To help your aging parent get the nutrients he needs for his body to stay healthy, you might want to encourage snacking.
Many elderly individuals have a harder time eating larger meals so planning small meals supplemented with healthy snacks is a great way to help your parent get a good variety of healthy nutrients.
Healthy snacks don’t just appear and often aren’t the easiest grab-and-go type of snacks so proper shopping and a little prep beforehand by you or your elderly care provider will be important first steps for your parent to stick to a healthy diet of great snacks.
1. Healthy Snacks in the Fridge.
Stock your parent’s fridge with lots of easy snacks he can grab when he’s feeling those hunger pangs. Since most fridge foods are perishable, have your elderly care provider spend a little bit of her visit going through the fridge snacks to make sure they haven’t expired or developed mold (especially cheeses).
a. Cheese. Add a variety of cheeses, along with easy-to-eat cheeses to your parent’s fridge. Think of items like string cheese or pre-cut snack cubes. Cottage cheese and is a great choice for protein.
b. Hummus. Another delicious healthy snack with tons of protein.
c. Cut up fresh vegetables. Sometimes vegetables alone can seem to boring or tasteless. Your parent can use the hummus he has to dip them in, or you can provide some lower-fat dip for your parent. An elderly care provider can help by chopping and prepping veggies, and putting them in a covered container for your parent to grab what he wants.
d. Hard-boiled eggs. Eggs provide many essential nutrients for your parent but can be a lot of work to prepare. An easy hard-boiled egg can make it a simple way for your parent to get those nutrients.
e. Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt comes in tons of delicious and fun flavors and provides a perfect portion size. If sugar is a concern, have your parent keep a larger container of plain Greek yogurt in his fridge and add some fresh fruit to sweeten it up.
f. Fresh fruit. Keep grapes, berries and other fresh fruit cleaned and ready to snack on.
2. Healthy Snacks in the Pantry.
Keep some easy foods that your parent can grab when he heads out of the house or needs something that he can simply carry with him.
a. Granola bars. Not all granola bars are created the same. Check sugar levels and nutrients then have some more healthy granola bars ready for your parent to snack on when he’s out enjoying the back yard.
b. Peanut butter. A tablespoon of peanut butter can add some fat and protein to your parent’s snacks of veggies or cracker.
c. Trail mix. Like granola bars, not all trail mixes are created the same. Have your elderly care provider help by mixing up a large container of healthy trail mix that contains nuts, dried fruit and healthy seeds like sunflower or pumpkin. Put it in little snack resealable bags to make it even more easy for your parent to grab when he’s hungry.
3. Healthy Snacks in the Freezer.
A nice cold snack on a hot day can hit the spot!
a. Frozen fruit bars. For just a few calories, this little sweet snack might be just what your parent needs to hold him over until dinner. Look for brands that don’t have excessive sugar.
b. Frozen Greek yogurt. A nice cool treat to get protein in your parent’s snacking.
So long as snacking is not hindering the food your parent should be eating for his main meals, it can be a great way to supplement a diet.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Home Care Services in Los Altos, CA, call the caring staff at Aviva In-Home Care.
Call today: (415) 795-2203
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