How To Create A Healthy Nursing Home Menu

We know that tasty food makes people really happy. So why not make sure everyone’s personal preferences and dietary requirements are satisfied. We may be just over 50’s, but we appreciate the food more than ever before.

Many different factors make it difficult to create a perfect nursing home menu for seniors. So in order for the elderly in the nursing home to eat healthy and dietitian-approved meals, your menu needs to be very flexible. But on the contrary, there are moments when taste buds react to a small change in cooking, this is due to the fact of the medication side effects. On top of that, nursing home menus are more complicated because seniors have different nutritional needs. Though they need low-calorie meals, they need more B vitamins, minerals, calcium, protein, and other nutrients.

Nursing home menu prep tips that will make cooking easier

While there is not even one tip that will work for everyone, here are a few ideas you can incorporate into your upcoming week that will help you create the nursing home menu for you and your senior’s.

1.    Create a nursing home menu plan and write it down. Sit down on a free day and plan out your senior’s meals for the upcoming week. This way you will avoid making multiple trips to the grocery store during busy working days. Write down the menu for the upcoming week and put it on a visible place where your senior can easily view it. Knowing in advance what is planned will make it easier for seniors whether they are the ones preparing the food or not.
2.    Create menu preparation a group project. Enter your senior’s help in the creation for the week’s meals. Not only will you get ideas, assistance, and company, but your seniors will feel more active in what they are consuming and will enjoy having an activity to look forward to.
3.    Prep varied ingredients for the upcoming week. Meal preparation is supposed to make your life a lot easier, not more complicated and difficult. Instead of trying to prepare each meal individually, start by prepping certain meals that make more than one appearance in your nursing home menu plan for the week. For example, cook enough vegetables mixed with quinoa for the week or simply wash and chop vegetables and store them in sealed containers in the fridge. This you will ensure that no one is starting from the start when they begin to prepare the meal.

What to eat in between meals

It is recommended to eat nutritional snacks between meals such as  high-fibre vegetables like raspberries(9%fiber) or some snacks like popcorn(17%fiber). And, seniors need to stay well hydrated, for them, it is preferable taking small sips now and then in during the day in order to avoid frequent needs to go to the bathroom.

Small bottle of water should be kept by their favorite chair is for the best. To avoid chilled throat and coughing, the water should be room temperature or a little bit warm. You can put in some  cucumber, lemons, limes or a few red berries in the bottle for additional flavor and they can take small sips through the day to stay well hydrated.