Four Fun Ways Caregivers Can Incorporate More Fruits and Vegetables Into Their Loved One’s Diet

Caregivers in Faith NC

Family caregivers wear many hats. They help administer medications, drive their loved one from place to place, help their loved one to exercise, and prepare meals for their loved one, and sometimes they do this all in one day. Preparing meals can be a time-consuming and challenging effort, especially when you have the added responsibility of making sure your loved one’s nutrition needs are met. You probably understand the importance of fruits and vegetables in your loved one’s diet as they can help ease the symptoms of chronic medical conditions, keep the heart healthy, and help your loved one have a better quality of life, but preparing them in such a way that your loved one will enjoy eating them can be difficult. Salads get boring as do plain sautéed vegetables, so how can you encourage your loved one to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables?

Here are just a few suggestions.

1. Spiralize Them
Use a spirializer to transform vegetables such as zucchini, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, and butternut squash into fun and curly noodles. Serve these veggie noodles with your loved one’s favorite pasta sauce or pasta toppings. Vegetables that are cut into fun and interesting shapes are just much more fun to eat!

2. Sneak Them Into Baked Goods
Everyone loves zucchini bread and carrot cake, but what about brownies made with avocado or chocolate chip cookies made with chickpea puree? Thanks to the internet, caregivers have access to all sorts of new and different dessert recipes and some actually contain vegetables. Give one of these unique recipes a try, you may discover a new favorite!

3. Prepare Them Ahead of Time
When you are at a party, the veggies and dip tray is always a popular staple, so why not keep a veggie or fruit tray ready to go in your fridge for everyday snacking? It is effortless to reach into the fridge and grab some pre-cut and peeled veggies and fruit for a snack, making them more appealing to you and your loved one.

4. Keep a Bag of Frozen Fruit in the Freezer
A bag of frozen fruit such as peaches, blueberries, or pineapple chunks has endless possibilities. Frozen fruit will last longer than fresh so it is great to have on hand all of the time. Use frozen fruits to blend into a smoothie, make a dessert topping, or add to a gelatin dessert.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring a professional caregiver in Faith NC, contact the caring professionals at TenderHearted Home Care today. Call us at (704) 612-4132