Thanksgiving dishes for seniors with diet restrictions. Thanksgiving is a time for family to get together. A Thanksgiving tradition is to enjoy dinner together with some dishes being staples for the holiday. What if a loved one has heart disease, diabetes, celiac disease, or some other health issue? This doesn’t mean that they can’t enjoy eating some of the traditional dishes that you cook, it just means that their dish will just need to be modified. It may add some extra time to your cooking, but ask others in the family to each bring a dish modified so your loved one can enjoy the meal with everyone. When seniors can’t partake in the same meal as others, it can make them feel left out or sad because these dishes have been something they looked forward to.
To ensure your loved one does not feel left out, here are modified dishes for seniors with special dietary needs so that they can be apart of the favorite family dishes.
Thanksgiving dishes for seniors with diabetes
Diabetes affects a person’s ability to produce insulin, leading to higher levels of blood glucose. A lot of people think you only have to limit your sugar intake, but this isn’t the only thing seniors with diabetes should be concerned about. According to the American Diabetes Association, it’s important to pay attention to the amount of carbohydrates, also the type of carbohydrates you consume matters.
It’s not only what you eat, but it really is how much you eat. Diabetic seniors should pay attention to the amount calories, carbohydrates, and sugars they consume in each meal. To make this simpler and to help monitor your loved one’s portion sizes, adapt the Diabetes Plate Method. Using this method, from the American Diabetes Association, you can create perfectly portioned meals with a healthy balance of vegetables, protein and carbohydrates—without any counting, calculating, weighing or measuring.
For 40 diabetic friendly recipes from Taste of Home, click here.
Click here for a collection of Thanksgiving recipes from Diabetic Gourmet Magazine.
Gluten Free Thanksgiving Dishes for Seniors
Many seniors have been diagnosed with celiac disease, an autoimmune disease of the small intestine caused by ingesting wheat gluten and other grains. This sensitivity results in inflammation, diarrhea, and an inability to absorb nutrients — which can lead to malnutrition and even loss of bone mass.
Many Thanksgiving dishes are made with wheat ingredients, including stuffing, cookies, and pies. Now a days, many people are searching for a gluten free diet so there are alternatives to the wheat based ingredients. It comes down to the type of flour you use, which there are many alternatives like almond flour. Here is a list of gluten free flours. The other issue is bread, but there are gluten free breads or bread cubes that can be used to make delicious stuffing.
Click here for 40 gluten free recipes.
Heart Healthy Thanksgiving Dishes for Seniors
Seniors with heart disease need to monitor their sodium, fat, and cholesterol intake, but this doesn’t mean that they cannot enjoy a delicious Thanksgiving meal. Most family recipes can be tweaked to create a low sodium/low fat dish. If you prefer not to change your traditional family recipes, then you can make an alternative for your loved one. Mayo Clinic has heart healthy recipes here. UPMC gives options to switch out certain ingredients with healthier options, click here.
Thanksgiving is a time to bring the entire family together, which entails eating together. With a few adjustments, your loved one will be able to enjoy getting together as much as the rest of the family.
If your loved one needs assistance with their medical condition, Call Us today, 480-618-5995 to find out how our caregivers can help with care!