Making Mealtime a More Enjoyable Part of Your Elderly Care Journey

Elderly Care in Owasso OK

Eating is a central element of most people’s lives. You enjoy large meals on holidays. You snack while you are watching television or go to the movies. You indulge in desserts and treats on special occasions. For seniors, however, eating may become something that is more of a challenge than it is a pleasure. A large percentage of elderly adults deal with malnutrition on a regular basis. For many of these seniors the malnourishment is a result of not eating enough. This can occur due to many factors, but one especially common issue is simply that the senior does not enjoy eating and so he does not do it like he should.

A senior who lives alone may not want to cook for himself or may not have ever cooked. He may not want to sit down by himself for a full meal and so he relies on snack and convenience foods. He may forget to eat all together. By finding ways to make mealtime a more enjoyable part of his day, you can help your parent to get the nutrition that he needs and stay happier and healthier.
Use these tips to help your parent enjoy eating more for improved nutrition and quality of life:

• Prepare meals for him. If he is not familiar with cooking or if he does not want to go through the hassle of cooking just for himself, prepare meals for him. Having healthy, delicious meals prepared and ready for him enables him to simply heat them up and enjoy. Make this especially easy by portioning out the meals into individual servings so that there is no waste and no leftovers
• Make it a social event. Bring back the fun and meaning of mealtime by turning it into a social event. Lengthen the shift of his referred caregiver so that she is there with him during meals and can eat with him. Bring your children over to his house or bring him to your house to eat together. You can even look into senior organizations and clubs within your community to find opportunities for your parent to eat with a group.
• Get him involved. Help your parent feel connected to the food that he eats by getting him involved in the preparation and cooking. Even if he has never cooked or has limitations and challenges that make cooking difficult, he can contribute in simple ways. Start with selecting dishes together. Visit the grocery store and farmer’s market together to pick out the best ingredients. Once you are in the kitchen, let him be in charge of reading the recipe, collecting the ingredients, or handling tasks such as stirring. If he is feeling adventurous, encourage him to try more challenging tasks. This will not only help him to enjoy eating more, but it will also stimulate and strengthen his mind.

Source
http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/090115p56.shtml
http://www.sirc.org/publik/food_and_eating_1.html