[For Seniors] Recommended Snack Activities: Easy, Large-Batch Recipes
At day service centers and other senior facilities, a variety of recreational activities are held every day.
Among them, snack-making activities are especially popular.
For older adults, planning the steps of cooking and doing fine handwork help stimulate the brain.
Another benefit is that making snacks together deepens interaction among seniors.
In this article, we introduce easy snack recipes that are simple for everyone to make together.
Give them a try in your snack recreation sessions!
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[For Seniors] Recommended Snack Activities: Easy, Large-Batch Recipes (21–30)
Mitarashi dango
With their pleasantly chewy texture, mitarashi dango are a familiar, comforting snack that many older adults know well.
Rolling the dumplings moves the fingertips just enough to offer potential occupational-therapy benefits.
Because the task is simple, it’s likely to spark conversation among participants—“I used to make these all the time,” and so on.
After boiling, cool the dumplings in ice water, then thread them onto skewers.
Grilling them lightly on a grate and coating them with a sweet-savory mitarashi glaze enhances both aroma and flavor.
Skewering makes them easy to hold and helps stabilize the motion of eating.
It’s a dish best enjoyed in a calm setting with a cup of hot tea.
Three-Color Shiratama
The three-colored shiratama, which strikes a good balance between appearance and ease of preparation, is a perfect idea for a handmade snack activity in April.
Kneading the shiratama flour with water doesn’t require much strength, so older adults can take part with confidence.
For the three colors, in addition to the white of the shiratama flour and the green of matcha, using pickled plum paste adds a gentle pink hue and a subtle tang.
The matcha green also lends a springlike feel.
Rolling the dough and separating it by color encourages conversation among participants and creates a calm atmosphere for the whole activity.
Once the dumplings are boiled, serving them with sweet red bean paste or kinako adds variety in flavor and plenty of satisfaction.
Give it a try!
Pumpkin soft cookies
Let’s try making soft pumpkin cookies.
When you think of cookies, most are crisp with a bit of crunch, right? By using pancake mix, even seniors can easily make soft cookies.
The cookies also include mashed pumpkin that’s been microwaved.
You’ll get cookies with a gentle pumpkin aroma and a fluffy, tender texture.
Seniors might find it refreshing to use pancake mix for treats beyond just pancakes.
Pancake-mix recipes were trendy a little while ago.
There are many snacks you can make with pancake mix, so why not give it a try?
Shiratama parfait
We’ve gradually been able to resume cooking activities that were difficult to do during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Planning the steps, using your hands, and of course eating the finished dish all provide great stimulation for the brain.
This time, we’ll make a shiratama parfait—a sweet collaboration of Japanese and Western flavors.
Instead of water, we’ll use tofu to make the shiratama dough, which boosts the nutritional value.
Kneading the soft dough is soothing, isn’t it? Once they’re boiled, let’s enjoy topping them with sweet red beans, fruit, and whipped cream.
Stick Banana Pie
Stick Banana Pies that let you enjoy the gentle sweetness of banana and the crisp texture of puff pastry.
They can be made safely in about 15 minutes, so they’re also recommended for seniors who enjoy making sweets.
Cut the bananas into thick slices, brush egg yolk onto puff pastry that’s been divided into four, and arrange the banana pieces on top.
Bake in the oven, and when the surface is nicely golden, they’re done.
A dusting of powdered sugar makes a nice finishing touch.
Enjoy them warm for a toasty aroma, or let them cool to highlight the banana’s sweetness.
This is a dessert that adds color to spring snacks while satisfying both heart and appetite.
warabi mochi
Warabi-mochi is usually finished with warabi starch, but here’s a method that uses potato starch instead.
Mix potato starch and sugar, add water, and microwave it.
After heating for about 30 seconds, take it out, stir with a spoon, and microwave again.
Repeat this process and—like magic—you’ll end up with delightfully chewy warabi-mochi.
Enjoy with kuromitsu (black sugar syrup) or kinako (roasted soybean flour) if you like.
It’s great because you don’t need a stovetop.
This translucent Japanese sweet is a perfect fit for summer!
sweet potato yokan (Japanese sweet potato jelly)
Some older adults may enjoy soft and sweet yokan, don’t you think? Yokan is a confection that fills your mouth with sweetness with just one bite.
Let’s make imo yokan by adding sweet potato to that yokan.
Peel the sweet potatoes, slice them into rounds, and boil until tender.
Mash the sweet potatoes by sieving them or blending them in a food processor or mixer.
Put water and agar in a pot and bring it to a boil, then add the mashed sweet potatoes and transfer the mixture into a mold.
Chill it in the refrigerator for about 3 hours until set.
You’ll have a very soft imo yokan.