What do you do when your loved one won't eat anything you cook or prepare for a meal?

Good luck Teresa.  When we found something she'd like, it quickly changed. I gave her a tv dinner one night, and she wouldn't touch it.  Next time I tried it, I put the heated meal on a dinner plate and made it look home-made....same tv dinner, and she ate the whole thing!

Maybe she’d try yucky combinations? My mother, who at 90 had no teeth left, loved hamburger covered in applesauce, and had that for her main meal for many healthy and productive years.
When even that declined, she’d eat almost any meat sandwich or peanut butter and jelly if it was spread with strawberry yoghurt, and that’s exactly what I was told to feed her, so I did. And she remained healthy and strong for a couple years more.
Over time I’ve come to think that it’s less stress for me if I give up on what’s nice or what’s expected or what’s typical (with anything in LO’s care routine), and do what is safe and healthy and what she herself wants.
She’s 93 and has dementia, difficult enough without attempting to expect her OR ME to be “respectable”.

Medicine can make food taste bad I know because one time I was on a medication that made everything taste like metal and the only foods that tasted right and good then were cherry jello and vanilla ice cream,so it could be the medicine with your Mother or maybe it's hard for her to chew.If that;s the case,mashed potatoes and custard work well.I think anything you can get down her is good and I hope you find some more foods she can eat soon.

That sounds very frustrating. It's a lot of work and then your efforts are unappreciated, to say the least. Been there.

Would saying something like, I know you don't like it that much but try to do your best?

My mom is "never hungry".. but if we show up in her face with a plate of snacks or a small meal she will fuss.. but eat it. She mainly lives on doughnuts, bacon and wine at this point! She is 88.. what are you going to do? We just try to get any calories into her at this point,, she looks like a third world child at this point. Her Dr is aware, and just tells us to do our best.