Home Care to Help with Cooking Small Meals for the Elderly
Eating a healthy, nutritious and well-balanced diet is important for everyone, but even more so for elderly people. That’s because appetite naturally decreases with age, meaning every bite needs to be as nutrient-dense as possible to ensure you get the most from your food. Existing health conditions, medications and a decline in your immune function also mean that getting the right nutrients becomes even more vital to your overall well-being as you get older.
But at Trinity Homecare, we know that preparing and cooking meals for some elderly people can be a burden for many reasons. From mobility issues and frailty that can make standing to prepare meals a chore, or memory or cognitive decline that means it’s unsafe for you to cook or simply no longer enjoying cooking or eating alone.
Fortunately, there are many ways to support elderly people to eat well, from batch cooking or organising meals on wheels services to organising the support of at-home carers dedicated to cooking small meals.
Below, we explain how our home help carers can support you or your loved one to prepare and cook small meals and the benefits this can offer.
Why might elderly people need help with cooking?
It is common for elderly people to need some help with cooking at some point, whether that’s short-term while recuperating from an illness or injury or help preparing every meal. The reasons elderly people need help with cooking vary but can include:
- Lacking the energy to prepare and eat healthy and well-balanced meals
- Cognitive decline, which can cause them to forget to eat
- Physical changes that mean preparing or cooking food more difficult or unsafe
- Losing a loved one who previously took care of all the cooking
- Feeling lonely or experiencing depression
- Swallowing issues causing a lack of interest in food
- Sensory changes that can make certain tastes or textures unpleasant
- Reduced appetite due to natural ageing
Different ways to support the elderly with cooking
Fortunately, there are numerous ways to support elderly people with cooking and eating, from trying to eat with them regularly to seeking the specialist support of home carers.
Batch cooking and freezing meals
If you are keen to support your elderly loved one with cooking but aren’t available to provide support at every mealtime, batch cooking and freezing meals can be a good alternative. It ensures they always have healthy, nutritious food to hand that can be quickly and easily warmed up in the microwave.
Soups, stews, tray bakes like lasagne and jacket potatoes are all good options for batch cooking. But don’t forget to ask your loved one about their favourite meals before you start to ensure that the meals you cook will get eaten.
Meal delivery services
Meal delivery services can offer a good alternative to batch-cooking meals for your loved ones. Many of these services offer carefully prepared nutritious meals that can be tailored to a wide variety of dietary requirements. So, no matter what your loved one’s needs, you’re sure to find a suitable option.
What’s more, many meal delivery services for the elderly are tailored to be more holistic than normal grocery delivery services. So delivery drivers can often help put the meals away for your relatives or will stop to chat with them, helping to alleviate loneliness.
You can find out more about the different types of meal delivery services available in our guide.
Eat with them
Mealtimes are so much more than just an opportunity to eat – they are a chance for social interaction, and many people get a lot of joy from eating with others.
In older people, eating with others can help increase the amount they eat and encourage them to choose healthier, more nutritious foodstuffs. So, it is a good idea to try to eat with your elderly relatives a few times a week.
If you don’t live nearby, you could try arranging video calls at mealtimes and sharing a meal remotely, which can still be beneficial. Alternatively, you could look at whether there are any local senior lunch clubs that are suitable so they can enjoy some interaction during mealtimes.
Listen to their preferences
People’s sense of taste naturally weakens with age, but certain health conditions and medications can exacerbate this problem. As a result, it’s not uncommon for older people to suddenly dislike a certain food they have previously enjoyed. This means it’s important to speak to your relative about their food preferences and make any necessary changes to their grocery shopping or meals as needed.
Get the support of home carers
Arguably, the most comprehensive help available for the elderly with preparing and cooking meals is engaging the support of home help carers.
Home carers can help your loved one in a way that works best for them. This could be preparing and cooking meals together to help foster a sense of independence and reignite a passion for cooking in your loved one. Or for those who can’t cook any longer, home carers can simply cook for them.
Another advantage of home carers cooking small meals is that they will tailor the meals to your loved one’s preferences and can even help with grocery shopping for ingredients if needed. What’s more, support can be tailored to your loved one’s needs, whether that’s a few times a week or at every mealtime.
How home carers can help cook small meals for the elderly
Our home help carers work tirelessly to support your loved one to live a rich and fulfilling life, including encouraging them to eat a nutritious diet by providing support with mealtimes.
From preparing sandwiches to warming nutritious soups or preparing simple meals like porridge or a salad, they can help ensure your loved one continues to enjoy some of their favourite foods and benefit from better nutrition. They can also assist with clearing away any pots and utensils after the meal, leaving the home clean and hygienic and ensuring your loved one has one less thing to worry about.
Arranging home carers to help cook small meals for the elderly
At Trinity Homecare, we’re dedicated to ensuring your loved one gets the support they need to live independently in the home they love.
When it comes to providing home help cooking meals, many people find that visiting care is the best option for them. Visiting care involves carers visiting the home at pre-arranged times, a few times per week or per day depending on your loved one’s needs. It is incredibly flexible and can be adjusted as needed to ensure your loved one gets the support they need.
However, help with meal preparation is something we are also able to support through our nationwide live-in care. Live-in care involves a carer moving into your home with you to provide round-the-clock support. Often live-in carers can help support specific medical conditions, but they are also able to support home help tasks, including cooking small meals.
Trusted home care from Trinity
If you’re looking for home help with cooking and preparing meals, trust Trinity Homecare. For the past 25 years, we have provided the highest standards of care in the comfort of people’s own homes. We understand that deteriorating health and ageing can all reduce appetite and affect your ability to cook healthy, nutritious food. However, we passionately believe that choosing the dedicated support of our carers can help you continue to live a full life in the home you love.
Trinity Homecare is a fully managed care agency with an ‘Outstanding’ CQC rating, placing Trinity amongst the top 4% of all nationwide care companies in England. With this in mind, you can rest assured that your loved one will receive the highest standard of care and specialist support.
If you have any questions about arranging home care, simply get in touch with our helpful and knowledgeable care team.
Arranging nationwide home help with Trinity is straightforward. Simply follow these five steps:
- Call our care team
- Undergo a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your care needs and arrange a care assessment
- After the assessment, a plan of care is created
- A well-suited carer is found and placed
- Care can be adapted at any time
