Does the idea of making snacks part of your senior’s diet make you wonder if that is even okay at all? Every February is National Snack Food Month, which means now is a good time to look at what healthy snacks your senior is already eating and whether you can make changes to her diet. In-home care providers can even help you and your senior to make snacks a good idea for your elderly family member.
Snacking Can Be Good or Bad
Lots of people hear the word “snack” and immediately think about snacks as a bad thing. But snacking doesn’t have to be all bad. If your elderly family member’s snacks are full of nutritional value, they can be incredibly helpful to her throughout the day. The right snacks boost nutritional intake and help your senior to get enough calories.
Plan Ahead for Good Snacking
Part of making snacking a good thing for your senior is the plan. If you don’t have a good plan for snacking, your elderly family member is more likely to reach for foods that are low in nutrients, high in calories, and generally considered not great options. Look for foods that are high in nutrients, like nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables. Foods that have fiber and good fats are excellent choices, too. In-home care professionals can help your senior to stick with the plan.
Look for Solutions that Work with Other Health Issues
Does your senior have other health issues, like chewing problems or trouble swallowing? In that case, you may want to prioritize snack solutions that are high in nutritional value and that are also soft and easy for your senior to eat. It’s also a good idea to opt for variety as often as possible so that your senior doesn’t get bored.
Get Her Doctor’s Opinion
If you’re not sure what foods are right for your senior to snack on, get her doctor’s opinion. Matching her snack options to your senior’s overall dietary needs is a lot more important than you might have realized. Just about anything can be a snack, which is where some people make a mistake with snacking. Foods that are processed, packaged, and labeled as snack foods don’t necessarily provide what your senior needs. Having other options that do meet her needs is important.
Make Snacks Accessible
Another variable to consider is that your senior needs her snacks to be readily accessible. The easier it is for your elderly family member to access snacks, the more likely she is to reach for them when she really should. In-home care professionals can do a lot of that prep work for your senior, ensuring that she’s got pre-cut fruits and vegetables when she wants them.
Some seniors also find that they don’t necessarily have an appetite for full meals as often as they used to. If that’s the case for your elderly family member, snacking could be exactly what she needs. The right snacks allow her to graze throughout the day and still get plenty of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that she needs in order to remain healthy.
If you or an aging loved-one is considering In-Home Care in Roanoke, VA please contact the caring staff at Passion Home Health Solutions LLC today at. 703-462-9141
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