How to Help Seniors Eat Well At Home

Eating well is a crucial part of staying healthy. It’s also a surprisingly complex idea, as mood changes, physical health, dietary restrictions, and other factors all influence our decisions about food.

Aging adds other complications to the mix, as appetite and sense of taste often decrease, while some seniors can no longer cook for themselves.

If the senior lives with family, it’s easy enough to simply cook for them. Things are more complex if they live alone, but there are still ways you can help.

Today, we’re looking at the various options, along with when each might be relevant. For example, some seniors may be able to cook, but struggle with getting groceries and perhaps meal planning. Others may need cooked meals delivered to them – ones they can simply heat up and eat.

Grocery Deliveries

If the senior’s main challenges relate to mobility, getting groceries delivered may solve most of their issues. This way, they can still prepare the food they love, without needing to visit the store, shop, and bring the groceries home again.

Tech-savvy seniors may even learn how to place the order themselves, allowing them to be independent and choose their own groceries.

There are a few approaches here.

• The first is services from the store itself. Large companies like Walmart and Kroger offer such services, allowing people to shop online from familiar stores and get everything from one place.
• There are also third-party services, such as Instacart. Here, contractors can shop at a variety of stores and then deliver the groceries. This is helpful for seniors who want to shop from multiple stores or whose favorite store doesn’t have its own delivery program.
• Finally, some companies offer delivery without a physical store. FreshDirect is a popular example of this style and offers a wide selection of products. The same is true for some specialty stores, like Snake River Farms.

The best service will depend on what’s available locally and where the senior wants to shop from.

Ordering Meal Kits

Meal kits are the next step up in convenience. These are designed to make meals easier, providing customers with recipes and all the ingredients they need.

This style allows seniors to still cook for themselves, without much meal or ingredient planning. Most of the time, they’ll be able to choose the specific meals they want. Some services even allow for tweaks, like changing the amount of protein or doubling the portion size.

Pricing varies depending on the service, the meals, and the amount being ordered. Most of the time, the senior will need to order multiple meals per week to get the lowest price per meal.

Here are some of the most interesting and popular services currently available:

• Blue Apron. This is one of the original meal kit services and is still going strong. They now offer more than 80 meals to choose from each week, including Spicy Miso Udon, Gnocchi Mac & Cheese, Spicy BBQ-Glazed Pork Meatloaf, and more. There are multiple menus too, like Wellness, Carb Conscious, Fast & Easy, Veggies, and 600 Calories or Less. 
• Home Chef. This is another famous service with a variety of interesting meals. Their ingredients are pre-portioned to make cooking easier. There are some even simpler options too, including oven-ready and microwaveable meals. The collection of styles makes it easy to adapt the delivery to the senior’s capabilities.
• Dinnerly is one of the most affordable services, where meals can cost as little as $4.99 per person. The meals aren’t as complex and exciting as some of the other services, but they are faster to prepare. The simpler flavors could even be an advantage for some seniors. 
• Purple Carrot is slightly different, as the service focuses entirely on plant-based meals. As a result, the meals tend to be healthy and packed with nutrients. However, relying on plants does make these meals more expensive than many other services, so they may not be viable for everyone.

Meal kit services are often designed for families, not individuals. But, this isn’t a huge issue, as most meals can be reheated, so the senior will be able to eat one serving now and save the rest for another day.

Ordering Cooked Meals

Finally, we have cooked meals. These are fully prepared so the senior just needs to heat and eat. Some are delivered frozen, like healthier versions of frozen dinners from the supermarket. Others are delivered fresh instead, giving them better flavors and textures.

Fully cooked meals require less work than meal kits, so they’re great for seniors who can’t cook for themselves. However, the meals are more expensive and customization options are limited.

Let’s look at some of the options.

Regular Meal Delivery Services

• Silver Cuisine. This service is specifically designed for seniors and covers a wider range of specialty diets than normal, including Low Carb, Low Sodium, Dairy Free, Diabetic, Heart Healthy, and Mediterranean. AARP members can even get discounts on their orders.
• Purple Carrot. Purple Carrot doesn’t just offer meal kits. They also have a collection of ready-to-eat meals that can be reheated in just five minutes.
• Daily Harvest is another plant-based option. They have some familiar meals, along with interesting options like smoothies, harvest bowls, and breakfast bowls. 
• Home Chef. As mentioned earlier, Home Chef has some microwaveable and some oven-ready meals.
• Magic Kitchen offers a regular menu and an a la carte menu, plus a ton of different diet options. There are even renal diet and dialysis-friendly meals on the list. The company provides a 15 Meal Trial Pack at a low price to get new orders started. And, in some cases, the meals might even be funded through Medicaid.

