4 Ways to Make Preparing Meals Easier for Your Aging Parent

 

Breakfast in bed. Room service. A personal chef. It’s fun to imagine a delicious meal delivered right to you, but it’s rarely a practical consideration – unless, you feel like being the one doing the meal serving.

With an aging parent in mind, however, it can actually be fun. It’s a great way to do something special for someone you love and who may need the help. It also doesn’t take that much to effort to receive a whole lot of satisfaction in return.

Let us share a few pointers on ways to prepare meals that make it easier for your parents with you today.

1. Do the Shopping.

Whether by grocery store, specialty store, or take-out from a restaurant, it really doesn’t matter. Food shopping can take a lot energy for an aging parent, but it probably won’t be the biggest single chore in your day. If it is too much of a task based on your schedule, or if you live far away, you can always order groceries online with corresponding delivery services, enlist another family member, or outsource the shopping to a senior care service.

2. Recipes.

Whether cooking an elderly parent’s favorite food or making meals specially designed to meet their specific health needs, thinking through some delicious ideas ahead of time will make the meal process more efficient and with better results. Have a plan, work the plan. Recipes only get easier the more you make them. But make sure to rotate recipes to keep it interesting.

3. Freeze and Refrigerate.

No matter how much you love and care for an aging parent, hardly any of us can realistically be with them at all times. When it comes to helping with meals, freezing and refrigerating pre-cooked food items is a great way to set them up to succeed. For example, take a casserole out of the fridge, put it in a microwave or conventional oven, and consume when ready. It’s that easy. Another tip is to freeze or refrigerate single servings.

4. Senior Care.

If you can’t do it all, don’t worry because you don’t have to. Hiring a senior care provider to do all or some of the shopping, cooking and clean-up is a great way to provide meaningful meals for aging loved ones. Make sure to talk with them beforehand, and develop the best plan of action for parents’ needs, likes and comfort level.

Do you have questions on this or any other elder issue? Do not hesitate to share your thoughts or ask us your questions. We are your local law firm here to help you.