What have others tried regarding meal options, in particular "finger foods"?
My mother is quickly losing interest in eating. Her speech therapist is recommending going to always having "finger foods" around. At the moment my mother thinks gummy bears are the only kind of finger foods she likes. I would love to hear what other people have tried? Fruit, cheese, crackers, or nuts. What are draw backs? Advantages to using this approach.
Thank you for asking. I give my loved one roasted, unsalted nuts and also tangerine slices. They are easy for her to manage and for the most part, healthy. The drawbacks come when they get dropped and find nooks and crannies of the lounge chair. She is better with finger foods that managing silverware. Generally, any kind of tool is more difficult for her. Scott AlzheimersDisease.net Team Member
Scott is my husband. Haha. Yep, mom loves her nuts. The unsalted ones. Often raw ones. They are healthier. Good fats. She also likes banana a lot and grapes. Cherry tomatoes. All things that are healthy and good bang for the buck. She does love her dark chocolate. She used to always get the Andes mints at Cracker Barrel. These little sweet treats don’t make her blood sugar go up too far. Mom also loves burgers and Philly cheesesteaks and fries. If her appetite is down, those are usually sure to please her. I cook healthier than she used to. She doesn’t always like my stir fries and Asian dishes. She likes southern things like pulled bbq chicken on Hawaiian rolls and my air fried catfish nuggets. This can all be finger foods. She has gotten into disassembling her sandwiches, but that’s ok. Think of a kid’s lunch box. Grilled cheese or even a burger cut into strips or chunks with dipping sauce/ketchup. I’ve also given mom a spoon instead of a fork at times. It was agonizing trying to watch her eat individual peas or rice grains with a fork. Blessings, Kathy M alzheimersdisease.net team member.
I cut up pieces of fruit like apples, pears or nectarines when they’re in season. Peeling and separating orange or tangerine slices are good too. Sandwiches can be cut into smaller strips or wedges if they aren’t too messy. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on whole grain breads are always a go-to food. People with Alz or dementia seem to be attracted to sweet foods and the peanut butter and whole grains in the bread provide protein.
Ice cream isn’t a finger food but when nothing else seems to be appealing to my husband, ice cream almost always gets a big “yes”.
We also use a “spork” sometimes for eating regular foods. It’s a cross between and spoon and fork. I’m new and not sure if posting links is allowed here, but if you do a search on Amazon, they have a few different brands.Tangerines work well here as well as nuts and anything small and easily managed. She loves those little cheese wedges or string cheese, too. Everything works better when it's simpler. Scott, Team Member
