Four Tips for Meal Planning with Your Senior

Getting nutrients into your senior can be a huge battle and meal planning may be exactly the answer you need. Get an Idea What She Should Be Eating

Home Care in Northfork NY: Senior Meal Plans

Meal planning is so much easier and productive when you know what your senior should be eating. Pair that with what you know she likes and you’ve got a winning combination. Start out by talking to your senior’s doctor about her nutritional needs. It may even be a good idea to work with a dietician or nutritionist. If you already know some foods or dishes that you know your senior is never going to be interested in eating, make sure you keep a list of those, too. That can save you some time.

Put Together a Big List of Her Favorite Foods and Collect Recipes

The next step is to make a collected list of your senior’s favorite meals and foods. These are the foods you want to match up with the foods she should be eating and try to overlap as much as possible. There are a lot of different sources now for “healthy” versions of recipes, and many of them claim to taste the same. Your senior might be willing to give them a try, at least once. If you do find recipes that are a hit, hang onto them.

Do Some Homework Before Actually Shopping

Before you actually start shopping, you need to get an idea of what’s available in your senior’s area. Odds are that she’s got a budget for her groceries and shopping what’s seasonal and on sale can maximize that budget. Start with store websites and apps. There are also other websites and apps that help you to compare what’s available at different stores in the area to calculate the best deal. All of this is something you can do as you’re putting your list together.

Lists Make Meal Plans Work

If you’ve never been a list shopper in the past or you haven’t ever planned out meals, this can take some getting used to. But once you do realize how much these two lists help, you’re never going to want to go back. The menu plan helps with not knowing what’s for dinner or another meal. And the shopping list helps you to stay on target when you’re actually at the store. All of this matters, especially when you’re trying to do the best you can for your senior nutritionally.

Cooking can be where it all becomes too difficult for your senior. Preparing food burns a lot of energy, and your senior still needs to eat, too. Having elder care providers there to help her can make all the difference in making sure that all your hard work menu planning comes to fruition.

If you or an aging loved one is considering hiring Home Care in Northfork, NY, call the caring staff at Artful Home Care today at 631-685-5001.