[Snack Activity] Easy and Delicious: Snack Ideas to Make Together with Seniors
The time it takes to chill and set yokan in the refrigerator, the moment you add toppings like fruit, the aroma of steam rising from the steamer.
Making snacks together with older adults lets you share a sense of excitement and create warm memories that go beyond the recipe itself.
Traditional Japanese sweets are familiar to many seniors and are sure to delight them.
There are plenty of ways to enjoy everything while staying seated! When the sweet scent of the finished wagashi fills the room, it will surely bring back fond memories as well.
As hands stay busy, conversation flows, and the joy of savoring the finished treat is truly special.
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Seasonal Wagashi Recipes (21–30)
sweet potato yokan (Japanese sweet potato jelly)
Some elderly people may prefer soft and sweet yokan, don’t you think? Yokan is a treat where, with a single bite, sweetness fills your mouth.
Let’s make imo-yokan by adding sweet potatoes to that yokan.
Peel the sweet potatoes, slice them into rounds, and boil until tender.
Mash the sweet potatoes by pressing them through a sieve, or blend them in a food processor or mixer.
Add the mashed sweet potatoes to a pot where water and agar have been brought to a boil, then transfer the mixture to a mold.
Chill in the refrigerator for about 3 hours until set.
You’ll have wonderfully soft sweet potato yokan.
Lucky bean cheese rice crackers
You can even make a classic Japanese snack, senbei, at home.
First, line a heatproof plate with parchment paper and place shredded pizza cheese on top.
Space them out a little as if you’re making several senbei.
Next, put soybeans on the cheese and heat as is.
Once it has cooled slightly, it will firm up like a senbei.
Sprinkle with aonori (green seaweed flakes) to finish.
This time we used soybeans with Setsubun in mind, but you can have fun topping them with other ingredients, too.
Give it your own twist!
Kinako Boro
These kinako bolo cookies let you enjoy the Setsubun vibe while getting a good dose of protein.
The appeal is how easy they are: you only need four ingredients—egg yolk, sugar, potato starch, and roasted soybean flour (kinako).
Mix them together, roll into balls about the size of soybeans, and bake in the oven to make a light, melt-in-the-mouth snack.
Since some ovens brown more quickly than others, keep an eye on them and adjust the baking time as needed.
They’re a nice way to get into the Setsubun spirit even if you’re not a fan of beans.
Plus, the tactile fun of rolling the dough is another charming touch.
sweet pumpkin
There are probably many seniors who enjoy sweet, fluffy pumpkin.
Here’s a sweet pumpkin treat made with just that.
Cut the pumpkin into moderate pieces, microwave until soft, and remove the skin.
Mix it with ingredients like maple syrup and butter, then roll it into balls.
Use a toothpick to score lines on the surface so they look like tiny pumpkins.
Bake them in the oven, and top with bits of pumpkin skin to finish—adorable, pumpkin-shaped sweet treats.
While they’re baking, the sweet aroma of maple syrup fills the air, making this a dish you’ll look forward to eating.
Pumpkin stick pie
Pumpkin stick pies made with frozen puff pastry sheets are an easy-to-eat, recommended snack for seniors.
Because pumpkin is hard and difficult to cut, wrap it in plastic wrap and microwave at 600W for 1 minute to make it easier to slice.
Add milk, salt, honey, and white pepper to the cut pumpkin, then microwave at 600W for about 6 minutes.
Finally, transfer to a pot and warm it while adding more milk, cooking until it becomes a soft, spreadable paste.
Spread the paste thinly over the puff pastry sheet, fold, cut with a knife, twist, and bake in a toaster to finish.
It’s also fun to change up the shapes, like squares or triangles.
Chilled Summer Desserts (1–10)
Mikan Milk Agar JellyNEW!
This dessert features a silky texture with chunks of mandarin oranges embedded in milk agar.
It’s easy for anyone to make since you simply pour the ingredients into a mold and chill.
Line a container with canned mandarin oranges, then pour in milk-mixed agar to fill the gaps, and chill until set.
To achieve a more beautiful appearance, the balance between the oranges and the agar is important, so consider how much of each to use as you go.
You can also adjust it to your taste—for example, packing in lots of oranges if you prefer.
Shiratama Fruit PunchNEW!
This is a simple yet visually beautiful dessert made by mixing small-cut fruit with shiratama (glutinous rice dumplings).
Canned fruit is recommended; think about which varieties to use while considering a good color balance.
The way you mix, boil, and size the shiratama is also important, so pay close attention when preparing them.
Consider what fruit size is easiest to eat and match the shiratama size accordingly.
Finally, mix the cut fruit with the shiratama and add syrup to finish.