Seniors Celebrating Good Eating

Seniors celebrating good eating

Food for enjoyment and good health
Seniors celebrating good eating

Food is at the centre of many of our celebrations. Traditional foods are a part of every culture. Many families have their own ‘traditional food’ that they eat on special occasions, or special recipes that have been passed from generation to generation. We celebrate all sorts of important events in our lives by eating and sharing food. Enjoying great food is about more than just the taste. Food is a wonderful way to connect with others – cooking together, going out for meals together, and celebrating special events at home with family and friends. Enjoying food is a great way to enjoy life – at any age.

Over the years the richness of our multicultural and multi-faith society has introduced many new traditions: some of us celebrate Ramadan and Passover with special foods, Greek Easter with traditional tsoureki bread, Chinese New Year with dumplings. Christmas time foods vary widely across the world – fish soup in Hungary, dumplings in Poland. Why not try something new? Connect with other communities through a joint love of food.

The food we choose to eat can make a huge impact on how we feel – both on a daily basis and longer term. Food is essential for health and vitality. Health issues can affect what we can eat, and of course, what we eat has an impact on our health. Therefore it is important to eat well and make every mouthful count. But changing our diet doesn’t mean food must become less enjoyable. We can continue to take pleasure in all the foods we love by making some easy changes to how we cook or how often we eat. What’s important is what we do everyday, not what we do occasionally.

As we get older, and for some of us, have more time alone, it can be harder to be inspired about cooking. But as a single person and OBE (over bloody eighty) myself, taking charge of our own wellbeing and preparing nourishing food for ourselves as long as we are able is a great thing. Inspiration and motivation are important parts of living and as we get older it takes more effort to make these priorities. Buying a cookbook and enjoying experimenting with an unfamiliar dish is one way of becoming inspired to try something new. Choosing a nutritious recipe can also give you a good health boost at the same time.

As you will discover in this booklet, preparing healthy meals doesn’t have to be time consuming and it doesn’t have to break the bank. We have compiled lots of ideas for eating on a budget, preparing meals for one, putting together very simple but interesting and enjoyable menus and tips for discovering new cuisines.
And remember, we have a wealth of experience of our own that we can draw on for preparing and enjoying good food!

Variety is the spice of life – get motivated and experiment, try different cuisines, keep it fun, and celebrate good eating.

Elizabeth Chong
Celebrating good eating ambassador 2012 Victorian Seniors Festival

Contents

Celebrating everyday meals4

Eating out, buying in6

Cheap eats at home8

No need to cook at all!10

Fabulous food for one11

Fun growing your own food12

Enjoying food with children13

Making food shopping fun14

Healthy eating – putting it into practice15

Choosing foods to help sustain the environment22

Using your Seniors Card24

Lots of information, lots of help25

This guide was released in October 2012 at the Victorian Seniors Festival alongside the Celebrating good eating events occurring across the state. This guide is available for download on Seniors Online at

The information in this guide complements and aligns with the Victorian Healthy Food Charter. Developed by the Victorian Department of Health as part of the Victorian Healthy Eating Enterprise, the Healthy Food Charter is designed to guide anyone involved in promoting or providing healthy food to Victorians. If you are involved in a community organisation or event that involves food, you may like to look at this.

For a copy of the charter visit:

Celebrating everyday meals

Plan your meals and snacks ahead of time so it doesn’t seem like such a chore to think of healthy menus on the spot at mealtimes. This will also help ensure you are eating a variety of foods.
Include a variety of colours, flavours and textures in meals. If your taste buds seem less sensitive, add extra flavouring such as herbs, spices, lemon juice or cinnamon.
Spend a little time on presentation. You are more likely to enjoy a meal if it’s visually appealing as well as tasty. Extra touches like garnishes on food and a flower in a vase, a bright placemat on the table or the good dinner ware and cutlery can make meals more appealing or a bit special.
Invite a friend to dinner. This will encourage you to cook something more special and you will enjoy the company. When the friend returns the invitation that will mean one night you won’t have to cook!
Start a potluck club or a meal club where members take turns preparing a meal for each other. Talk to neighbours about organising a street food party.
If it’s a nice day, take your lunch to the park for a picnic. Invite a friend along.
Try cooking something you’ve never cooked before. The Centre for Adult Education ( offers all types of cooking classes, or ask about cooking courses at your local Neighbourhood House. Look for new and interesting recipes in newspapers, magazines or on the internet.
Contact your local council or community health service for information about eligibility for delivered meals, community gatherings for meals or learning to cook for one.

