Home care assistance can do many things for seniors including meal prep. Nutrition can affect so many things it is crucial that seniors are eating healthy. Nutrition affects weight, sleeping patterns, and overall health. As seniors get older they may be less willing to cook because it is inconvenient or they no longer find joy in cooking. They may lose their sense of taste which makes them less willing to cook or eat. Home care assistance can help with this by finding the right recipes, helping buy the food items, and then making it for them.
There are some pretty easy things that can be prepared in advance. Before you hire home care assistance you can ask if they have any experience meal prepping and have a background in nutrition. Not all caregivers have nutrition knowledge but home care assistance may be willing to learn. They can also attend doctors appointments to figure out what a senior should and should not be eating.
Home care assistance will help a senior stay on a routine which also includes meals. This will be part of the home care plan that they develop and it will help a senior live independently from a senior home. Using home care assistance is one of the best ways for seniors to age in place and continue to thrive on their own without having to worry the family. Here is how home care assistance can start meal prepping.
How to Start Meal Prepping
The first thing someone can do is start by talking to the senior. What medications are they taking? Do any foods interact with them? Caregivers cannot manage medications, but they can ensure the food will not negatively interfere with the seniors’ medication. If the senior does not know, at the next doctor’s appointment, they can ask, or the home care assistance may be able to come along depending on the doctor. Once the caregivers find out the information these are the steps to take to start meal planning.
- Research Recipes– The first thing they can do is figure out how many days they need to plan for and prep. Once they do that they can choose recipes that focus on feeding a family of four or five to portion out for four or five days. They can choose chia seed pudding for breakfast, mason jar salads for lunch, and easy reheatable dinners. This can all be cooked once or twice a week and portioned out for each day.
- Provide Snacks– Some seniors may not like sitting down to eat three meals a day, but a caregiver can help a senior make healthy choices. Seniors may need help grocery shopping and a caregiver can encourage them to eat healthy snacks. They can portion them out for each day of the week in a designated basket. Before the week starts the caregiver can fill it up again.
- Invest in Containers– One thing a caregiver should mention to the senior is investing in storage containers that are airtight. This helps the food last much longer and most of them can be used to reheat in the microwave making less dishes for the caregiver and senior.
If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring Home Care Assistance in Spartanburg, SC, contact Heart of the Carolinas Home Care at 864-991-3116. Providing Home Care Services in Greenville, Simpsonville, Greer, Anderson, Spartanburg, Mauldin, Seneca, Laurens, Charleston, Columbia and the surrounding areas.
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