Easy Ways to Make a Holiday Meal Fit Into an Elderly Diet

Elderly Tips: Food

Try these simple tips for those on low-sodium, low-sugar or low-fat diets at your next holiday gathering

I don’t know what your holiday feasts look like, but I’m from the South. We start sucking down mimosas before we turn on the oven. And nothing on our holiday menu is even close to being healthy.

Our family favorites start with a generous helping of Campbell’s Cream of Something Soup, butter, full-fat cream and enough sugar to choke a horse. And to ensure we break as many healthy eating rules as possible, most of those dishes are also covered in cheese, fried onions, sauce or gravy.

Heck, we even manage to make fruit unhealthy for the holidays.

It’s just how we are. Most of us indulge and accept that our waistlines will expand a little this time of year. We’ll fix that with a New Year’s resolution. No harm, no foul.

But what about those who have restricted diets for medical reasons?

Prescribed diets.

The low-sodium, low-fat or low-sugar diets that many of our elderly loved ones need to stick to because of their medications or health conditions. The kind of diets where they can’t afford to indulge excessively like the rest of us — even for one day.

Well, there’s hope. Your loved ones don’t have to abstain. And you don’t need to change the menu.

With a few modifications to traditional favorites — and a new healthy dish or two — everyone can feast, celebrate and enjoy the holiday with plenty of options to meet their various dietary needs.

Short on time? There’s a summary at the end.

Talking turkey

Did you know many retailers inject saltwater into their turkeys? It’s for plumpness, not flavor. Read your labels carefully and avoid any poultry with added sodium. It’s an easy way to trim the salt without affecting the dish’s flavor.

For those of you who celebrate with a holiday ham, pork is often higher in sodium. Traditional honey-baked…

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