First of all, kudos to you for taking your MIL in and trying to give her the best nutrition.

I am of two minds. One, yes, she has earned the right to do as she pleases, and she is an adult, and she isn't growing, and she may have few pleasures in life and if crappy sugar-frosted cereal is one, well, then ....

On the other hand, I know an elderly person who lived alone and whose eating habits deteriorated once their spouse died. Sufficient calories probably, but fruits and veggies seemed to to go out the window (this was with daily in home nursing care, too). When the relative went into assisted living, within a year they gained weight, grew more hair, got their color back and more energy. It was the best ad for nutrition I ever saw.

I would compromise; let her eat as she pleases for breakfast and lunch. Insist on a well rounded dinner. Nothing exotic or fancy; probably want your own Mom would want. WHy not ask her?

My dad had a hard time eating. We fed him alot of the Helper meals. Tuna helper, Hamburger helper, etc. Probably not the most nutritious, but he was grossly underweight when we brought him home. My mom had put him in a nursing home. His favorite meals were ones my mom had always cooked for him. He would always eat two big plates full of chicken and biscuits and gravy. I would ask her what were her favorite meals and go from there. I had to almost force him to drink water. I just had to eat with him and keep telling him he needed to drink his water.

My wife is 84 - cereal is part of her bkfst. I put a couple walnuts in it each morning. Had I your situation I'd grind up a bunch and pour em into the box. Maybe shake the box up before bedtime so they didn't all go to the bottom. Perhaps you could work on or modify that basic idea.

It's one more thing to do but you can always do one more thing.

Thank you everyone who has posted here! You all have excellent opinions, and you're all correct in what you have offered. MIL's mom lived to be 92, and she ate a raised donut for breakfast every day of her life (from at least age 80). She never weighed more than 95 lbs, which is what MIL weighs now. Guess I'm jealous!! No way would I deny her the breakfast cereal thing...she loves it. As long as I can incorporate some good calories and protein into the evening meal, and some additional quality liquids, I really have no problem with her choices for breakfast and lunch. Thank you all for your input!

Do not forget snacks during the day which could be where you do the nutritious part. Keep them small but ask if she would like more and did she like it. Lettuce wrapped around various things that can be hand held.

I agree with the nuts but you might want to add a dish of some type of fruit. If canned do not worry about heavy syrup just what she will eat. She probably needs the calories.

At night I would try 2 veggies ,little piece of meatloaf or some other kind of meat, chicken or fish. May have to try different veggies. There are lot in frozen food section but check back for salt content some are loaded, some have almost none. If she has high blood pressure than be sure to get ones with almost no sodium. Some of the ones with sauces are loaded with sodium so would raise her BP if that's already a problem. Canned peaches, pears, apricots, prunes, applesauce or fruit cocktail make good snacks or dessert for evening meal. If she doesn't like water, try weak decaf ice tea, V8 Fusion drinks or any of assorted juices, fresh grapes, cut up apple with skin off, fresh ripe pear, bananas or orange cut up but some older folks can't take much acid so may have to stick to bananas & grapes, melon, or watermelon. My mouth has started cracking in corners from too much acid so I have to be careful & I'm much younger. Jello is easy to eat & can have fruit added.

I gave my dad a can of Ensure daily. It comes in different flavors. It has alot of vitamins in it. Favorite meals were key with him. He liked to eat breakfast at dinner sometimes because he remembered my mom doing that. Bacon or sausage and pancakes with syrup. Not the best meal nutrition wise, but it make him happy and he ate everything on the plate without me having to beg him to eat. I took him out to Wendy's when we went to the Doctor's appts. I always wondered if he had ever had fast food before. It was his favorite place to eat. He loved to people watch and it gave him something fun to do. He loved Publix hoagies too. He lived to be 88. He had a hard life the last 10 years of his life. In and out of the hospitals for major things. He worked hard all of his life. I wanted him to be treated the way he deserved to be.

I liked to take small things to my MIL when we visited. One time I took her a box of fruit loops and told her they are for snacking, no milk or sugar. She loved them and when we vacuumed for her we would find a few under her recliner. I knew that she was still buying them.