Proper nutrition represents an essential part of keeping our senior loved ones healthy, and meal planning provides improved nutrition, reduced stress, and cost savings. At Senior Helpers Somerset, an in-home senior care company servicing Plainfield, Bridgewater, Edison, Basking Ridge, and Somerset, we've gathered five tips to help you get started – and then stick with – meal planning for your senior loved ones. Read on to learn more!
Benefits of Meal Planning for Senior Relatives
Meal planning comes with several benefits for senior parents and their caregivers. First, it helps them maintain good nutrition. Creating a weekly meal plan helps seniors eat healthier as they're less likely to go for unhealthy takeouts or convenience food.
Secondly, meal planning reduces stress by eliminating last-minute decision-making about what to have for dinner. Lastly, it offers significant cost savings; planning meals means fewer trips to the grocery store and wasting less food.
5 Tips for Meal Planning
Getting started with meal planning may seem like a daunting task. Here are some tips to ensure success:
- Start with a weekly menu. Have your senior parent create a list of meals they enjoy. This way, all that's left to do each week is to pick and choose.
- Create a grocery list. Plan for variety and consider dietary needs such as diabetes, heart health, or weight gain or reduction.
- Make use of leftovers. Plan to make enough for two meals and freeze one meal.
- Utilize meal delivery services. Consider using a meal delivery service for 2-3 meals each week. Many popular meal kits involve some cooking, which may work well if you or your senior loved one enjoys cooking. But other meal plans come with the food already prepared.
- Use proper appliances to help make meal preparation easier. Make sure the kitchen appliances include a blender, a crockpot or a slow cooker, and a microwave. Many people also love using air fryers to save time and cut down on calories.
Tips for Sticking with Meal Planning
Sticking with meal planning will save you time and reduce stress. Check out these tips for continuing the meal-planning process:
- Set a schedule. Create a timeline for each part of the process that will be easy to stick with.
- Make it fun. Get creative with recipes and try new ingredients. For example, try creating premade smoothies by freezing fruits, vegetables, yogurt cubes, and nuts or seeds into individual sandwich bags. When ready to consume, add the liquid and protein powder to blend the delicious meal into a glass.
- Get help from family and friends. Ask family members and friends to lend a hand with meal preparation or grocery shopping.
We Can Help
Meal planning helps ensure your senior parents get the nutrition they need while saving time and money and reducing stress. With these tips, you can help your senior parents start – and then stick with – meal planning.
If you're a resident of Plainfield, Bridgewater, Edison, Basking Ridge, or Somerset and you need extra help with senior care, contact Senior Helpers Somerset for quality in-home services.