Gifting has always been our way of showing love. Be it a birthday or some special occasion, a well thought out gift is always high on the list. When it comes to gifting, the rule of thumb is to gift something that is age, gender, and occasion appropriate. But when it comes to gifting elderly in the family, we usually stick to clothes or fruits. Instead, have you considered age appropriate and health appropriate food combos for them?
Gifting options for elderly family members is always limited as one needs to consider their age, their health condition, mobility aspect and even dentures! Here’s a handy list of healthy gifting combos that you can consider –
List of healthy gifting ideas for the elderly:
- Healthy munchies
- Gluten-free soft cookies
- Healthy food platter which can include hummus, lavash, millet bread, peanut/almond butter without sugar
- Flavored nuts and seeds
- Healthy cooking essentials like healthy oils, organic jaggery and A2 ghee
- Seasonal/Exotic fruits basket
- Flavored and relaxing tea’s
- Healthy millet based cakes premixes
- Healthy tea time snacks like chivda made with jowar flakes, rice flakes, or flattened rice.
- Nicecream- nicecream is ice cream made with frozen bananas. It is lactose-free and sugar-free, as it has natural fruit sugar in it and is available in many flavors.
- Varieties of paneer and cheese for some high protein punch
- Dark chocolate coated dates
- Sugar-free chocolate
- Vegan cookies
- Healthy drink without sugar
- Turmeric latte for sound sleep
Most of these food items are easily available online or at any local super market. Apart from all these healthy food gifting ideas, we can also gift the elderly a hamper that is specially tailored for them. A mindful and useful gift for your loved ones can make them happy.
Healthy gifting combos for elderly could be handcrafted hampers! A few suggestions are:
- Healthy Goodies Hamper – Depending on their taste, you can include small jars of nuts like almonds, walnuts, cashews, pistachios, raisins, dates, prunes and berries.
- Herb Hamper – A herb hamper is a combination of multiple herbs that can be exotic or perfect for a person’s health condition. A few examples are.
- Paneer ka Phool /Dodi can be a great gifting option for diabetic parents or relatives. It is a herb that can regulate insulin and help repair beta cells of the pancreas. Beta cells help produce insulin and a person with diabetes usually has damaged beta cells. Paneer ka phool is excellent for the health of elderly members suffering from diabetes.
- You can add Kashmiri garlic or Himalayan garlic. It is a special single clove garlic, also known as snow mountain garlic. It is harvested once a year from the Himalayas. This Himalayan garlic is rich in allicin copper, calcium, vitamin B1, manganese, vitamin b6, and C. It has antioxidant and antibacterial properties, and it is more commonly given to people with heart diseases as it strengthens the cardiovascular system, prevents clots, and also manages cholesterol
- Tea Hamper for the Tea Aficionados – For tea lovers, you can curate special tea’s like mulethi and tulsi tea, green tea, Darjeeling tea etc. There are special tea bags that have a blend of tea and herbs to help the elderly people improve their immunity or calm them down. Include such unique tea’s to make their tea time memorable and healthy.
- Sweet Hamper – You can give healthy sweets for their sweet craving like figs, dates, and sugar-free sweets. Healthy baking pre-mixes can also be a good option for those who love baking.
- Sugar-free hamper Sugar-free substitutes like stevia leaves, powder, or tablets as most elderly people are asked to limit their sweet intake. Similarly, you can add dark chocolate as it is heart-healthy. Dark chocolate is known to improve mood and cognitive function.
1.Gluten free bakery products hamper – Dark chocolate cookies made with millets and nuts or raisins, sugar-free bread and other healthy bakery products.
2.Non Food Hamper – If you prefer to share non-food hampers, then opt for personalized coffee /tea mug or even steel, copper bottles, yoga mat, pain relief ice / hot water bags, aroma candles, massager, etc.
There are endless options available; take into consideration, the health, food choices, and lifestyle of the elderly and gift them healthy and helpful gifts. So next time you visit an elderly in the family, don’t stick to clothes and fruits. Try something new that is healthy, tasty and thoughtful.
