Question
Anna Cabot
What suggestions do you have for additions to a menu at an assisted living facility? My older sister resides at one and the menu offerings are SADder than usual!
Answer
So I placed a phone call to a friend of mine last night who was the administrator of an assisted living facility in Baltimore, Maryland. We had a lengthy conversation. I'm gonna give you our half an hour conversation in about two or three minutes. So one thing that you can think about, Anna, is to contact the provider or the, the doctor or nurse practitioner who oversees care and meet with them to see if they can write a doctor's order for a specific diet. So perhaps it would be a two gram low sodium diet or a plant-based diet, or please increase roughage into the diet, et cetera, et cetera. So that is something that your sister might like a little bit more than that. Um, there are different ways to work with the, um, assisted living facility. They do not have registered, most do not have registered dieticians on board. They do have a director of nutrition who might be familiar with, uh, the food that's being provided. Many, many assisted living companies will outsource their food from other companies to come in and make the food. So I think, um, working with a provider. And the other thing I was going to suggest, because I get a lot of calls to do this, can I go into an assisted living facility and teach a cooking class? And so that begins the plant for the first seed of, uh, going in and cooking some, or making something as delicious as one of my favorite Rouxbe recipes, which is ourt the less salad that everyone seems to like. And, um, I don't use the word vegan with older adults for many, many reasons. Um, but I use the word plant-based because it seems to be more widely accepted. So, uh, talk to the doctor, teach a class and also see what your sister likes to eat the best. Uh, I do understand that when it is mealtime that everyone goes to a dining hall and they usually have assigned seats. And, um, I think that having that social aspect is also very, very important.
