Parent Snacking
memoisaaclo
Posts: 5 Member
Hi guys, I know that this might be an odd question but I was wondering if you guys had any snack ideas for my parents. They are very active but are getting older now. They, my dad especially, loves to snack, especially on a lot of sugary foods, he’ll eat whole packages of Chinese desserts. They know they shouldn’t eat too much, but I know they really enjoy it. My idea was to substitute some of the bad with some healthy snacks they might love, so if you have any in mind please tell me, I would really appreciate it.
Thanks!
Thanks!
2
Replies
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Are you responsible for providing their meals and care?8
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Check out Eat This Not That, books, websites, podcasts. They give healthier (lower cal, lower sugar, etc) alternatives for many foods.4
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I really like fruit and yogurt or cottage cheese.
A favorite night time snack of mine is 80 g raspberries, 114 g vanilla Greek yogurt, and 25 g granola.
For an afternoon snack, I like a 4 oz tropical fruit cup with 114 g cottage cheese.
These are plenty sweet, but have more protein, fiber, and volume for less calories than something like full-fat ice cream.
I find 138 calories of cottage cheese and fruit more satiating than 1,200 calories of ice cream.4 -
My dad eats crackers and cheese. And he'll eat cornflakes any time of day (although he still adds a spoon of sugar)
What about oat /cereal bars - might be less sweet/calories, but still enough satisfy their sweet cravings?
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My dad is pretty bad about this, too. The two worst things to have in the house for him are cookies packed like Oreos, where he can take whole rows at a time out of the package, or full size bags of chips, where he can just grab the bag, take it in the living room, and mindlessly grab handfuls. To him, one serving = as much out of the bag as he wants. Mom doesn't buy packaged cookies anymore, but they do still have chips in the house. Having individually wrapped portions of chips or cookies helps though...maybe try that instead?3
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Do they WANT help in replacing these snacks? Because the way you are phrasing it, it sounds like you are looking to just swap out the food they like with things that you hope they will like better. Assuming they are fully functional adults, this is still obviously up to them.
I think that if you haven't, you should have a conversation with them and tell them you are concerned about their food habits. Ask them if they want suggestions to swap out some (not all) of their snacks, keeping the ones they enjoy the most. If they say, nah, we're good...then you should let it go.12 -
Harper, no I’m not. SuzySunshine, they say they want to change their habit, but nothing really happens. I agree, I’m just looking for creative solutions to help start them up.
Thanks everyone for your quick replies!2 -
Are they overweight? Do they have health issues? Why do they need to swap their snacks? I'm just telling you as an "older parent" that I really wouldn't appreciate my kids swapping out my food.11
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memoisaaclo wrote: »Harper, no I’m not. SuzySunshine, they say they want to change their habit, but nothing really happens. I agree, I’m just looking for creative solutions to help start them up.
Thanks everyone for your quick replies!
If they like sweets, try things like fruit or dried fruit. (The latter are somewhat calorie dense, so might not be a great choice if they're overweight . . . and they do need adequate fluids if consuming significant amounts of dried fruit.) Fruit tends to be more filling for the number of calories *for some people* than things like cookies or candy.
If they're open to non-sweet things, popcorn might be good (even lightly-sweetened versions, if they have that sweet tooth). There are various relatively low calorie commercial popcorn options.
Personally - speaking as an old person myself - I do like salty snacks, and find things like crispy chickpeas or broad beans quite tasty and filling. Pickles of all sorts are also good in the salty-snacks category. (Obviously, not a great plan if they have high blood pressure or some other contraindication.)
As others have said, it would help to know more about your parents weight issues, healthy issues, preferences, etc.2 -
I wouldn’t do anything unless they ask you to. It would be insulting and condescending, unless there is some dementia.9
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memoisaaclo wrote: »Harper, no I’m not. SuzySunshine, they say they want to change their habit, but nothing really happens. I agree, I’m just looking for creative solutions to help start them up.
Thanks everyone for your quick replies!
Ohhhh...heh, so they aren't really asking for help. You're just wanting to see what you can do.
Of course you can try to do what you can, but I'm saying this gently...and this is coming from a nearly 40 year old woman dealing with aging parents...if they aren't down, you'd probably have better luck nailing jello to a tree...lol2 -
My dad loves cafe vanilla frappuccino. I bet if I made him a similar flavor protein shake he'd drink it! The key is to make it something they like and enjoy. Maybe try something as a treat or gift to start. My step mom used to make black bean brownies, for example.2
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Since your Dad enjoys packaged desserts, perhaps source out some of the new healthier packaged items that are everywhere now. Why not just buy a few you might think they would enjoy and see how it goes?