Try something different. Why not take cooking classes? My oldest student is 87.

Elizabeth Chong

Cheap eats at home

Paying attention to how you shop can help you get the best value for money! There is a common view that healthier foods seem more expensive. However, when you weigh up price per kilogram or cost for nutritional value, they are often not at all. Supermarkets now provide the ‘price per 100g’ on the price tag – this is a useful budgeting tool!

Buy locally in-season fruits and vegetables, when they’re at their best. Or buy frozen vegetables, picked at their peak of freshness and quick frozen – they are nutritious and economical.
Root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, sweet potatoes and onions are often great bargains and keep well; use them in soups and stews.
Check the clearance area in the produce section for ‘just passed peak’ fresh fruits and vegetables. Over-ripe bananas are great in muffins or smoothies. Over-ripe stone fruits, apples or pears can be stewed and frozen or shared. Over-ripe tomatoes can be used in casseroles and pasta sauce.
Dried fruits like sultanas, dates and prunes last well in the cupboard and are a good addition to muffins, loaves, salads and some stews.
Use leftover cooked vegetables in soups, omelettes, or with rice or pasta.
Day-old wholegrain bread or rolls are perfect for toast, grilled or toasted sandwiches, or breadcrumbs. You can also freeze them and use them later.
A whole loaf of raisin bread is often the same price as one or two muffins. Keep in the freezer and toast – a cheaper and healthier snack to muffins too.
Try long life custard and milk – often a bit cheaper than fresh, and can be kept in the cupboard to always have on hand. Remember to keep it in the fridge after opening.
Eggs are a terrific alternative to meat; try an omelette, frittata or zucchini slice for lunch or dinner. Add a hard-boiled egg to a salad, or enjoy one as a snack.
Bring on the beans! Try good old-fashioned baked beans on toastfor a quick and wholesome meal. Dried beans are probably one of the most economical and healthy products you can buy – soak them for use in a variety of meals and snacks. Buy canned beans, chick peas, or lentils and use them in soups and stews or add them to salads.
Peanut butter or hummus (dip) is also a less costly meat alternative. Use it on sandwiches or for a snack on wholegrain crackers.
Opt for lean but cheap cuts of meat like chuck steak or gravy beef and use them in a stew or casserole to produce a tender and tasty meal – ‘slow cooking’! Skim the fat off the top after it’s been in the fridge overnight.
Tinned tuna or salmon (in spring water) is cheap and versatile. Use it in omelettes, casseroles, in pasta and rice or as a pizza or potato topping.
Tofu is another versatile and economical meat alternative. Use regular tofu in stir-fries or casseroles, barbecue it or add
it to salads.
Make your own tasty stock for soup from a left over chicken carcass you’ve had and trimmings from vegetables – celery leaves, mushroom stalks, tomato and pumpkin cores. Freeze them for another day if you’re not ready to use them.

Eating well and on a budget – it is possible:

No need to cook at all!

You don’t need to cook every day if you don’t want to – you can still get nutritious, enjoyable meals very easily and quite cheaply. You may also enjoy exploring markets, supermarket and delicatessen shelves and green grocers for new products!

Ready-made salads, soup, cooked meat, fresh fruit salads from supermarkets or delicatessens are great to grab on the go.
Supermarkets sell some great ready-made single serve meals – frozen or fresh (deli or fridge section) – keep a few favourites in the freezer for times when you feel like an easy meal.

Angling for some fresh fish?

If you like your fish really fresh, you can always catch it yourself! Remember to always stay safe – if you’re by yourself let someone know where you’re going and for how long. If you’re a Seniors Card holder or aged over 70 you will not need a fishing licence in Victoria.

Ask for a free hard copy of the Victorian Recreational Fishing Guide from your local fishing tackle shop or call the Department of Primary Industries on 136 186 or go to

Fabulous food for one

Cook a barbecue for yourself and throw everything on it!
Use a casserole dish, slow cooker or single pot to cook a lean cut of meat and vegetables. Eat one serve and freeze the rest.
Stir-fries, curries and rice are great ‘one pot’ meals – add plenty of vegetables.
Try ready-cooked rice available in small packets in supermarkets – try brown rice for a high fibre change.
Add to delivered meals with fresh vegetables and fruit, fresh wholemeal bread or toast, and salads.
Find a cafe or restaurant close to home where you can have a coffee or eat in comfort and get to know the staff and other customers.
Freshly prepared or canned soups make hearty, convenient meals.
Add leftover or canned or frozen vegetables to an omelette.
Small pita breads make quick and easy single serve pizza bases. Choose grainy or wholemeal ones to boost fibre. Put some in the freezer for another time.
Buy fruit at different stages of ripeness – one that’s ripe and ready to eat, another that’s ready for tomorrow and one for a few days from now.

