6 Tips for a Healthy Thanksgiving for Seniors
Want to host a healthy Thanksgiving for seniors? Here are 6 excellent tips.
By Michelle Eisenreich
- If your Thanksgiving tradition includes a huge feast, then it likely includes the long hours of prep, cooking and cleanup that come with it. Try asking your guests or family members to provide a dish or try a Thanksgiving potluck style. Divide and conquer!
- Linda Fodrini-Johnson, Founder of Eldercare Services, says, “To include those with dementia in the festivities, have them arrive just before the meal and give them a task they can be successful at such as peeling carrots, folding napkins, or arranging flowers. Remember those with dementia can become very anxious with a lot of activity and the movements of excited children, so right after desert take that person home or back to their retirement community since they can tire quickly. If an older teenager can take them home, they can have desert in the quite of their home which is a way to wined down and sooth the family member with dementia after a large gathering.”
- For those with special diets or specific food restrictions, ask them to bring their favorite dish to share with the group. And if the kitchen is too busy during prep and cooking to socialize, try helping out with cleanup duties instead.
- Thanksgiving meals usually come with home-cooked traditions, but these days many grocery chains and restaurants offer to cook your turkey and sides for you. Give this a shot one year when you’re short on time, or would rather spend your time enjoying family and friends instead of slaving away solo in the kitchen.
- A lot of traditional Thanksgiving recipes have become quite heavy but there are healthy alternatives that won’t ruin the holiday spirit. Turkey in and of itself is a low-fat protein. Reduce your salt and butter contents on sides such as mashed potatoes. Avoid adding sugar to already vitamin-rich yams and pumpkin. Cranberries have even been shown to reduce cancer risk! The Mayo Clinic, All recipes, and the American Heart Association all offer healthy alternative traditional recipes. And after you’ve filled yourself to the brim… take a walk as a family.
- Remember the spirit of the holiday. Take time to be thankful and enjoy the time you have together, especially with aging relatives. Also, there are plenty of ways to give back to others. Volunteer or make a donation to a shelter or food pantry. After all, expressing heartfelt thanks has been found to reduce the risks of heart disease!