Proper diet is important for everyone, but some demographics are more susceptible to the risks of poor nutrition. And while general “healthy eating” guidelines are applicable more or less across the board, what constitutes “proper nutrition” will vary to some degree even from person to person. 

 

For seniors and retirees, the topic is both very important, and very muddled. Ongoing health concerns, decreased mobility or independence, fixed income—all these and more are factors that directly affect seniors in ways that are largely unique to them. And for those who are already struggling with difficult medical diagnoses, it may be tempting to wonder “What’s the point?”

 

Well, at the risk of oversimplifying, the quality and variety of the foods you eat contributes pretty heavily to your overall quality of life—both via boosting health and wellbeing, and by giving you something to enjoy. 

 

Why Meal Planning Matters for Seniors at Home

 

Food is a big part of life. It’s a central feature of basically every holiday, celebration, or festivity we participate in. Food can be a source of comfort, a reminder of people and events that have been important to us, and a way to express care and affection. 

 

It’s also one of the most important methods we have for promoting physical health and pushing back against the relentless march of time. 

 

But that doesn’t make it any easier to plan for a healthy diet. For one, each individual has unique needs and nutritional considerations to consider, especially as we get older. Depending on our medical history and current level of physical health, we may need to adjust the levels of various micro- or macro-nutrients in the foods we eat:

 

  • Carbohydrates and calories
  • Proteins and fats
  • Sodium, sugar, fiber, or calcium
  • Other vitamins and minerals, either individually or in groups

 

To be clear, the values for any of these may need to be increased or decreased based on the individual in question. And that’s before we start considering major issues like allergies (e.g. nuts, shellfish), intolerances (e.g. gluten, lactose), or regulation concerns (e.g. diabetes, hypertension). 

 

For many adults, it’s assumed that these are all things that they’ve been dealing with or accounting for (or something close to it) for most of their adult life. As we approach retirement age, however, certain challenges become harder to ignore—both for the individual, and for those who are similarly invested in their well-being:

 

  • Cost—food is a major, ongoing life expense, whether you’re 9, 19, 49, or 99 years old. In fact, specialized diets tend to be more expensive, even if you’re eating smaller portions.
  • Access—even if you can afford food, someone still has to do the work of acquiring and transporting it. It’s hard enough for many adults to find food products that align with their nutrition goals, let alone seniors who may struggle to make the trip to the store. 
  • Preparation—if you’ve never had to cook a meal from raw ingredients after a long day at work, or for a large family, it can be easy to take for granted the amount of physical effort required to actually get something on the table. Add to that the risks involved with food preparation tools (e.g. knives, stovetops, etc.), and the required cleanup afterward, and this simple, daily chore can be a genuine nightmare for those who are already struggling.
  • Building healthy habits—avoiding impulsive food choices and prioritizing nutritional goals sounds easy, until you’re tired, stressed, exhausted, bored, sad, angry, or otherwise experiencing life as a human being. If “eating healthy” was effortless, there would be no reason to write articles like the one you’re currently reading. 
  • Dating and digestion—getting older can even make the work of eating food itself difficult. From dentures to digestion, it’s not uncommon for aging adults to need to slow down, take smaller bites, eat softer foods, and otherwise avoid meals that would be hard for their body to process.

 

Planning meals helps address many of these concerns, and assists in reducing the level of difficulty that people face when pursuing nutrition goals. Careful meal planning can enable you to:

 

  • Build your diet around clear objectives related to nutrition and health.
  • Facilitate better budgeting and reduce financial burdens tied to buying groceries.
  • Limit the difficulty and complexity of food preparation.
  • Avoid problems related to ingrained/impulsive eating habits, mental fatigue/decision paralysis, or even memory issues (“What did the doctor say I needed to eat more of, again?”)
  • Simplify the logistics by coordinating food calendars and scheduled trips to the grocery store (or planned food deliveries). 
  • Assert a measure of independence and self-determination, especially for individuals who are otherwise experiencing reduced mobility and increased support needs. 

 

Key Nutritional Needs for Aging Adults

 

We’ve already mentioned how dietary concerns tend to be very specific to a given individual, so be sure to refer to your primary care doctor and other qualified medical professionals you consult as our most reliable source of information on this matter. That being said, the National Institute of Health (NIH) has highlighted certain concerns that are common among senior diets:

 

An excess of sodium, sugar, and saturated fats

Insufficient protein, vitamin B12, and calcium

A lack of food variety, with fruits and vegetables absent or underrepresented

Inconsistent water intake.

 

Additionally, as discussed above, older individuals face increased difficulty and elevated risks from foods that are difficult to chew, harder to digest, or otherwise prove problematic for their bodies to break down. 

 

How to Plan a Weekly Menu That Works

 

Food isn’t meant to be something you dread, even if you have to adhere to strict health guidelines. It’s also not meant to be a chore, something tedious and checklist-adjacent. It’s food. It won’t always be something to write home about, but it should be something that feels worth eating in addition to meeting your needs.

 

With that in mind, having a system and some clear, simple guidelines when planning meals will make your efforts more likely to succeed. 

