Non-medical home care

Meal preparation for seniors in Sacramento

Appetite is one of the first things to go, and weight loss at home is one of the surest signs that things are slipping. Meals cooked in the kitchen, to the food someone actually grew up with, get eaten. Meals delivered in a tray often do not.

A caregiver and an older woman chopping vegetables together at a kitchen counter — Talk it through first

A person answers at any hour, and the first visit to the house costs nothing.
Call (916) 229-8120

Free in-home assessment
A person answers, 24 hours a day
Sacramento, Placer, Yolo and El Dorado counties

Why families call about meal preparation

Weight loss is one of the things families notice last and doctors worry about first, and it almost never happens because food is unavailable. It happens because cooking became difficult, then eating alone became joyless, then a full refrigerator started going out with the trash.

Who meal preparation is for

Someone living on toast and tea since their spouse died
A person losing weight without a clear medical reason
Anyone who can no longer stand at a stove safely
Families who want a doctor's diet advice followed without a fight

What a caregiver does

What meal preparation looks like day to day

Shopping for the food the person likes, not a generic list
Cooking in the home, with the person involved if they want to be
Meals portioned and labeled for the days between visits
Following the diet a doctor has asked for, and telling you when it is not being eaten
Drinks left within reach, refilled, and actually noticed if they are not going down

Where this stops

Caregivers cook to a doctor's or dietitian's instructions and follow restrictions carefully, including low salt and diabetic. They do not write the diet, and they do not feed anyone who needs clinical assistance to swallow safely.

How it starts

Starting meal preparation with Guiding Souls

You call

At any hour. Tell us what is happening at home and we will tell you honestly whether this is the right kind of help.

We visit the house

Free, and no obligation. We look at the routine and the layout, then put a plan and a clear cost in writing before anything begins.

You meet your caregiver

Matched on skills and on temperament, and introduced before care starts. A second familiar face is kept ready for vacation and sick days.

What changes the cost of meal preparation

Meal preparation is nearly always part of a visit rather than the reason for one, so what changes the cost is the length of that visit. Two hours covers shopping, cooking several days ahead, and sitting down to eat together, which is the part that actually moves the weight. A per meal price usually means a delivery service, which is a different thing and sometimes the right thing.

Our guide to what home care costs in Sacramento walks through hourly, live-in and around the clock pricing, and how families pay for home care in California covers long-term care insurance, IHSS and VA benefits.

Questions families ask

Meal preparation questions, answered

If yours is not here, ask it on the phone: (916) 229-8120. Or read our guide to the signs a parent needs help at home.

Can you cook for a diabetic or low-salt diet?

Yes. Bring the diet to the free in-home assessment and it goes into the written plan, and the caregiver will tell you when it is not being eaten.

Will you cook the food our family actually eats?

Yes, and please tell us what that is. Familiar food is eaten. Unfamiliar food gets pushed around the plate. Tell Guiding Souls Home Care what your mother grew up eating when you call (916) 229-8120, and it is on the shopping list before the first visit in Sacramento, Placer, Yolo or El Dorado counties.

Related care

Tell us what is happening at home

One call, at any hour, and a free visit before anything is decided. No contract, and a caregiver only once the match is right.

Call (916) 229-8120 Request a free assessment

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