5 Ways to Plan Healthier Meals for Your Senior

Is your senior’s diet as healthy as it could be? Truth be told, everyone could make a few changes here and there to eat healthier. But for your senior, some of those changes, even small ones, can feel like a lot more work on her part. Here are some ideas you can use to help your elderly family member to eat healthier meals on a consistent basis.

Keep Meals and Snacks Simple

Complicated meals that are difficult to prepare are going to be more difficult to sell your senior on eating regularly. By keeping snacks and meals as easy as possible, you’re removing a layer of resistance for your senior. Focus on whole foods as much as you can. If your elderly family member needs to eat a specific diet, talk with her doctor about what that should look like.

Look for Nutrient Dense Foods

When you opt for foods that are chock full of nutrition, that gives your senior the most benefit when she eats those foods. You might feel overwhelmed even thinking about this, but it’s easier to meet this goal than you think. What you’re looking for are foods that are lower in added sugars and other things your senior doesn’t really need, like added salt. Whole foods are always a good option because that’s the most nutrient-filled choice. Your senior may not be excited about cooking and preparing that, however, so bringing in home care providers to help can make a difference.

Consider Heavier Meals Earlier in the Day

Many seniors find that it’s difficult to eat heavier meals later in the day. If that’s the case for your elderly family member, then plan to keep her lighter meals in the afternoon and evening. Heavier meals at lunch and breakfast can give your senior more energy earlier in the day that she can burn off. Elder care providers can work with your senior to plan out more snacks for later so that she can graze if she’s still hungry.

Serve Smaller Portions More Often

Sometimes aging adults are never up for bigger portions or even full meals. You can work around that by serving smaller portions more often throughout the day. If you go this route, it helps a lot if there are home care providers there with your senior reminding her to eat and helping her to focus on getting a variety of different foods in during each day.

Get Some Additional Help with Meal Preparation

There’s a lot involved in meal preparation beyond planning. There is also the grocery shopping, putting away food, the actual preparation of foods, and clean up from all of the above. That can all be a lot for your elderly family member to deal with on her own. Your senior can benefit tremendously from having home care providers stopping in to take care of those tasks and more for her.

Focusing on what your senior is eating can help you to make a big difference in her overall health and well-being.