The Bay Area Home Care Assistance locations have partnered with Sur La Table to provide cooking classes to their caregivers as part of their commitment to improving the lives of seniors through its Balanced Care Method™. The BCM approach to caregiving is based on the positive health practices of the legendary centenarians of Okinawa, Japan. Proper nutrition is a key component of this method which emphasizes five main elements: healthy diet, physical activity, mental alertness and social ties, as well as maintaining calmness and purpose.
To boost the nutritional value of seniors’ preferred meals, Home Care Assistance caregivers serving clients in the South Bay and Peninsula are learning how to enhance food flavors with herbs and spices – instead of relying on heavy salt usage which is not good for one's health. They will also learn practical techniques such as steaming, stir-frying and cooking in parchment to improve the diets of the aging adults they care for through Home Care Assistance.
Caregivers in the Sur La Table’s cooking class will get to try out healthier recipes for old-favorites such as tuna casserole. They will also learn the latest information on incorporating the seven “super foods” into their daily diets; for instance by adding sources of omega-3 fatty acids like flax seeds to salad dressings, or topping pancakes with antioxidant-rich blueberries.
The monthly classes, taking place at Sur La Table in the Palo Alto Town and Country shopping center, will cover a full range of diet-related issues faced by seniors, including higher susceptibility to food-borne diseases, limited food budgets and loss of appetite due to grief or health conditions.
The cooking classes will primarily focus on giving caregivers the confidence they need to create basic healthy meals that are familiar to older Americans – an important quality to develop in caregivers who may have grown up in other cultures.
