Are you struggling to make sure that your senior parent is eating regular meals? If you have a parent that is living on their own it can be tough to find the time to make sure that that they’re eating healthy meals daily. But in-home care providers can help.
There are many different reasons why seniors choose not to eat regular meals when they’re aging in place. Your senior parent may have a hard time cooking meals, filling pots, or even shopping for healthy food. Or, they may feel like it’s not worth the effort to make a big meal just for themselves.
Seniors who live on their own have a high risk of becoming malnourished because it’s very common for them to skip meals. And if you can’t stop over to your senior parents’ home every day to make them meals, they may not be eating enough.
In-home care is the solution. If your senior parent has in-home care, they will get daily visits from a home care provider who can help them with household chores and meals.
An in-home care provider can make meals easier and more fun for your senior parent by:
Plan Healthy Meals in Advance
An in-home care provider can work with your parent to plan healthy meals ahead of time. Planning meals for the week all at once helps to make sure your parent is getting a good balance of fruits, vegetables, proteins, and whole grains.
Planning meals can also help avoid last-minute unhealthy choices, like ordering fast food. By creating a weekly menu, the caregiver can make sure each day has something your parent likes and that fits their health needs. It also makes grocery shopping easier and less stressful.
Shop for Fresh Produce and Fruit Several Times a Week
Fresh fruits and vegetables taste better and are healthier than processed foods. A caregiver can make quick trips to the store a few times a week to pick up fresh items. This way, your parent always has ripe bananas, crisp apples, fresh salad greens, and other tasty options ready to eat. Frequent shopping also helps prevent waste since the food doesn’t sit around long enough to spoil.
Cook Their Favorite Meals
Eating should be something your parent looks forward to. A home care provider can learn your parents’ favorite dishes and cook them in healthier ways if needed. If your parent loves chicken pot pie, the caregiver might make a lighter version with lots of vegetables and lean chicken. Making meals your parent enjoys encourages them to eat more and stay healthy.
Share Meals to Make Them Fun
Eating alone can feel lonely and depressing, especially for seniors. A caregiver can sit down and share meals with your parent to make the experience more social and fun. Even simple meals feel special when shared with someone else. Talking over lunch or dinner can lift your parents’ mood and make mealtime something they look forward to instead of a chore.
Make Meals Easy to Reheat and Enjoy Later
Sometimes your parent might not want to cook or even warm up something complicated. A good caregiver can prepare extra servings when cooking and store them properly. They can portion meals into easy-to-reheat containers, so your parent just has to warm up something healthy and ready to go. This makes eating healthy much easier on the days when your parent might be feeling tired or not up for a lot of effort.
If you or an aging loved one are considering In-Home Care Services in Mountainside, NJ, please contact the caring staff at Helping Hands Homecare today. Call (908) 418-4299
Helping Hands Homecare provides Senior Home Care Services throughout Northern and Central New Jersey, including Clark, Westfield, Cranford, Scotch Plains, Rahway, Linden, Summit, Edison, Elizabeth, Mountainside, Short Hills, Millburn, New Providence, Berkeley Heights, Kenilworth, Chatham, Madison, Metuchen, and surrounding areas.
After graduating from Seton Hall University with a BS in finance Helping Hands Homecare’s Owner / President, Robert D’Arienzo, went to work on Wall St. for six years. However, after Robert’s grandmother became ill with stomach cancer Robert and his family needed to find assistance in the home for her. After many trials and tribulations Robert could see that there was a great need for quality home care services here in NJ and loved the idea of being able to assist other families who were going through what his family went through with his beloved grandmother.
Thus, Robert had found his passion. After almost a year of preparation Robert opened Helping Hands Homecare in 2003. Robert wanted Helping Hands Homecare to focus on providing the highest quality of caregivers, exceptional customer service, and providing a service that familys could depend on in their time of need. Since then Helping Hands has assisted hundreds of individuals with the simplest of needs to more complex cases while preserving those standards set out many years ago.
Robert is a Google Verified Author
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