Heart Healthy Diet Tips For Seniors
February is American Heart Month and it’s the perfect time for seniors and their families to look for ways to help seniors focus on heart health. Heart disease is something that affects millions of seniors who are at risk of developing heart disease. Lifestyle choices, medication, and medical conditions can all play a role in a senior’s heart health. Eating a better diet is one way that seniors can be proactive about their heart health. And you can help your senior loved one make better meal choices and learn to enjoy healthy food as well as the occasional pizza or fast food burger. Some of the best advice for seniors who want to make their diets more heart-friendly includes:
Try New Vegetables
Senior Home Care Glenview, IL: Healthy Heart Tips
One of the reasons why so many seniors don’t want to eat health meals is that they can get into a vegetable rut. Heart healthy meals are vegetable based, but if seniors are tired of eating the same old vegetables they may choose to eat something less healthy rather than face another serving of the same tired veggies. Trying new veggies and trying to cook veggies in new ways will keep meals interesting and healthy. A senior home care provider can be a big help in getting seniors to eat more veggies because a senior home care provider can help your senior loved one cook veggies in new ways or learn how to prepare vegetables they haven’t eaten before.
Make Smart Swaps
There are many ways that small substitutions and swaps can make meals healthier. And most of the time your senior loved one won’t even notice the difference. Substituting heart health oils like olive oil or coconut oil for vegetable oil or butter is one great substitution. Another is substituting cauliflower for potatoes or rice as a side dish. And a simple kitchen tool can turn vegetables like zucchini into noodles that can be served with sauce instead of using pasta noodles. A senior home care provider can help you and your senior loved one find substitutions like these to make your senior loved one’s diet healthier while still tasting great.
Keep Protein Lean
Lean protein is one of the building blocks of a heart healthy diet. Substitute fish and lean chicken for beef in main dishes. And encourage your senior loved one to try plant based proteins and vegetarian products that have protein without the fat and other unhealthy elements that some meats have. You can also encourage your senior loved one to try exotic meats like game meats that are often lean but have a lot of flavor.
Try A Meal Service
Seniors who have trouble shopping or don’t like to shop may end up relying on high sodium processed foods for meals because they don’t want the hassle of shopping often for fresh fruits and vegetables. A meal delivery service could be the perfect way to get your senior eating better if this is the case. Meal delivery services will send all the ingredients that seniors need to cook fresh meals quickly right to their door. And all the ingredients are already portioned so that the meals are easy to cook.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Senior Home Care in Glenview, IL, contact the caring staff at Companion Services of America today at (847) 943-3786. Our home care service area includes Northbrook, Highland Park, Deerfield, Glenview, Buffalo Grove, Evanston, Des Plaines, Skokie, Lake Forest, Wilmette and the surrounding areas.
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