Super Easy and Nutritious Recipes for Seniors

As you age-in-place, meals that are simple to make become essential for saving time and energy. While you could simply pop a T.V. dinner in the oven or microwave, you also need to be concerned about getting vital nutrients so that your mind and body can function properly. These healthy recipes for the elderly are easy to make and have the nutrients your body requires; you can improve your senior health and wellness and help yourself avoid illnesses.

ABC News states, “83% percent of seniors usually eat breakfast, as do 71% of people aged 55 to 64.” (1) Eating a healthy breakfast helps you start your day right. Here are some easy breakfast recipes to try.

 Smoothie

Smoothies are a good soft food recipe for older adults and a good solution for those with a chewing problem. They are a versatile and delicious breakfast that you can tailor to suit your preferences. There are a variety of different ingredients you can use to make a smoothie including fruits, vegetables, or even kale and spinach. A smoothie can provide you with fiber, protein, and healthy fats.

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Fruit, Vegetables, Kale, or Spinach
• ¼ Cup Yogurt
• ½ Cup Milk
• Sweetener (Optional)

1. Pick some fruit, vegetables, or greens that you want to include. You want about 2 cups of fruit and vegetables for a 16-ounce smoothie. Put them in a blender.

2. Add about ¼ cup of yogurt for thickness.

3. Add about ½ cup of whatever type of milk you prefer.

4. Add a sweetener, if you want, such as honey, maple syrup, or coconut nectar.

5. Blend all ingredients together until smooth. Pour into desired cup and enjoy.

Oatmeal with Berries or Nuts

Oatmeal includes antioxidants and soluble fiber. It can help your heart, gut, blood sugar levels, and weight control. There are also different kinds of oatmeal to suit your preferences. You can also add some berries for some flavor and extra vitamins and minerals such as vitamin C and manganese.

Ingredients:

• ½ Cup Oats (Or more if you prefer)
• 1 Cup Milk (Whatever kind you prefer)
• Berries (Or other fresh fruit)
• Sweeteners/Seasonings (Brown sugar, nuts, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, nutmeg, vanilla, chocolate chips, caramel, honey)

1. Mix about ½ cup of oats with 1 cup of milk or water or a combination of both.

2. Put ingredients in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil on the stovetop.

3. Stir and continue to cook until the oats are thick and have soaked up all the liquid.

4. Let cool, pour into bowl, and enjoy plain or add desired berries, nuts, spices, or other toppings.

Poached Eggs

According to Mr.Breakfast.com, “In a study of 500,000 adults, researchers from health institutions in China found that eating 1 egg per day lowered the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by 18%. Those who ate 1 egg per day also had a 26% lower risk of hemorrhagic stroke - compared to those who never or rarely eat eggs.” (2) Eggs are packed with nutrients including protein, iron, phosphorus, and many vitamins. There are also multiple ways to prepare them. Poached eggs are one of the healthiest ways to prepare an egg.

Ingredients:

• 1 Egg (Or more if you prefer)
• Toast (Optional)

1. Put a pot of water on your stovetop and bring to a gentle boil.

2. Add a few pinches of salt to the water.

3. Crack your eggs and put them in a small cup.

4. Stir the water until it looks like a tornado.

5. Add eggs and cook for about 2 ½ - 3 minutes. Continue stirring.

6. Use a spoon with slots to get egg out and put on plate or on top of toast. Choose whole grain bread for the healthiest option.

Portable Press states, “Lunch is short for luncheon, a word dating to the 1650’s that once meant “thick hunk,” as in a thick hunk of meat. At the same time, there was an English word nuncheon, which meant a midday meal. That word is a combination of ‘noon’ and an obsolete word ‘schench’, which meant ‘to have a drink.’” (3) Today, lunch is a light to medium meal to help take the edge off your hunger until dinner time. These lunch ideas for seniors are easy to make and boost your energy to help you get through the rest of your day.

Vegetable Soup

Soup can provide nutrients such as Vitamin C and thiamine. It is easy to prepare, can help keep you hydrated, can give your immune system a boost, and can even be frozen to reheat again later. You can get soup from a can at the store, or you can make your own at home. You can also choose ingredients that suit your taste preferences. Vegetable soup is a good choice as the vegetables can give you vital nutrients such as potassium, fiber, folate, vitamin A, and vitamin C.

