Home Care in Wallingford CT: How Can You Make Nutrition a Focal Point for Your Elderly Loved One?
Since March is National Nutrition Month, this is the perfect time to look at whether your loved one is getting enough nutrition from her meals. If she isn’t, you can start to revamp how your loved one plans and prepares her meals to get the best benefit from them.
Help Her Plan out Her Meals
Sit down with your elderly loved one and really map out her meals for the next week. You’ll want to look at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, too. Having a full picture of what your loved one intends to eat can help you to spot holes in her nutritional strategy. It also gives you an idea where you need to “beef up” your loved one’s meals and snacks.
Strive for Balance
When you’re looking at the meal plan you and your loved one are creating, balance is important. You’ll want to make sure that all the food groups are represented, of course, although they don’t have to all be present at every meal. Work with your loved one’s doctor or nutritionist to hit all the nutritional guidelines they want your loved one to have.
Make a Grocery List
After you’ve got a menu, now it’s time to make the grocery list. Some items, such as pantry staples, are items that you may include on your loved one’s grocery list regularly. Don’t forget to look through any recipes for the meals on the menu to see if there are unusual ingredients that you need to make sure are on the list.
Use Leftovers as a Tool
Some people really dislike leftovers, but they can serve a functional purpose for your elderly loved one. Leftovers can help your loved one save herself time, energy, and effort. If there’s a meal already prepared, your loved one doesn’t have to go to a lot of effort to eat something that’s good for her. Another way to use leftovers is to store them in freezable containers that you label with the contents and the date. Then you can pull them out of the freezer in a week or two to save time.
Having home care providers available can also make meal planning and preparation easier for your loved one.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering in-home care in Wallingford, CT, please contact the caring staff at Franciscan Ever There Care. Call today 203-630-2881.