If you are into making stuff, do the same.
Good luck:)
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How old are they?
Do they have their own teeth or dentures?
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After reading the entire thread, I would personally leave them to it.
They are capable of making changes themselves if they want to.
Let them enjoy their snacks.
My aunt is constantly badgering my nan to reduce the sugar in her tea and actually refuses to make her a cup of tea with two sugar in it.
She's 85!! I doubt cutting back on sugar in her tea at her age is really going to make any difference to anything.
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Thanks again for responding. You all have very valid points about not forcing someone do to something. I agree with you guys, I really like the metaphor of nailing jello to a tree. I am a strong believer that people have to make a change themselves for anything to happen.
I guess I misrepresented my intentions. I would never take away something my parents love, that would be heartless and mean, and I can’t make a decision for them aka swapping out their food, that would be rude land condescending as you pointed out.
I don’t provide for them, so obviously they eat what they want. I just want to maybe introduce something delicious and healthy they might like, in the off chance that they might like it.
If you made it this far down, I really appreciate your concern and advice!7 -
In short, my idea wasn’t to substitute anything myself. Just to get some snack ideas I could make for them.
Sorry for being unclear.2 -
Okay, here are my replies for all the food tips:Since your Dad enjoys packaged desserts, perhaps source out some of the new healthier packaged items that are everywhere now. Why not just buy a few you might think they would enjoy and see how it goes?
If you are into making stuff, do the same.
Good luck:)
Thank you! I’ll be on the lookout. I’m not the greatest baker, but I’ll see what I can do.DancingMoosie wrote: »My dad loves cafe vanilla frappuccino. I bet if I made him a similar flavor protein shake he'd drink it! The key is to make it something they like and enjoy. Maybe try something as a treat or gift to start. My step mom used to make black bean brownies, for example.
That’s a great tip! I appreciate it.memoisaaclo wrote: »Harper, no I’m not. SuzySunshine, they say they want to change their habit, but nothing really happens. I agree, I’m just looking for creative solutions to help start them up.
Thanks everyone for your quick replies!
If they like sweets, try things like fruit or dried fruit. (The latter are somewhat calorie dense, so might not be a great choice if they're overweight . . . and they do need adequate fluids if consuming significant amounts of dried fruit.) Fruit tends to be more filling for the number of calories *for some people* than things like cookies or candy.
If they're open to non-sweet things, popcorn might be good (even lightly-sweetened versions, if they have that sweet tooth). There are various relatively low calorie commercial popcorn options.
Personally - speaking as an old person myself - I do like salty snacks, and find things like crispy chickpeas or broad beans quite tasty and filling. Pickles of all sorts are also good in the salty-snacks category. (Obviously, not a great plan if they have high blood pressure or some other contraindication.)
As others have said, it would help to know more about your parents weight issues, healthy issues, preferences, etc.
My mom has a high blood pressure probably because we really like salty food too lol.
Those are really good tips, as my mom loves popcorn, but unfortunately like I said, high blood pressure. I might try doing some kind of not so salty trail mix for them.dragon_girl26 wrote: »My dad is pretty bad about this, too. The two worst things to have in the house for him are cookies packed like Oreos, where he can take whole rows at a time out of the package, or full size bags of chips, where he can just grab the bag, take it in the living room, and mindlessly grab handfuls. To him, one serving = as much out of the bag as he wants. Mom doesn't buy packaged cookies anymore, but they do still have chips in the house. Having individually wrapped portions of chips or cookies helps though...maybe try that instead?
Thank you for all your input. Maybe if I make something I’ll try to wrap them individually too.My dad eats crackers and cheese. And he'll eat cornflakes any time of day (although he still adds a spoon of sugar)
What about oat /cereal bars - might be less sweet/calories, but still enough satisfy their sweet cravings?
Hmm, I do want to try experimenting broth oat bars. I’ll look up some recipes online, thank you!kshama2001 wrote: »I really like fruit and yogurt or cottage cheese.
A favorite night time snack of mine is 80 g raspberries, 114 g vanilla Greek yogurt, and 25 g granola.
For an afternoon snack, I like a 4 oz tropical fruit cup with 114 g cottage cheese.
These are plenty sweet, but have more protein, fiber, and volume for less calories than something like full-fat ice cream.
I find 138 calories of cottage cheese and fruit more satiating than 1,200 calories of ice cream.
Wow that sounds great! I think my parents really like fruit. Thanks for sharing.Check out Eat This Not That, books, websites, podcasts. They give healthier (lower cal, lower sugar, etc) alternatives for many foods.
That sounds like just what I’m looking for, thank you!1
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