Ingredients:

• Various vegetables such as sweet onions, carrots, celery, tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, or peas.
• Vegetable or chicken broth/stock
• Noodles (Optional)
• Seasonings (Optional)

1. Put vegetables and broth in a pot on the stove.

2. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

3. Add in frozen vegetables or noodles and continue cooking for about 10 more minutes.

4. Season to your preferences with seasonings such as garlic, salt, pepper, or lemon juice.

5. Scoop into bowl with ladle, let cool, and enjoy.

Bean Salad

Bean salad can provide you with nutrients such as protein and fiber. They can also aid in digestion and lower your cholesterol. Like soup, you can save any leftover bean salad for another day so you can reduce how often you need to cook.

Ingredients:

• Beans (Kidney beans, pinto beans, black beans, black-eyed peas, chickpeas, and/or lima beans)
• Vegetables (Corn, bell peppers, red onions, squash, cucumber, celery, and/or zucchini)
• Seasonings (Garlic, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, sugar, basil, and/or oregano)

1. Rinse and drain all the beans and vegetables.

2. Dice vegetables.

3. Combine ingredients in a large bowl and mix.

4. Season to taste.

5. Chill in refrigerator.

Stuffed Peppers

Bell peppers are rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and fiber. They can help prevent heart disease and cancer. Like many of the recipes on this list, you can stuff peppers with various ingredients to suit your personal preferences.

Ingredients:

• Peppers
• Stuffing (Ground turkey, ground beef, ground chicken, vegetables, and/or rice)
• Toppings (Cheese, tomato sauce, seasonings)

1. Wash peppers, cut the top off the peppers and scoop out the inside.

2. Boil peppers in water for 5 minutes, then drain them well.

3. Cook and prepare stuffing. Dice vegetables. Cook meat in skillet for about 8-10 minutes. Cook rice as indicated. Mix together and stir in desired seasonings.

4. Fill peppers with stuffing.

5. Cover peppers tightly with foil and bake at 350°F for about 10 minutes.

6. Take foil off and bake for about 15-20 more minutes or until peppers are tender.

7. Add toppings.

According to Just Fun Facts, “Traditionally, dinner was the first meal of the day, eaten around noon. It also happened to be the biggest meal of the day. Eventually, more meals started being added to the day with people eating meals before the large noon meal of dinner. Rather than calling these earlier meals that broke the fast by the word that means breakfast, the name “dinner” now stuck as meaning the largest meal of the day.” (4) It doesn’t matter when you eat your largest meal of the day-- as long as you choose a nutrient-rich meal, you can help ensure your body gets the fuel it needs to function properly.

Roasted Chicken

Chicken can provide you with protein that can support your muscles. However, it can contain higher amounts of sodium, especially store-bought roasted chicken, which can raise your blood pressure. Therefore, if you have high blood pressure, you may want to avoid roast chicken and look for low sodium meals for seniors instead. If you want roast chicken, however, you can cook it yourself to minimize the amount of salt.

Ingredients:

• 5-lb Roasting Chicken
• Flavoring (Onion, garlic, lemon, thyme, rosemary, carrots, celery, salt, pepper, olive oil, chicken stock)
• String/twine

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Rinse and pat chicken dry and remove giblets and organs. Place in roasting pan breast-side down.

2. Stuff chicken with vegetables, garlic, and other flavoring items. Leave some around the chicken in the pan as well.

3. Tie the legs of the chicken together with string.

4. Cover chicken with olive oil, salt, pepper, and other preferred seasonings.

5. Bake chicken. The bake time of the chicken will depend on the size of it. A 5-lb chicken will typically take about 1 ¼ hour – 1 ½ hours. If you have a meat thermometer, keep cooking until chicken registers 175°F.

6. Take out of oven. Place on cutting board and let it cool for 10 minutes. Remove string and carve.

Baked Salmon

Salmon can improve your heart health, lower cholesterol, fight inflammation, maintain blood pressure levels, and maintain brain health. It is rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, B vitamins, potassium, and important nutrients. It is delicious and can be eaten in a variety of ways.

