Six Ways Home Care Helps With Meals
Your mom has a harder time cooking meals as she gets older. Arthritis pain and stiff joints make it hard for her to slice meats and vegetables and lift heavier pots and pans. Home care services can help her in six different ways.
Menu Planning
While visiting with her caregiver, your mom can talk about what she’d like to eat. You’ll share any dietary requirements your mom has and her caregiver will make sure her meals are low-sodium or whatever is needed.
Your mom’s caregiver works with her to plan a weekly menu. The caregiver will go through her refrigerator, freezer, pantry, and cupboards to determine what she needs for groceries. From there, a shopping list is created.
Grocery Shopping
Once there is a shopping list in hand, your mom and her caregiver can go to the grocery store. Your mom has a caregiver who can drive her and carry bags to and from the car.
If your mom has a hard time reading fine print on labels, she no longer has to struggle to decide what to buy. She has a caregiver who can read the label to check for hidden sugar, high levels of sodium, or unnecessary saturated fat.
Meal Preparation
When it’s nearing time for a meal or snack, your mom’s caregiver can slice and chop ingredients, cook the items, and plate it. The dishes are carried to your mom’s table or TV tray for her to eat. If she needs a drink, her caregiver will get it.
Company While Eating
One of the harder parts of living alone is eating alone. Eating alone can be depressing. Your mom has a caregiver there to join her for a meal. As she eats, your mom has someone to talk to, which can improve her eating habits.
Kitchen Clean-Up
After the meal, the caregiver will clean the kitchen. Dishes are washed or loaded into the dishwasher. Counters are cleaned and sanitized. The sink is cleaned out, and dishes that have been dried or completed the dishwasher cycle are put away.
Safe Storage
Finally, leftovers are stored on time and safely. As meats and items containing dairy need to be refrigerated to prevent bacterial growth, your mom’s caregiver makes sure they’re put away before they spoil.
Once a week, the caregiver can go through the refrigerator and make sure that nothing has spoiled. If anything has, the caregiver can compost the spoiled foods, recycle the container, and add the item to the grocery list if more is needed.
Home care aides ensure your mom has the groceries she needs and healthy meals. She’ll have company while she eats. That’s just a start of the reasons you want to arrange home care services. Learn more about meal preparation services and pricing by talking to an agency.
If you are considering home care in Las Vegas, NV, for an aging loved one, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Summerlin. 702-800-4616.