February is National Snack Food Month and it’s the best time to talk about snacks with your senior loved one. Studies show that a large number of seniors are malnourished, and snacking can be a good way to encourage your senior parent to eat more. Often seniors lose their appetites because of the medications they are on or because of health conditions they have so typical meals three times a day are too much for them or don’t interest them. Even if your senior parent has elder care helping with meals and meal prep, your senior loved one may not want to eat much.
Offering your senior loved one snacks throughout the day will let them eat when they want to eat and help them get the calories they need to stay healthy. But the type of snacks that seniors eat also is important. Filling up on empty calorie snacks can make seniors sicker. Instead of keeping a lot of filler snacks in the house make sure that your senior loved one has plenty of high protein snacks like these available:
Cottage Cheese And Yogurt
Cottage cheese and yogurt both have large amounts of protein which seniors need to stay healthy. And if your senior loved one isn’t eating regular meals they probably aren’t getting enough protein. One cup of cottage cheese has roughly 25 grams of protein, about the same as a regular sized hamburger. And a regular sized container of yogurt typically has about 17 grams of protein. You can mix either yogurt or cottage cheese with fruit or spices to make them even more delicious.
Cheese And Deli Meats
Sliced hard cheeses like cheddar cheese are a fantastic snack for seniors because they are small sized and easy to eat but have a lot of protein, vitamins, and minerals that seniors need. You can even buy a premade cheese plate full of different kinds of cheeses that your senior can pick at throughout the day. Deli meats like pepperoni, salami, or turkey breast are also great snacks. Roll up some cheese or cream cheese in a slice of salami or deli turkey and it’s a protein bomb that will keep your senior loved one full and give them a lot of the protein and fat they need to eat. Just be careful with deli meats because they can be high in sodium.
Protein Shakes
Protein shakes are an ideal snack for seniors. Some protein shakes have as much as 30 grams of protein but less than 200 calories. And they come in so many delicious flavors seniors will never get bored with the flavors available. You can buy protein shakes in bulk at large box stores, which is a great way to ensure that your senior parent has some high protein shelf stable snacks at home in case there is a weather emergency.
Edamame
Edamame can be eaten fresh or frozen. Just microwave frozen edamame for a minute to warm it up before serving, or have your senior loved one’s elder care provider warm it up. Edamame is easy to eat and has vitamins and minerals as well as 6 grams of protein per serving.
Source
https://www.webmd.com/diet/types-of-protein-snacks
If you or an aging loved one is considering elder care in Shepherd, MT, call the caring staff at SYNERGY Home Care of Billings today. 406-839-2390