Ingredients:

• Salmon Fillets
• Olive Oil
• Seasonings (Salt, pepper, garlic, lemon, butter, rosemary, pesto, and/or Italian herb seasoning)

1. Heat oven to 400°F. If you have a large portion, you may want to cook at a lower temperature 375°F for longer.

2. Arrange fillets on baking sheet and season with a generous portion of salt, pepper, and other desired seasonings.

3. Mix olive oil, garlic, lemon, and desired herbs together. Cover the salmon with mixture making sure there are no dry areas.

4. Bake salmon for 15-18 minutes. Baking time will depend on size and thickness of salmon. The salmon is done when it flakes easily. It should be mostly opaque but may retain a little translucency in the middle. If you have a meat thermometer, look for an internal temperature of 145°F.

5. The salmon may continue to cook even once it is out of the oven. Cover it with foil and let it sit for about 5 minutes.

Steamed Vegetables

In a study featured on CNN, researchers found steaming vegetables kept the highest level of nutrients. Boiling vegetables was not recommended, as boiling causes water soluble vitamins like vitamin C, B1 and folate to leach into the water.’” (5) Depending on which vegetables you choose, you can consume a variety of different nutrients and benefits. However, overall, steamed vegetables can provide nutrients such as fiber, B & C vitamins, potassium, phosphorus, and zinc. This can help with heart health, blood pressure, avoiding diabetes, weight management, vision, and more.

Ingredients:

• Various vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, asparagus, spinach, leafy greens, artichokes, zucchini, green beans, small potatoes
• Seasonings such as salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic, lemon, herbs, vinegar, broth

1. Cut vegetables into similar sizes so they cook evenly.

2. Pour an inch or two of water into a saucepan. Place steamer basket on top making sure water level is below the basket.

3. Use high heat to bring water to a boil. When water is bubbling and steam is rising, add vegetables to the basket.

4. Reduce heat to medium and cover with lid. Soft vegetables cook more quickly than hard vegetables so you may want to put hard vegetables in first, then add softer ones later. Stop steaming when vegetables are a bit softer, but still have a crunch.

Estimated steaming times:

• Spinach and peas (3 min)
• Asparagus and green beans (3-5 min)
• Kale, collard greens, leafy greens (5-7 min)
• Cauliflower and broccoli (5-10 minutes)
• Carrots, potatoes, root vegetables (10-15 minutes)

5. Add seasonings based on your personal preferences.

Keep yourself safe while cooking in the kitchen with a medical alert device from Alert1. If you have any type of accident or emergency, you will have an instant and easy way to get help. When you press the button on your device, you will hear a trained operator come on the line. If you have an in-home emergency button alarm for the elderly, you can talk to them through the base station. If you have an on-the-go personal alarm button for seniors, you can talk to them through the 2-way speaker built into the pendant. The agent will stay on the line with you until help arrives on the scene.

You may also want to consider adding fall detection. This feature comes with both the in-home fall alert button for seniors and the mobile fall prevention alarm for the elderly. These devices include a fall detection sensor that will automatically contact a trained agent when it registers a fall. This is helpful if you are injured or cannot press the button for any reason. It is a valuable backup plan that can help you ensure that you get help when you need it most. You can also purchase a medical alert device package that includes both buttons and fall detection for the best all-around protection.

Cooking nutrient-rich foods for yourself can help keep you healthy so that you feel better, reduce your risk of illnesses, and have enough energy to get through the day. An Alert1 senior life-saving alert system can provide you with some extra protection as you cook and go about your day. With an Alert1 emergency response solution, you can have peace-of-mind knowing that you can quickly and easily get help anytime you need it, 24/7/365.

 

 

1 Langer, Gary. Aug. 2007. Poll Vault. ABC News. POLL: What Americans Eat for Breakfast.

2 Mr.Breakfast.com staff. n.d. Breakfast Research & Statistics. Mr.Breakfast.com. Breakfast Research & Statistics.

3 Portable Press staff. Sept. 2017. The Origins of Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. Portable Press. The Origins of Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

4 Just Fun Facts staff. 2019. Food. Just Fun Facts. Interesting Facts About Dinner.

5 LaMotte, Sandee. May. 2016. CNN Health. CNN. The Healthiest Ways to Cook Veggies and Boost Nutrition.