Jill Patterson knows her way around fitness and nutrition. She’s worked as a registered dietitian for the past 18 years and as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor for the past 21 years, starting that portion of her career right after college.
Prime found the Naugatuck, CT. native through a savvy supermarket shopping class at a local library and asked if she could tailor tips to elder shoppers on a budget. Here’s what she shared with Prime:
Q: Why is good nutrition so important for elders? What are some important areas to pay attention to?
“Nutrition can impact our mood, our energy, performance, concentration, memory, sleep, our blood sugar levels and prevent some chronic diseases and help with weight management. That’s true for everyone but as we age, we’re also losing muscle mass if we are not exercising and doing some resistance and toning exercises. If we are losing muscle mass our metabolism is slowing down because there are not as many muscle cells, and we require less calories [to maintain our weight] but we still need all those nutrients.
So, as we age, we want to be sure we have all the nutrient rich foods in our diet – the fruits and vegetables that contain vitamins and antioxidants for just a little bit of calories. We also want to be sure we have a good protein source at our meals, which will help with muscle preservation. For the grain group we want to choose some whole grains – this provides us with fiber and also antioxidant like the fruits and vegetables. Incorporating some low-fat or non-fat dairy options – milk, yogurt and cheeses is important for maintaining bone mass as we age.”
Q: How can elders on a fixed income make the most of their food budget in this time of inflation? Are there special tips if they are shopping for just one, or two?
“The first tip is really looking at our plate. The balanced meal is what we optimally want to consume – half the plate for fruits and vegetables, a quarter plate for our protein source, a quarter for our grain source and then some dairy.
“When preparing a recipe, try to replace some of protein in the recipe with vegetables, this will help cut down on cost and get the nutrition simultaneously. We want to get the protein [for muscle preservation] but want the plate to still be one-quarter protein, one-quarter grains and half fruits and vegetables
“If protein is the most expensive item on our shopping list, add more vegetables to our cart, which is more cost effective but is also going to give us the best nutrition [for our grocery dollar].
“Cut down on food waste at home and when shopping by following FIFO- First In First Out. At the grocery store, look and see how they arrange items – they use FIFO to stock product. Reach in back for milk that will last a little bit longer. Look for products that are further back for best shelf life in the dairy department – and probably in every department. For example, in produce when choosing the bag salad mix, the ones in back will have further out shelf life.
“Another money-saving tip – try out a store brand or generic in place of a name brand you usually buy. If the store brand has the same quality and taste, swapping might be a way to save money.”
Q: What are some easy, nutritious and affordable meal suggestions for elders on a fixed income?
“Start by thinking about the balanced plate and try to pull together foods. Choose a protein – chicken or fish – then choose favorite vegetable like bag salad, or a canned or frozen vegetable – both are equally nutritious (if going for canned look for no-salt added) then add a grain you enjoy like a whole grain dinner roll or a rice or starch. Think simply and it’s not a big project to make a meal just pulling those ingredients together.
“If you are shopping and buy a small package of chicken, divide it and freeze pieces individually; make one chicken breast with a large side of vegetables and use any leftover chicken sliced up on salad next day. Butcher counters sometimes have single stuffed chicken breasts or pork chops that you can buy. Think about cooking enough to have those leftovers to reheat.” For more recipe inspiration visit https://www.myplate.gov/myplate-kitchen/recipes