After my wife died I didn’t know how I was going to feed myself. Then I found all her old recipes in a box on top of the fridge. I now make my favourite stew once a week and freeze it in portions. I also make a big pot of a different soup each week.

Roger, Strathmore

With the children now gone, I often eat alone and am happy to do so as long as the food is good. When I am cooking for myself, I like being a little extravagant. I might purchase a nice beef fillet for stir-frying with some fresh greens.

Elizabeth Chong

Fun growing your own food

Growing your own produce in the garden is rewarding, often tastes better than bought goods and can save you money. Plus, you know you’re eating fresh food and tending the garden helps keep you active.

Got limited space? Grow your produce in pots: herbs, tomatoes, lettuce, silver beet, bok-choy, spinach, strawberries, rhubarb, citrus and olive trees all grow well in pots. Try pruning your citrus or stone-fruit trees into a hedge shape or espaliered along a fence for extra interest in the garden. Or experiment with growing your plants in unusual containers – an old bath, or an old wheelbarrow that can be moved around to get the sun.
Search on the internet and in book shops and plant nurseries for information about growing vegetables in small spaces, even spaces with little sun.
Some councils run community gardens – it’s a great way to meet people in your neighbourhood. Phone your local council or check its website to find out about community gardens in your area (see
Too much food to eat on your own? You can always make jams or chutneys, or share and exchange food with family, friends or neighbours.
Perhaps you could ask a neighbour for a plot of space in their garden, and share the produce.

Limited cooking facilities, limited space

Many people have limited cooking equipment and limited space. This may be because of the type of housing they choose to live in – including caravans! Even in small spaces and with limited cooking equipment there are lots of choices for enjoyment, variety and fun with food. Don’t let a small barbecue, one hot plate, a toaster oven,
a mini microwave oven or a shared kitchen stop grand ideas. There are recipe books for all these types of cooking too!

Enjoying food with children

Kids love discovering new foods. Sharing these experiences with your grandchildren, neighbours or friends’ children or grandchildren can be rewarding and fun!

Include children in safe, enjoyable aspects of food preparation. They are much more likely to try something new if they have a hand in preparing it.
Prepare healthy snacks such as chopped raw vegetables and fruit. Depending on their age you can use it as an opportunity for them to learn colours, shapes and names of foods.
Include children in gardening, especially picking ripe tomatoes and berries. If you don’t have produce in your garden, go on an excursion to pick some (eating some while enjoying the experience). This will help kids appreciate where food comes from.
Have a picnic in the local park or the backyard.
Give them the challenge of planning and preparing a meal themselves, with your help to shop, prepare, cook and enjoy together.

There is great pleasure in being able to pick something from your own garden to cook and eat immediately. It is certainly quicker and easier than going down to the supermarket! Herbs are particularly easy to grow and use because you can snip off a few herbs that you need and there is no wastage. It is so rewarding because they taste so different when they are fresh from your garden.

Elizabeth Chong

My grandkids set up a garden at their school and showed me how. Now I’m growing my own carrots, strawberries, tomatoes and green beans. I’m going to start a herb garden next.

Maureen, East Doncaster

Making food shopping fun

Shopping for food can be a great social activity, especially when you discover new foods and great places to buy it.

Farmers markets are popping up all over Victoria and supply all kinds of fresh foods and home-grown produce. Farmers markets are great to discover with friends (see
Look for fresh food shops and delicatessens in your area. These types of shops are a treasure-trove of new and fresh tastes and often have ready-made meals such as quiches or pies.
Investigate the cuisine of other cultures. There are many Asian, Middle-eastern and Jewish supermarkets that stock foods
that you might never have tried. Even the aromas in these shops can introduce you to new sensations.
Keep your eye out for international food fairs run by councils or local fetes organised by community groups or schools.
Buy a shopping jeep or trolley (or suggest it as a birthday or other gift from family or friends) and walk to local shops or markets.
Make a day of it – plan an outing with a friend to a food market. For example, the Queen Victoria Market, Footscray Market, Dandenong Market, or markets where you live.
If it’s difficult for you to get to the shops, investigate online food shopping or phone orders from
your local supermarket – they often have a delivery service. Ask your local council if you are eligible for shopping support.

My neighbour and I take it in turns to do the shopping. We buy the large boxes of cereal and divide them up between us. We get as much in bulk as we can.