Treats and Snacks to Enjoy with Your Family During National Fall Foliage Week
Caregiver in Lowell MI
September 27 through October 3 is National Fall Foliage Week. As a family caregiver in the sandwich generation, this is the ideal opportunity for you to find fun and memorable ways for you to 
spend quality time with both generations and allow them to enjoy the benefits of being a part of each other’s lives.
There are many ways that you can celebrate this week with your loved ones, but one of the best ways is by enjoying special treats and snacks themed after this beautiful natural phenomenon. Whether you live in an area that is known for the majesty of the fall foliage each autumn or your area never gets to see this change and so you would like to create it for yourselves, making special treats and snacks is a fun way for your family to make memories that you can carry with you well into the future. Encouraging your parent and children to make them themselves can also stimulate your parent’s mind to keep it sharper and more active while also boosting their mental and emotional health.
Try these ideas for treats and snacks to enjoy with your family during National Fall Foliage Week:
- Leaf cookies. Use your favorite sugar or butter cookie recipe to make simple, delicious cookies that you can roll out. Use leaf-shaped cookie cutters to cut out some falling foliage of your own. If you do not have such cutters, cut them out freehand. You can also print out simple outlines of leaves and use them to make cardboard templates with wax paper on the backs. Place these on the dough and then trace them with a very sharp knife. Frost the cookies with red, yellow, and orange icing.
- Leaf gelatin. If you do not like baking or are looking for a lighter treat, try making leaf gelatin. Mix up a batch of red gelatin and pour it into a lightly sprayed glass baker. Allow this to solidify most of the way and then top with a combination of flavorless gelatin, whipped cream, and sour cream. Allow this to chill for another hour and then top with a batch of yellow gelatin. Once all three layers are completely set, cut them out with leaf cookie cutters.
- Bowls of leaves. Your celebration of leaves does not have to just be about sweet indulgences. Mix it up and feel better about your care efforts by trying out a variety of “leaves” in the form of leafy green vegetables. Go for vegetables that are darker in color to get the most nutritional benefit, including minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants as well as dietary fiber. If your parent or your children have difficulty with raw vegetables, try baby versions of greens such as spinach and arugula for a softer texture and a milder flavor. You can eat these in the form of salads, stuff them into sandwiches, wilt them into soups and stews, or even blend them into your morning smoothies.
If you or someone you know needs help with caregiver services in Lowell, MI, contact Gauthier Family Home Care. We provide quality and affordable home care services in our community. Call us at (616) 258-2300 for more information.
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