How to Promote Healthy Eating for Seniors
Older adults are prone to malnutrition as they age — due to medication side effects, lack of interest in cooking or loss appetite. However, as a caregiver or concerned loved ones, you can prevent this from happening by promoting healthy eating with your senior loved ones.
Here are some ways to nurture your senior loved ones with good food and meals.
- Create a healthy meal plan for them.
Encourage your senior loved ones to create a healthy meal plan — search for new healthy recipes and learn how to make meal preparation. Get some colorful pads, pens, and markers and allot some time with your senior loved ones; write the menu, ingredients that you will need and shop with them. You can also display their weekly menu or recipes in a cookbook holder in their countertop for easy reference. Creating a meal plan will make a huge difference in your senior loved ones eating habits or routine. Salad, banana split oatmeal, Greek yogurt parfait, pumpkin soup or pan-grilled salmon are some recipes that are nutritious and healthy for older adults.
- Use herbs and spices to make the food tastier.
Our sense of taste change as we get older, so be mindful of what we eat. Instead of using salt in your recipe for your senior loved ones, replace it with natural herbs and spices such as fresh or dried parsley, basil, thyme, mint, oregano or rosemary — these herbs have many benefits and it can boost their immune system.
- Cook and eat with them.
Cooking is a fun and healthy activity for everyone; it is also a great way to spend quality time together. So, grab an apron and help your senior loved ones in preparing their food and cook with them. Eating with them is also important — some studies show that seniors who enjoy a meal with their loved ones are most likely to have good nutrition habits.
Promoting healthy eating is vital for our senior loved one’s longevity. So, always make sure to watch your senior loved ones food intake. Also, if your senior loved ones are not fond of drinking water alone, give them fresh fruits that are rich in water, such as cantaloupe, watermelon, cucumber, and peach or make them some smoothies to avoid dehydration.
