Delivered Frozen Meals for Older Adults

Hi Readers, while browsing around the exhibition area at the American Society on Aging scientific meeting in San Diego recently, I picked up a brochure from a frozen meal delivery service specifically for "the elderly."  The first red flag was the advertising blunder: Elderly is NOT the appropriate nomenclature and has been replaced with "older adult."  I reviewed their website and the meal selections and I was NOT impressed.  The meals were more appropriate for lunch boxes of elementary school students. I started thinking.... Are there ANY frozen meal delivery services that are affordable, nutritious, and specifically designed for the nutritional needs of older adults?  YES!  I reviewed them all and I found three that I believe are well worth investigating.  Check these out....they are in alphabetical order.

Dinewise  www.dinewise.com

This company has a "senior only" menu that is nutritious and affordable.  They have other menus for special needs including low sodium, diabetic, low carb, gluten free, and "good health."  I believe the "good health" diet is a heart-healthy plan. 

Magic Kitchen   www.magickitchen.com

Magic Kitchen has senior meals and also other dietary plans for special needs.  These include low sodium, diabetic, renal diet meals, low fat, dairy-free, and dialysis-friendly. 

Schwann's  www.schwanns.com

Schwann's has been around for ages and their refrigerated trucks are recognizable in neighborhoods all over the U.S.  While they do not have a menu specifically for older adults, they offer several nutritious menus for a variety of dietary preferences including low sodium, heart healthy, gluten-free, and sugar-free.  They also have VEGETARIAN meals.  Of the three companies, this is the only one offering vegetarian meals.  Because many of my clients and former older clients are Seventh Day Adventists, I have been recommending Schwann's for many years. 

Frozen meals are a convenient option to proactively avoid and manage frailty.  One of the major contributors to frailty is food insufficiency.  Older adults, especially those with dementia, sometimes forget to eat or resort to easy to prepare foods such as hotdogs, canned soup, and juice.  Hotdogs and soup are easy to prepare and are cheap... but loaded with sodium.  Nutritionally rich frozen meals designed for the dietary needs of older adults are a more practical and healthy alternative.  Remember... frailty leads to early institutionalization.  Eating nutritious meals is ESSENTIAL for aging in place.  More later.  AGEDOC.