A nutritious, balanced diet is important for maintaining health at any age, and as we grow older, our needs can change so that we need to pay even closer attention to what we’re eating from day to day. Metabolism tends to slow down as we age, so older people may eat less, meaning every mouthful needs to be carefully considered to provide maximum benefit to their bodies. 

Older people need to maintain a varied diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables, and including some fortified foods such as breakfast cereals with added iron, B vitamins and calcium. Because some ability to digest and absorb nutrients decreases with age, so replacing these with supplements and fortified foods is essential to maintaining a healthy diet in older people.  

Here are three of our favourite meals, tried and tested by our residents, which they love and provide them with an excellent range of vitamins, minerals and essential nutrients.    

1. Baked salmon 
Salmon is a go-to choice for a lot of our residents. We serve it in a number of different ways to keep things interesting, hot and cold, and try to utilise local suppliers and growers where possible. The salmon is an excellent source of vitamin B12 and vitamin D and also omega-3 fatty acids.   

2. Roast dinner 
Roast lunches are a hit because, well who doesn’t love a good old roast dinner? Twice a week the smells start wafting from the kitchen from early in the morning which starts to stimulate the residents’ senses; provoke memories of happy times and igniting their appetite! We use a number of different meats and cuts from our supplier to make sure the nutritional value is varied along with using local vegetables and our very own garden herbs.   

3. Afternoon teas
More of an occasion than a meal, but we just had to include Afternoon Tea in this list because they always go down a storm. We make all our cakes and biscuits on site and try to vary the selection weekly, including at least two choices that contain oats or fruit.   

Older people may find their senses of taste and smell have decreased, making food less appetising than it used to be. This makes it even more important for our chefs to work hard to make our meals visually beautiful, helping to encourage the appetite of our residents. We welcome visitors into our dining rooms to join their loved ones for a meal, so if you’d like to check out our catering in person, just have a chat with our team.