These days it seems everyone is busy and it's not just the younger generations.
Seniors and retirees are leading active, productive lives and have more demands on their time than ever before.
A healthy 'ready meal' from the freezer is often a good, speedy solution when you've had a busy day. It is also a more economical and convenient choice than ordering an expensive take away meal that may have few nutritional attributes.
And for seniors with specific nutritional needs - for example people with diabetes or heart problems or coeliacs - making sure all meals meet their dietary needs can become harder on a daily basis.
Home-delivered meal services can cater for a variety of health and nutrition needs including heart and diabetes friendly, gluten free and medically low salt.
Josephine Munzone is a nutritionist with Tender Loving Cuisine, which has been providing meals to customers for 24 years. With nearly 80 main meal and side choices on offer, the company delivers to 3200 suburbs in Queensland, NSW, ACT and Victoria.
"Our meals are nutritionally sound with a healthy serve of vegetables to compliment the protein in the meal," said Ms Munzone.
"Any customers who need nutrition advice about our meals can call and speak with me or one of the team for help with their selections."
Home-delivered meals are also a great solution for short term assistance after an illness or injury or for the times when you just don't feel like cooking. There are also often special discount for Seniors.
Choosing nutritional meals
Here Tender Loving Cuisine Illawarra nutrition consultant Maria Mitzikis shares more nutrition tips on choosing the best home delivered meals.
- Make careful selections. If you have intolerances, pay attention to the descriptions on the menu. When ordering home-delivered meals, read the labels of the ingredients used. A reputable company will list all ingredients on the label.
- Do your research. Meals labelled deep-fried, pan-fried, basted, batter-dipped, breaded, creamy, crispy, scalloped or Alfredo, are usually high in calories, unhealthy fats or sodium. Do your research to find organisations offering meals that are low in salt, vegetarian, gluten free, suitable for people with diabetes and heart healthy choices.
- 'Undress' your food. Be aware of calorie and fat-packed dressings, spreads, cheeses and sour creams.
- Don't be afraid to special order. Many menu items would be healthy if it weren't for the way they were sauced or dressed. A dedicated organisation will take time to help you order what's right for you.
- Watch your salt. To preserve foods, most companies tend to be very high in sodium, a major contributor to high blood pressure. Look for an organisation that has won awards for its low salt, fat and sugar content. And don't add more salt!
- Is it nutritious or made for weight loss? As we age we can't afford to lose weight. It is more important to build the muscles, brain and bones, as well as look after the heart and bowel function. A healthy home delivery meal service option can take some of the stress away from worrying about what we eat.
For more information go to www.tlc.org.au or phone 1800 801 200.
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