Healthy Meal Preparation Tips for Seniors
Elder Care in New Hyde Park
Many seniors who stay at home have trouble preparing and eating healthy meals. In fact, many seniors are malnourished, because they don’t eat the right foods. Often seniors who are living at home alone won’t bother cooking a meal for themselves. But instead, will subsist on snacks or easy to prepare foods. Elder care can inspire seniors to eat the right foods by making meal times an event. With elder care, seniors will have a companion to share their cooking and meals with. Seniors are much more likely to enjoy a healthy meal when they have someone to share it with. Seniors and caregivers can use these healthy meal preparation tips to make healthy meals for seniors:
Use Frozen Vegetables
Vegetables often go bad before seniors use them, so they don’t eat more of them. The vegetables need to be washed and prepared before they can be used, which is another reason. Using precut frozen vegetables eliminates those problems. Frozen vegetables are still healthy, and they are easy to heat up on the stove or in the microwave. Precut broccoli, cauliflower, squash, and other veggies take a lot of the hard work out of preparing healthy vegetables.
Portion Leftovers In Individual Portions
After a caregiver or your senior loved one has made a healthy meal, put the leftovers into individual portions and either frozen or put in the refrigerator. That way, your senior parent can heat up just one serving of that meal when they are hungry. This is a great way to ensure seniors have a healthy meal available when a caregiver isn’t there. They have a quick to heat and eat meal that is also healthy.
Prepare Veggies For Snacks
The best way to ensure seniors are eating healthy snacks is to prepare veggies in advance for snacks. If carrots are cut up, celery is sliced, and veggies are washed and ready to go, it will be easier for seniors to graze on healthy veggies throughout the day instead of unhealthy foods. Or, your senior parent can buy a pre-made deli tray from the grocery store with an assortment of veggies and some dip that can stay in the refrigerator for healthy snacks. That’s another good option to ensure seniors have healthy snacks on hand.
Add A Vegetable To Every Meal
One of the easiest ways to get seniors to eat better is to just add one vegetable to every meal. Eating another vegetable at a meal doesn’t feel like a sacrifice, because nothing is being taken away or substituted. It’s just making sure to add one more vegetable to the meal. At breakfast, that could mean having tomatoes with eggs. At lunch, it could be lettuce in a wrap. And at dinner, serve riced cauliflower as a side. There are many options that seniors will enjoy.
If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring Elder Care in New Hyde Park, NY, please call the caring staff at Companion Home Care of Long Island. Senior Home Care, serving Suffolk, Nassau, and Queens Counties. Turn your questions into answers. Call Today (631) 884-0005
Dorothy’s core expertise includes an extensive background of more than 38 years, focusing on Home Care, Senior Care and operating a successful in-home care agency.
In her spare time she enjoys her 5 grandchildren, gardening, skiing and competition 8-Ball.
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