Eat Your Vegetables Day

By Susan Myer, RN, BSN, CCRN, CDP | June 3, 2016 |

Caregiver in Somerset NJ

Being a family caregiver for your aging parent means doing everything you can to help them live a healthy, happy, and comfortable lifestyle as they age in place. One of the most important things that you can do is encourage them to eat a diet that is healthy, balanced, and designed to give their body what it needs to function at its best and protect them from health complications. June 17 is Eat Your Vegetables Day. This is a fantastic opportunity for you to put even more focus on ensuring that your parent eats a healthy diet throughout their aging years, and that you follow right along with them so that you can stay as strong and effective in your caregiver role as you can.

Use these tips to help you encourage your parent to bump up the vegetables in their regular diet on Eat Your Vegetables Day:

Bake them up. Just because they are vegetables does not have to mean that they are bitter or even savory. Vegetables such as zucchini, beets, and carrots are ideal for grating up and integrating into sweet baked goods such as bread, cake, cupcakes, and muffins. These offer moisture and natural sweetness, as well as fiber, vitamins, and other nutrients. They also reduce the fat and calories of the baked goods by bulking up your recipes so that each serving has less of the actual baked product.
Mix them in. Work with your parent to come up with as many ways as you can to mix vegetables into your usual meals. Try adding mushrooms, onions, peppers, tomatoes, and spinach to your parent’s morning scrambled eggs or omelet or tossing a handful of greens into your smoothie. Bump up your pasta sauce with extra vegetables or even add veggies into the layers of a lasagna.
Pile them up. When it comes to using vegetables as a topping, do not skimp. Pile vegetables onto sandwiches, subs, or pizza for crunch, freshness, and fantastic nutrition. You might even find that you are able to eat less because those vegetables fill you up more quickly.
Spread them out. Often people add spreads and condiments such as mayonnaise onto their sandwiches just for the texture. Rather than reaching for the fat and calorie-laded mayonnaise or creamy dressings, make one for yourself using healthy vegetables. Blending avocado with lemon juice, cucumbers, onion, and garlic until smooth makes a wonderful spread that will prevent the sandwich from being dry while also adding flavor and nutrition.
Serve them raw. Everyone loves to snack and you do not have to always choose salty, fatty foods when you want something little in between meals. Instead, serve up a plate of raw vegetables with a tasty dip such as hummus. You and your aging loved one will get the satisfaction of crunching your way through a snack without packing in the fat and calories. Hummus is also a great source of protein, fiber, and healthy fat, making it perfect for giving you a boost in the middle of the afternoon.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring professional caregiver services in Somerset, NJ, please talk to the caring staff at Generations Home Health Care today. Providing Home Care in Somerset, Essex, Union, Morris and Hunterdon Counties. Call us today at (908) 290-0691 or (973) 241-4534.

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Susan Myer, RN, BSN, CCRN, CDP

Co-Owner at Generations Home Healthcare LLC

Susan is the Co-Owner of Generations Home HealthCare and has 35 years of business experience and entrepreneurship. For the last 10 years she has been a Registered Nurse working at St. Luke’s Hospital (Bethlehem, PA) in the Neuro/Trauma Unit and as a critical care nurse at Hunterdon Medical Center. She has a B.S. from Rutgers University and a BSN from Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA.Susan is currently in the process of obtaining her Master’s in Gerontology. Susan is married, has 2 children and 2 grandchildren.

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