Let’s face it. There’s a reason why so many seniors have trouble eating nutritiously every day. It’s not always easy! The following tips will help you “speak the language” of good nutrition and help you feel in control.

Say “no” to eating alone

Eating with company can be as important as vitamins. Think about it: a social atmosphere stimulates your mind and helps you enjoy meals. When you enjoy mealtimes, you’re more likely to eat better. If you live alone, eating with company will take some strategizing, but the effort will pay off.

• Make a date to share lunch or dinners with grand children, nieces, nephews, friends and neighbors on a rotating basis.
• Join in by taking a class, volunteering, or going on an outing, all of which can lead to new friendships and dining buddies.
• Adult day care centers provide both companionship and nutritious meals for seniors who are isolated and lonely, or unable to prepare their own meals.
• Senior meal programs are a great way to meet others. Contact your local Senior Center, YMCA, congregation or high school and ask about senior meal programs.

Loss of appetite

First, check with your doctor to see if your loss of appetite could be due to medication you’re taking, and whether the dosage can be adjusted or changed. Then let the experimenting begin. Try natural flavor enhancers such as olive oil, vinegar, garlic, onions, ginger, and spices.

Difficulty chewing

Make chewing easier by drinking smoothies made with fresh fruit, yogurt, and protein powder. Eat steamed veggies and soft food such as couscous, rice, and yogurt. Consult your dentist to make sure your dentures are properly fitted.

Dry mouth

Drink 8 -10 glasses of water each day. Period. Take a drink of water after each bite of food, add sauces and salsas to foods to moisten, avoid commercial mouthwash, and ask your doctor about artificial saliva products.

I don’t like healthy food

If you were raised eating lots of meat and white bread, a new way of eating might sound off-putting. Don’t beat yourself up. Eating healthfully is a new adventure. Start with small steps:

• First and foremost, commit to keeping an open mind.
• Try including a healthy fruit or veggie at every meal.
• Focus on how you feel after eating well – this will help foster new habits and tastes.

Stuck in a rut

Rekindle inspiration by perusing produce at a farmers market, reading a cooking magazine, buying a new-to-you spice, or chatting with friends about what they eat. By making variety a priority, you’ll soon look forward to getting creative with healthy meals.

If you can’t shop or cook for yourself…

There are a number of possibilities, depending on your living situation, finances and needs:

• Take advantage of home delivery. Many grocery stores have Internet or phone delivery services.
• Swap services. Ask a friend, neighborhood teen or college student if they would be willing to shop for you.
• Share your home. If you live alone in a large home, consider having a housemate / companion who would be willing to do the grocery shopping and cooking.
• Hire a homemaker. Try to find someone who can do the shopping and meal preparation for you.

Reprinted with permission for personal or non-profit use. Visit www.helpguide.org to see the article with links to related articles.  This material is for information and support; not a substitute for professional advice.

Thinking of trading a tired eating regime for a nutrient-dense menu? Good for you! It’s easy and delicious.

Avoid skipping meals – This causes your metabolism to slow down, which leads to feeling sluggish and poorer choices later in the day.

Breakfast – Select high fiber breads and cereals, colorful fruit, and protein to fill you with energy for the day. Try yogurt with muesli and berries, a veggie-packed omelet, peanut-butter on whole grain toast with a citrus salad, or old-fashioned oatmeal made with dried cherries, walnuts, and honey.

Lunch – Keep your body fueled for the afternoon with a variety of whole-grain breads, lean protein, and fiber. Try a veggie quesadilla on a whole-wheat tortilla, veggie stew with whole-wheat noodles, or a quinoa salad with roasted peppers and mozzarella cheese.

Dinner – End the day on a wholesome note. Try warm salads of roasted veggies and a side of crusty brown bread and cheese, grilled salmon with spicy salsa, or whole-wheat pasta with asparagus and shrimp. Opt for sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes and grilled meat instead of fried.

Snacks – It’s okay, even recommended, to snack. But make sure you make it count by choosing high-fiber snacks to healthfully tide you over to your next meal. Choose almonds and raisins instead of chips, and fruit instead of sweets. Other smart snacks include yogurt, cottage cheese, apples and peanut butter, and veggies and hummus.

Reprinted with permission for personal or non-profit use. Visit www.helpguide.org to see the article with links to related articles.  This material is for information and support; not a substitute for professional advice.

Once you’ve made friends with nutrient-dense food, your body will feel slow and sluggish if you eat less wholesome fare. Here’s how to get in the habit of eating well.

