Cardiologists know that a heart healthy diet can play an instrumental role in treating various conditions. However, for many senior patients experiencing cardiac conditions, shopping for and preparing meals can prove a stressful and difficult task.
This is where meal delivery comes in.
Rather than hoping that a person will follow a treatment plan on their own, cardiologists can play a more active role in supporting their patients. A heart healthy meal delivery plan for seniors, especially when covered by insurance, can help providers ensure that patients are indeed following dietary recommendations.
What Does a Heart Healthy Meal Look Like?
A popular misconception of a heart healthy diet is one comprised of bland, flavorless meals that are meant to serve a function and not be enjoyed. This cannot be further from the truth.
While yes, those with present heart conditions should abstain from certain foods, there are plenty of delicious options that you can choose from. For example, an overall healthy diet recommended by the American Heart Association includes:
- A wide variety of fruits and vegetables
- Fiber-rich whole grains
- Low-fat dairy
- Skinless poultry and fish
- Nuts and legumes
- Vegetable oils of non-tropical origin
Furthermore, other heart-specific diet and lifestyle choices the AHA recommend include:
- Abstaining from smoking or other tobacco use
- Fruits and vegetables without added sauces, sugars, or salt
- High-fiber grains
- Fish containing omega-3 fatty acids like salmon and trout
- Low fat/fat-free dairy
- Limiting saturated fat and trans fat to 5-6% of total calories
- Avoiding added sugars
- Low-sodium foods
- Drinking alcohol in moderation
- Eating healthy portion sizes
Practicing these dietary and lifestyle habits can provide immense benefits to patients following treatment plans for cardiac conditions. Depending on the person’s specific condition, a doctor may recommend some or all of these habits and more.
How Doctors Can Provide Heart Healthy Meal Delivery to Patients
Are you a doctor treating cardiac patients? If so, we recommend a general wellness, low-sodium, or vegetarian meal plan.
At DeliverLean Care, we strive to make eating healthy a painless and seamless process for seniors. Here are some of the ways that we do that:
Dietician and Gourmet Chef-Developed Recipes
Our on-staff dieticians and gourmet chefs collaborate on developing recipes that both target specific nutritional needs for seniors and support overall wellness. Our dieticians ensure that the nutrients in the recipes are properly portioned and our chefs make delicious and healthy meals a reality.
Heat-And-Eat Meals that Are Actually Fresh
When you think of “heat-and-eat” meals, you might normally think of processed, high-sodium foods that do not support a healthy lifestyle. We aim to challenge that notion.
Thanks to our sophisticated meal delivery system, we can prepare, package, and deliver freshly prepared meals with high-quality ingredients to seniors all over the United States. Upon receiving their meal, the individual only has to warm the food in the microwave and enjoy in under 2 minutes!
In addition to convenience, the heat-and-eat preparation model allows many seniors who struggle with motor function to easily enjoy fresh food. Rather than having to wield various kitchenware to prepare a meal from scratch, healthy food is within reach with zero prep work required.
No Extra Financial Burden on the Patient
As a doctor, you do not want to avoid placing extra financial burdens on senior-aged patients. This is why we have partnered with many of the leading senior health insurance providers in the nation to ensure that our meals can integrate seamlessly with the rest of your treatment plan without requiring more out-of-pocket spending.
Lifestyle and Diet-Specific Plans
Our meal plans can be modified to meet your patients’ dietary or lifestyle restrictions. For example, if you are treating someone who keeps Kosher, we do offer Kosher meal delivery options. Does your patient have food allergies? Our recipes can also be modified to compensate for those as well.
Key Nutritional Factors Taken Into Account
Every recipe we produce is personally inspected by our dieticians to ensure that they are:
- Low in sodium
- Carbohydrate-controlled
- Made with fresh, whole ingredients
Managing sodium and carbohydrate intake can help patients experiencing cardiac and other conditions maintain a healthier lifestyle that can complement any treatment plan. These standards are the bare minimum for the meals that we develop and deliver.
Fresh for Up to 2 Weeks
Though we always recommend that your patients begin eating our meals on the day of delivery, they will remain fresh for up to two weeks if refrigerated. For patients that may frequently be out of their homes or want to save leftovers, they can easily do so with our meal plans.
Get Started with Heart Healthy Meal Delivery for Your Patients
Are you interested in ordering heart healthy meals for your patients? Check out some of our fresh meals that your patients will be sure to love. If you have any questions about how we can help you deliver better meals to senior patients’ doors, please contact us anytime for more information.