Mum lives alone - how can I ensure she eats healthy meals?

Some people as they age, can find it difficult to eat healthy food.

There are many things you can try to ensure a family member eats well. Knowing a family member is eating regular nutritious meals will give you peace of mind.

Use these tips to overcome common obstacles to healthy eating.

If the person you are caring for has problems shopping, preparing and cooking meals:

•  Ring the local council about services to assist with transport and shopping for groceries
•  Ask a neighbour or friend to shop for a person
•  Contact Meals on Wheels for delivery of hot or frozen meals each weekday (frozen meals are available for the weekends too and some MOWs have community lunches each week where they bring clients to a club for lunch)
•  Buy lots of frozen easy to serve meals from the supermarket or cook up bulk dishes such as lasagna to freeze for the week. You can write the days of the week on the dish and leave instructions to reheat
•  Investigate online shopping
•  Ring your local supermarket and ask about home delivery
•  Many private catering companies make and deliver specialty meals for the elderly, search for them under: home delivered meals
•  Contact a nursing or domestic care agency and hire someone to help with the shopping and cooking of meals
•  Check if the person is eligible for help under the Home And Community Care (HACC) program 

If the person you care for is malnourished:

Ask your chemist about supplements that come in the form of drinks or puddings. Try six smaller meals served throughout the day, as this may be more tempting. Consult a dietitian, they can help with planning a nutritious diet and meal plan.

Serve high calorie nutrient rich snacks. Examples include:

•  Scones with jam and cream
•  Dried fruit and nuts
•  Canned fruit with ice cream
•  Cereal and milk
•  Milkshake or flavoured milk
•  Yoghurt or Custard
•  Cheese and biscuits
•  Crackers with peanut butter
•  Olives and cheese
•  Supplements eg Ensure, Sustagen, Fortisip, Resource 

If the person you care for has memory loss:

•  Serve the main meal when the person is most alert, this may be breakfast time
•  Use an alarm clock to remind a person of meal times
•  Leave out prepared meals labelled with "dinner"
•  Write simple instructions on the microwave for reheating
•  If able, call before each meal to remind the person to eat
•  Try and eat meals together, or get family members to visit at meal times to encourage healthy eating
•  Organise meals on wheels or a private home catering service to deliver ready made meals
•  Call The Commonwealth Carelink Centre for information on meal services and the HACC program in your area on 1800 052 222
•  Contact your local council and ask about meal on wheels and other meal services for seniors
•  To find a dietitian contact The Dietitians Association of Australia 

Related articles

• Nutritional requirements of older adults
• How can I organise home delivered meals?
• What is malnutrition?