• Reduce sodium (salt) to help prevent water retention and high blood pressure. Look for the “low sodium” label and season meals with a few grains of course sea salt instead of cooking with salt.
• Enjoy good fats. Reap the rewards of olive oil, avocados, salmon, walnuts, flaxseed, and other monounsaturated fats. Research shows that the fat from these delicious sources protects your body against heart disease by controlling “bad” LDL cholesterol levels and raising “good” HDL cholesterol levels.
• Fiber up. Avoid constipation, lower the risk of chronic diseases, and feel fuller longer by increasing fiber intake. Your go-to fiber-foods are raw fruits and veggies, whole-grains, and beans.
• Avoid “bad” carbs. Bad carbohydrates—also known as simple or unhealthy carbs— are foods such as white flour, refined sugar, and white rice that have been stripped of all bran, fiber, and nutrients. Bad carbs digest quickly and cause spikes in blood sugar levels and short-lived energy. For long-lasting energy and stable insulin levels, choose “good” or complex carbs such as whole grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables.
• Look for hidden sugar. Added sugar can be hidden in foods such as bread, canned soups and vegetables, pasta sauce, instant mashed potatoes, frozen dinners, fast food, and ketchup. Check food labels for alternate terms for sugar such as corn syrup, molasses, brown rice syrup, cane juice, fructose, sucrose, dextrose, or maltose. Opt for fresh or frozen vegetables instead of canned goods, and choose low-carb or sugar-free versions of products such as tortillas, bread, pasta, and ice cream.
• Cook smart. The best way to prepare veggies is by steaming or sautéing in olive oil—it preserves nutrients. Forget boiling—it drains nutrients.
• Put five colors on your plate. Take a tip from Japanese food culture and try to include five colors on your plate. Fruits and veggies rich in color correspond to rich nutrients (think: blackberries, melons, yams, spinach, tomato, zucchini).

Reprinted with permission for personal or non-profit use. Visit www.helpguide.org to see the article with links to related articles.  This material is for information and support; not a substitute for professional advice.

How many calories do seniors need?

There is a right number of calories for your body. Use the following as a guideline.

A woman over 50 who is:

• Not physically active needs about 1600 calories a day
• Somewhat physically active needs about 1800 calories a day
• Very active needs about 2000 calories a day

A man over 50 who is:

• Not physically active needs about 2000 calories a day
• Somewhat physically active needs about 2200-2400 calories a day
• Very active needs about 2400-2800 calories a day

Source: National Institute of Aging

Friday, March 4, was my dad’s 84th birthday, and I purposefully did things all day long that made me think of him: dropped eggs on toast, Maine shrimp for lunch at a Portland working waterfront restaurant, reading “Northern Woodlands” magazine in front of the wood stove, a snowshoe hike and a little cookie baking.

Then I read this really interesting article, about taste coming from your nose and memories. I was especially intrigued at the notion that babies in utero and nursing after birth “learn” to like tastes based on what their mom is eating, so pregnant or nursing women who eat their fruits and vegetables can later more easily entice their toddlers to enjoy carrots, because the kids already like the food from earlier exposure.

That explains why I like all the foods my dad preferred: because that’s what my mom made, and what she ate during the years she added to her young family every 18 months. Lucky me, that my dad didn’t like liver or lima beans! And lucky me that he also enjoyed baking and the occasional cooking experiment, like boiled can.

Boiled can is when you put an unopened can (label peeled off) of sweetened condensed milk in a pot of water and let it simmer gently for some hours. Cut off both ends and push out a quivering mass of caramel. Of course, the real delight is that the little kids won’t have a clue what’s in the can…….peas? cranberry sauce? So it makes a delicious surprise. It smells like warm candy and tastes like fun, dad! Thanks for that memory

We hear it on the news all of the time – families just do not sit down and eat together anymore.  Our hurried lifestyles are getting in the way of quality time with our families at the dinner table.  While it is important to have a sit-down meal with your children, it is equally as important to have frequent sit-down meals with your aging parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends.

Seniors who eat alone have a higher chance of becoming under- or malnourished.  They often do not eat a proper diet or enough of the foods provided for them.  That is why it is important to slow down, sit a while, enjoy the meal, and have a good conversation with the senior in your life.  Not only will companionship at the dinner table make mealtime more enjoyable for seniors, but it can also stimulate appetite—helping to insure they get proper nutrition for good health and independence.

In addition to sitting down and eating with seniors, preparing a meal can be just as important. When you prepare a meal together, you also provide your loved one mental stimulation that is essential to health and independence—as you strengthen your bond together. This time together also provides the opportunity to observe how the senior is getting along and if he or she may need additional help around the house.

The professional caregivers of Comfort Keepers^® do all of these things, providing this same type of stimulation to seniors through Interactive Caregiving™, our unique system of care that engages seniors mentally, physically, socially and emotionally to improve their quality of life.

Here are a few more tips to help make mealtime for your loved one more enjoyable:

• For a senior who has difficulty cooking, prepare foods in quantity and package them in appropriately-sized portions to freeze and eat later.  Keep a list of what is in the freezer or refrigerator on the door; it is easier to plan a meal when your loved one knows what he or she has available
• Take a senior grocery shopping to help him or her make well-balanced, nutritionally-rich purchases
• Coordinate a neighbor or friend for the senior to eat with on a regular basis, if you are unavailable
• Make sure seniors have a comfortable place to eat; set out a nice placemat and linen napkin, or fresh flowers
• Help the senior to join or start a potluck dinner club with friends

You may not always be able to provide meal companionship to a senior in your life, but helping find friends to eat with them, assisting in preparing meals, or providing a caregiver like a Comfort Keeper^® to shop, prepare meals, and eat with your senior, can help your loved one stay healthy and nourished.