Your elderly relative needs well-balanced meals and wholesome snacks to stay as healthy as possible. However, when illness, injury, chronic conditions and diseases rob your loved one of their ability to live independently, they must rely on you as a family caregiver and on home care providers to help them, especially with meals.
One way that you can ensure your aging relative is getting the nutrients they need is by making smoothies to accompany meals and as snacks. You won’t go wrong with making delicious and healthy smoothies for your elderly relative on a regular basis.
Here are just a few of the reasons why smoothies are so great for seniors:
Smoothies are All Natural
Smoothies contain completely natural ingredients because they are made only with fresh fruits, vegetables, and healthy liquids. Family caregivers and home care providers can vary the flavors to suit their elderly relative’s tastes. Whether they are served as a delicious and filling snack or as part of a meal, smoothies really do provide a lot of benefits to seniors.
Smoothies are Easy to Make
Family caregivers and home care providers don’t have to be great chefs to make smoothies. Common fruits are melon, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, mangos, peaches, and pineapple. Good vegetable additions include avocado, sweet potato, beets, kale, spinach, and zucchini. Add a liquid like fruit juice, milk, almond milk, coconut water, yogurt or even just water to make it just right. Smoothies are an excellent way to get in a few servings of fruits and vegetables into an aging adult’s daily diet.
Smoothies are Healthy
These delicious beverages deliver an array of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to an elderly person’s body with every sip. Smoothies are full of fiber because they retain the elements of the whole fruit and vegetable. Fiber helps seniors feel fuller and makes digestion easier. From Vitamin A to zinc, family caregivers and home care providers can adjust ingredients to deliver the nutrients the aging adult needs.
Smoothies are Affordable
Most seniors are on a fixed budget and family members and home care providers need to get the most value for the grocery dollars. Fresh fruit in season is incredibly affordable, which makes smoothies an ideal addition to an aging adult’s menu. Home care providers can also help seniors chop up in-season fruit and freeze it for several months, so there’s always smoothie ingredients available.
Instead of buying processed snacks and sugar-laden drinks, consider preparing all-natural smoothies for your elderly relative to enjoy. Not only are they tasty and refreshing, but they provide important health benefits. Your loved one can enjoy a smoothie and boost their health at the same time.