 

The NIH link above lists USDA “food patterns” as frameworks that can be used when outlining a culinary calendar. You can find similarly authoritative guidance at Myplate.gov and the National Council on Aging, where they provide extensive details regarding dietary needs and advice on how to effectively plan meals.

 

Here, we’d just like to provide some guiding principles that may prove useful regardless of the approach you choose.

 

Complexity Is Not Your Friend

 

Perhaps more than anything else, the effectiveness of a meal plan depends on how challenging it is to implement, especially in the beginning. Human beings, like electricity and running water, tend to seek the path of least resistance. When we’re not careful, that leads to a fast-food cheeseburger rather than roasted veggies.

 

Do what you can to keep things simple, and limit the number of steps involved. This is often the aspect that both requires the most planning, and benefits the most from it. If you’ve planned ahead and have the right ingredients (sometimes in the right packaging), throwing together some grilled chicken breast and asparagus can be pretty easy (if being the operative word, here).

 

Convenience in Moderation

 

“Convenience foods” as a category isn’t exactly well defined. It could be anything from a microwave dinner to steamable frozen produce bags. But we’ve all had moments where time and energy were the resources in short supply, and anything that lacked push-button simplicity was too much to handle. 

 

So, don’t be afraid to include or plan around options that maximize that convenience. Just be tactical about it. Remember that, broadly speaking, foods that are processed or packaged for convenience usually sacrifice nutritional quality or affordability to achieve that end. Either the food won’t be in line with your health goals, or it will be more expensive. 

 

There are also several reputable food delivery services that can deliver fully-prepared meals, or just the ingredients and recipes for those who want a bit more say in the meal.

 

If you can find reliable options at decent prices that are also readily available (a tall order, in some cases), then include them as frequently as you can.

 

Be Cost Conscious

 

For some seniors, price will be the biggest hurdle. Younger generations are just starting to recognize what the “old timers” have known for decades: that prices for most everything, including food, tend to go up and almost never down. It can make it difficult to keep the pantry stocked for people of any age.

 

This is where some aspects of senior living actually have advantages. Senior discounts. Cooking in smaller food portions for fewer people. An affinity for ingredients or dishes that have fallen out of the culinary vogue. Make the most of those things where you can. 

 

And be aware that many retailers are currently going out of their way to broadcast their competitive prices to attract customers, so check local newspapers and mailers, retailer websites and apps, and anything else you can to find possible bargains.

 

Leave Room for Improvisation

 

Some food staples are inexpensive, nutritionally dense, and easy to incorporate into almost any meal plan. Starches are a good example—e.g. potatoes, flour, rice—though you’ll want to choose whole grain options wherever possible (we could all use more fiber, honestly). Certain vegetables are similarly multi-purpose in nature—carrots, peas, and green beans, for example.

 

Pick options that can serve double duty or easily substituted for similar ingredients (there are differences between marinara sauce, pizza sauce, and spaghetti sauce, but they’re still pretty similar if you’re flexible). And remember that the right seasonings can easily turn one dish or a familiar meal into something new and exciting. Just go easy on the ghost peppers. 

 

Find Palatable Alternatives

 

When meal planning fails, if it’s not due to complexity and required effort, it’s due to cravings and old habits. And honestly, it’s no fun giving up our favorite foods, even if it helps us stay healthy. So, look for alternatives and healthier versions of the things you’re already interested in eating. 

 

Products with “low” or “reduced” in the product name (e.g. “low sodium,” or “reduced fat”) are a good place to start. “Lite,” “diet,” and “zero sugar/zero calorie” versions are also a step in the right direction, though they may not be as “healthy” as the product marketing would lead you to believe. 

 

Sometimes the best you can manage to start is a half-step. Diet soda isn’t exactly a health supplement, but it’s less hazardous than its regular counterpart. Find the versions that move you toward nutrition goals that you can actually stomach, and trade them in. 

 

Keep Good Company

 

There are emotional and psychological benefits to sharing a meal with other people, so we recommend that as a general rule. But in regard to meal planning, grocery shopping, and otherwise meeting dietary needs, family, friends, neighbors, and your local community can be just as valuable as any veggie or fresh fruit. 

 

If you’re struggling with mobility concerns, don’t be afraid to ask for help from people who care about you. Odds are, they won’t mind helping you with grocery runs, or picking up your order when shopping for their own. Community resources and local organizations can often help with expenses (Meals on Wheels comes to mind).

 

And if there’s one time that “more cooks in the kitchen” is a good thing, it’s when you’re looking for help chopping the chives and sauteing the shrimp. So don’t just invite people for a meal, invite them to help you with preparation. You might be surprised at the response you get. 

 

Encouraging Independence Through Nutrition Planning

 

It’s frustrating, discouraging, and even a little heartbreaking when changing circumstances leave us less able to fend for ourselves than before. But life often presents us with changes that we feel underprepared to tackle, and it’s important to both fight the feelings of despondency, and to find ways to reclaim some of the autonomy that we’ve lost. 

 

Planning meals and establishing nutrition goals may not sound like much. Depending on where we are and our current medical “rap sheet,” it may even feel a bit pointless. But it’s not, because no one is pointless. All of us are human beings, and deserve the same baseline level of decency and respect. 

 

And what’s more foundational to the human experience than a good meal?