are volunteering with Meals on Wheels! It’s such a great organization! 🙂
That london broil looks good. I love making roasts in the crockpot especially in the fall and winter. It’s so comforting.
Don’t you just love the crock pot when it’s hot out? Lots of people think of crock pots for winter because they are typically associated with “comfort foods” but I use mine in summer because it means I don’t have to cook in the heat!
Great organization that you’re volunteering for, Julie! After my Grandma passed away, Meals on Wheels delivered lunch and dinner to my Grandpa 3x a week. The people were always so kind and they’re services were so very appreciated by my family! You’ll bring a smile to many faces, I’m sure!
I’ve done meals on wheels over in Aus also- I was a kitchen hand as well as an aide on delivery runs. It was really rewarding but also a bit of a shock and saddening to see where some people live and how they live. Bless their old souls.
You are going to love Meals on Wheels. My mom delivers every week and I think you will appreciate this, but many of the families have dogs who my mom has grown to love. She has added dog food (her own personal expense) becuase these dogs as well looked like they could use a meal or two. My mom has a huge heart for furry friends so it did not suprise me that she bought in bulk at PetSmart to add these meals to her weekly deliverys!
Love your blog, and so grateful for your candid, honesty and inspiration!