As people age, most of them tend to lose interest in food. Consumption pattern of the loved one starts getting impacted leading to several diseases. One particular concern in the elderly is obtaining sufficient fluid intake. Following retirement it’s not uncommon for people to drink less, as they no longer have scheduled coffee breaks at work. In order to overcome all of these we have tried to create an ideal meal plan for the elderly in your family. The plan below includes drinks, but it’s also recommended to drink more water throughout the day. Some old people also have difficulty in passing stools, therefore a good fibre intake is encouraged. It’s even more important that caregivers at homes for senior citizens and family members at home try to stick to specific meal and snack times.
| Breakfast | High fibre cereal (like, muesli, porridge, etc) + 200mlskimmed milk + 1 tsp sugar200ml fruit juiceMug tea/coffee |
| Mid-morning | 2 digestive biscuits Fresh Fruit Drink |
| Lunch | Sandwich: 2 slices wholemeal bread +olive oil-based spread + slice chicken/hamor 2 eggs (poached / scrambled / boiled)+ 2 slices wholemeal toast Mixed salad Low fat / low sugar yoghurt Drink water |
| Mid-afternoon | Fruit drink or hot beverages as per theloved one’s preferences |
| Evening Meal | Vegetable stock or Tomato, sweet corn soup (Make sure you meshor grind the corn thoroughly in case the loved one has chewing problems)and 1 medium jacket potato or3-4 small boiled potatoes / mashed potato and loads of vegetables Gravy – optional Small pieces of fruits served in a bowl Drink water (Try to wrap up your evening meals before 8pm allowing more time for digestion) |
| Evening | Hot milky drink |
The following example meal plan has been designed for a typical elderly individual. It’s nutritionally balanced to suit an elderly person who is moderately active and in reasonable health in order to maintain their weight. Obviously this is based on an average elderly person, and there may be significant variation in activity, mobility, weight, appetite, etc., so like all plans, it is merely an example and needs to be adapted to suit an individual’s own lifestyle, daily routine and nutritional requirements. Use this to give you an idea of what are healthy nutritious foods to include, but don’t forget to vary your food choices. Always remember, proper elderly care starts with well-established diet plans.. In the forthcoming post we will cover meal plan for the ones with an irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Do subscribe to our posts in order to get many more useful information for your loved ones.
