[For Seniors] Easy and Delicious! Snack Activity Roundup
Eating—meals and snacks alike—is one of life’s pleasures for older adults as well.
Snack-making activities are very popular and are offered at many senior care facilities.
However, for staff, choosing ingredients and coming up with recipes suited to older adults—such as how to prepare them—can be challenging.
In this article, we introduce easy-to-make snack ideas for seniors.
We’ve gathered many recipes that can be made together around a table or prepared easily using a microwave.
You can make delicious snacks without using hard-to-chew or hard-to-swallow ingredients.
Please give them a try with everyone together!
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For Seniors: Easy and Delicious! Snack Activity Ideas (1–10)
Gyoza Wrapper Pizza on a Hot PlateNEW!
Gyoza wrapper pizzas made on a hot plate are delightfully unexpected and easy to prepare.
Because they can be cooked on the spot, they’re well-suited to senior care facilities.
The gyoza wrappers are light and the portions are easy to eat, making them perfect for a snack.
The steps—spreading pizza sauce, adding toppings, sprinkling cheese—are easy to divide, so each participant can take on a role.
Choosing toppings also sparks conversation and brightens the overall atmosphere of the activity.
Waiting together as they cook builds anticipation, and enjoying them fresh off the plate is especially fun.
The crisp texture and familiar flavors are satisfying, making this a handy idea when you want to add variety to snack-time activities.
Three-Color ShiratamaNEW!
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!
Sakura Steamed BunNEW!
These delicious steamed buns have a gently pink hue and a lovely hint of cherry blossom.
April is the season when cherry blossoms are in full bloom, isn’t it? Many older adults probably associate April with sakura as well.
By incorporating salt-pickled cherry blossom petals into the steamed bun batter, you can make a snack that helps seniors feel the spring season.
The key to giving the batter that delicate pink color is adding food coloring.
Once steamed, the sakura buns release an even richer blossom aroma, which may bring back memories of springs past for some seniors.
Enjoying sakura steamed buns can set the mood for hanami and spark lively reminiscing.
[For Seniors] Easy and Delicious! Snack Activity Roundup (11–20)
Blue Sky Jelly
Perfect for early summer! Let me introduce a beautiful blue-sky jelly with a refreshing look.
First, dissolve gelatin in the microwave, then add soda and blue shaved-ice syrup and mix well.
Be careful not to let too much carbonation escape.
Do the same with a mixture of a lactic-acid drink and milk: add gelatin and combine thoroughly.
Once set in the refrigerator, plate the jellies.
By layering the blue jelly and the white jelly alternately, you’ll create a beautiful dessert that looks like white clouds floating in a blue sky.
It’s also delicious topped with vanilla ice cream, if you like.
Sweet potato kinton (sweet potato tea towel squeeze)
Let me introduce smooth and delicious sweet potato chakin-shibori.
First, heat the sweet potatoes until soft, then mash them finely.
If you put them in a plastic bag and crush them with a pestle, anyone can do it easily.
Once there are no large lumps, add apple jam and mix.
If the mixture isn’t soft enough, adjust the texture by adding a little milk or soy milk at a time.
Take a piece of plastic wrap in your hand, place about two spoonfuls of the mixture on it, and roll it into a ball while shaping it.
Pulling the ends of the wrap will give you a neat “shibori” finish.
You can easily make a charming wagashi-style sweet, so it’s also recommended as a recreation activity in senior care facilities.
Snowball cookies in a plastic bag
Even if you’re not good at baking, you can make these snowball cookies in a microwave using a plastic bag! If you’re looking for an easy snack activity for a day-care service, this is perfect—few ingredients and no mixing bowl needed.
Put the ingredients into a plastic bag and knead, then roll the dough into balls.
This step is likely to be enjoyable for older adults.
Pop them in the microwave, coat with powdered sugar, and they’re done! If your activity time is limited, give this a try to save time.
Warabi Mochi in Anmitsu Style
Warabi mochi has a jiggly, bouncy texture in your mouth.
It’s often dusted with kinako (roasted soybean flour), but it also tastes great with matcha or kuromitsu (black sugar syrup).
Warabi mochi is made with warabi starch, though using warabi starch can sometimes result in a slightly firmer texture.
Try using store-bought kits designed to make softer warabi mochi, or make a softer version with potato starch (katakuriko).
You can also top warabi mochi with sweet red bean paste and fruit, then drizzle with kuromitsu for an anmitsu-style dessert.
It turns warabi mochi into a more festive wagashi that older adults are likely to enjoy as well.