A Cookbook for Caregivers: A caregiver's guide to cooking healthy meals that support brain health in seniors, children and even yourself. - Paperback

by Janet Laidler (Author)

This 2018 Gourmand International Award winning book is especially made for burgeoning population of caregivers who are cooking for their aging parents on a daily basis. But it is more than just recipes in a cookbook. This is a step-by-step guide to managing time for meal planning, shopping, preparation and serving healthy, delicious meals. Janet Laidler, a professional chef and former caregiver, developed it based on the foods and phytonutrients that are proven to help reverse the effects of aging on our brains. The recommendations in this book focus on specific foods for anti-aging, protein rotation, and plain old fashioned taste! And, it extends beyond seniors, as our diet affects our well-being at any age. Janet found that people still want to eat the food they grew up with whether it is good for them or not. This book features recipes for common comfort meals presenting fresh combinations of food intended to help the absorption of nutrients through the blood-brain barrier. Even working parents with children and teens, young professionals or grad students with little time on their hands will appreciate the time saving methods for preparing fresh grocery-to-table meals. This book makes it so much easier than a traditional cookbook. The book provides a week's worth of meals, a list of the kitchen tools needed, and a grocery list. Every meal's preparation is timed out with step-by-step instructions. You go to the store only once, and by the end of the week, all of the food is used...no waste. Everything is fresh, tastes better and is healthier. When she cooked for her parents, she saw a noticeable improvement in their attentiveness and energy. She talked to their doctor and the nurse at the home care agency about getting them healthier meals, explaining the improvement she saw. They both told her there are no guides or books for caregivers about cooking for home care or seniors, just regular cookbooks. After searching the internet and bookstores, and could find nothing that addressed the needs of caregivers for recipes and meal planning, let alone guides for shopping or time management. And certainly nothing about the importance of protein rotation and the planning that alone requires. So, she wrote the book herself and this book fills that void. "Everyone, sometime in their life, will take care of the elderly. Our mother, father, family member or very close friend will need special, enduring care. Ms. Laidler has written a gem. She has solved the nutrition question of, "What nutritious food do we provide the person in our care?" Well, here it is, your step by step instructional guide to ensure that your loved one will eat and receive a balanced, well rounded diet. This is a book is every caretaker should own." Robert Milne, MD; Milne Medical Institute, Las Vegas, NV

Author Biography

Janet Laidler was born and raised in southeastern Michigan and currently resides in Las Vegas, NV. As a private chef she is also educated and worked in the field health, fitness, as a personal trainer, behavioral psychology and nutrition. She holds certificates and degrees from Ritz Escoffier, Paris, France, Eastern Michigan University, The University of Kentucky and Western Michigan University. Her lifetime passion has been living and teaching a healthy lifestyle through exercise and good food choices. She believes absolutely the effect food and exercise has on our general wellness and cognition throughout our lifetime, but especially on how it affects our aging. The inspiration to write this book came when she was overseeing the care of her elderly parents. Her mother had Alzheimer's and father Parkinson's Disease. Though they are no longer with us, she hopes others will continue to enjoy the benefits of the book.