Meals on Wheels

There’s also Meals on Wheels. This is a non-profit organization that operates throughout the United States, providing inexpensive meals for many seniors.

The low price makes Meals on Wheels the best option for many seniors. Plus, the service is focused on social connection as well as food. That’s powerful for seniors living alone.

The quality of food provided can vary and some seniors will like this service more than others. Still, this is a great place to begin. Seniors can always try other options if they’re not happy with Meals on Wheels.

You can also inquire at local senior centers. Some may offer their own services that aren’t part of Meals on Wheels.

Restaurant Food Delivery

There’s also the option of getting food delivered from restaurants, using services like Uber Eats, Grubhub, and DoorDash. Or, you can order from the restaurant themselves if they have a delivery service.     

This is a fantastic approach for getting really good food every so often. Of course, the food is much more expensive than services like Silver Cuisine, making it best reserved for special occasions.

Other Ways to Help Seniors Eat

Sometimes the challenges aren’t related to accessing food, but to ensuring seniors actually eat. While you can’t control the senior’s eating habits, there are a few approaches that might help encourage them.

Don’t Be Too Idealistic

It’s easy to get idealistic about seniors and food. This could include making low fat and low sodium meals or ensuring there are no snacks or frozen dinners available. 

Doing so will only work well if the senior is willing to eat the food you’re offering. If they’re not, you may need to step down from the idealism. Look for compromises instead, for meals that are somewhat healthy and are also enjoyable.

A crucial part is remembering that you’re supporting an adult, not a child. They still have the right to choose unhealthy food, especially if they’re paying for it themselves. And sometimes, the goal is simply to get the senior eating, instead of focusing too heavily on the specific food.

Ensure There Are Easy-to-Eat Options

If the senior is living alone, easy-to-eat foods are a must. Frozen meals are a common example, especially those from meal delivery companies, as these are often fairly healthy.

Don’t forget about snacks either, including options like cheese, crackers, fresh fruit, hummus, and Greek yogurt. It’s always worth having some snacks the senior can simply eat without any prep work.

Consider Meal Shakes

Meal shakes aren’t as powerful as full meals, but they are easy to consume and are often delicious. The trick is to choose well, especially if you’re going with well-known brands like Ensure, Boost, or Glucerna.

When choosing, pay close attention to the protein and sugar content. The best protein shakes have a decent amount of protein (ideally more than 15 grams) and not too much sugar. The low sugar versions are the healthiest, but you might need to compromise here, as those with more sugar often taste better.

Visit for Meals

Some seniors may eat better with company, so visiting for a meal every so often could be helpful. Other family members might be able to do so as well.

Giving your loved one company for every meal isn’t realistic, but doing so occasionally should be possible. The process may also reinforce the association between mealtimes, connection, and positive emotions – making it easier for the senior to eat when alone.

Consider Alternative Living Arrangements

If you’ve tried multiple approaches and the senior still isn’t eating well, it may be time to reconsider their living situation. Is it still healthy and safe for the senior to be living alone?

It may be time to consider moving the senior in with family members, hiring a professional caregiver, or even considering somewhere like assisted living.

What If The Senior Refuses To Eat?

Some seniors outright refuse to eat or are extremely picky, to the extent that they risk being malnourished.

Solving this issue is often a matter of trial and error, starting by trying to understand why the senior is resistant to food. Possible reasons include a decrease in sense of taste, difficulty chewing, depression, or a lack of appetite.

Being slow and gentle is important too, as too much pressure is likely to backfire. We’ve covered ways to approach this issue in a previous post, so please check that out for more information.

Final Thoughts

The idea of shopping for groceries, prepping, cooking, and then eating is a huge part of our culture. Yet, there are plenty of times and situations where people can’t do this for themselves.

The approaches we’ve discussed today are good ways around this issue. They ensure that seniors can still eat well, even when they’re living alone and can’t cook for themselves.