A Senior Living Residence With Award-Winning Food Is The First Of Its Kind In The US

Many families with loved ones in senior living know that meal planning often seems more like an afterthought, a necessary routine to keep residents sufficiently fed. But that doesn't always mean the food is tasty, nutritious, or geared toward healthier lifestyles — especially when it comes to brain health. Fortunately, there's a pioneer in the world of assisted living, one that focuses on exactly that. It's called Senior Living Residences (SLR), and its award-winning approach to food is the first of its kind in the United States. 

Since SLR's first community opened in 1994, it has grown into a portfolio of 20 owner-manager properties across New England, including communities in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and New Jersey. The footprint ranges from independent living facilities to assisted living and memory care, all adhering to the dining model of high-quality food and precisely planned nutrition. SLR has a specific focus on how food links with brain health, launching a "Brain Healthy Cooking" program in 2009. 

It took several years to develop the nutrition-based concept, which draws quite heavily on the well-known Mediterranean diet, combined with established studies on things like cardiovascular health, regulating blood sugar and diabetes, and facilitating cognitive well-being. SLR isn't the only organization recognizing the benefits of a Mediterranean diet on brain health, but they've certainly been pioneers in building a research-based, assisted-living food program centered directly on preventing and managing Alzheimer's and dementia. SLR's Brain Healthy Cooking program has been honored with a Spirit of Innovation Award and National Mature Media Awards in 2012 and 2013, respectively, plus numerous accolades for its focus on memory-care issues. Here's a closer look at how the company's intensive brain-healthy food program plays out in dining rooms across its collection of communities.   

The Brain Healthy Cooking program developed by Senior Living Residences isn't just for those already struggling with memory loss. But the company does acknowledge scientific researching indicating that brain damage can start long before symptoms and diagnosis of Alzheimers disease, sometimes decades earlier. So sticking to a brain-healthy diet can be crucial in protecting your brain and potentially keeping the disease from developing and/or progressing. 

It all happens through healthy foods on daily menus, which in turn create tasty, appealing meals on plates. The Mediterranean-style menu at SLR dining rooms is all about veggies, fruits, nuts, whole grains, olive oil, eggs, lean meats, fish, seafood, herbs, and spices. From Omega three fatty acids to antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, they all figure into the equation on a daily basis. Freshness and sourcing are a big part of what makes it all work, which tracks with studies showing that eating processed foods affects cognitive behavior. Farm-to-table menus are planned in part by coordinating with local producers and food sources. From summer produce to earthy autumn and winter root veggies and grains, the fresh ingredients facilitate a seasonal approach to cooking and eating. 

Chefs at each facility prepare traditional familiar foods from scratch, but upscale them with natural, healthy ingredients. For example, interesting spices and seasonings coax out inherent flavors in the foods, reducing the need for excess salt, while healthier fats and natural sweeteners swap in for saturated fats and standard refined sugars.

Institution-style dining can be disheartening to seniors who've spent their entire lives living, eating, and cooking independently per their own tastes and preferences. That's one area where chefs at Senior Living Residences really shine, incorporating flexibility into the approach. Instead of following corporately planned menus across all facilities, the executive chefs at each location prepare daily menus based on specific tastes. Chefs interact with residents, take requests, incorporate favorite regional dishes, and plan for religious or ethnic traditions.

A good example of how this plays out in real life is at SLR Marlboro in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The dining room is similar to eating at a regular restaurant: There's open seating, menus from which to choose meals, and servers taking orders and delivering food. The community offers all-day dining from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and apart from featured dishes each day, residents can order anytime from a selection of sandwiches, grilled foods, and salads.

Food culture inside the communities taps into outside trends, shown in things like the annual SLR Top Chef Cook-Off, where chefs across the company's assisted living communities prepare wide-ranging international cuisines, competing with one another for taste, authenticity, and alignment with standards of the Brain Healthy Cooking program. These kinds of things reinforce the idea that, just as in their younger independent days, seniors still thrive when sharing meals and socially engaging with friends and neighbors — all while building nutrition-based good health. It's an approach not regularly found in American senior living communities.

For deeper insights into how food and dining affects seniors, check out Tasting Table's report on how food inflation is affecting the health of older adults, and discover 11 grocery stores that offer senior discounts.