At 87, let her eat what she wants to eat. There is not much more damage to be done, especially not by some plant based food. Especially if she has early signs of dementia, she's already started to lose so much, let her have what she wants.
Be happy her cravings aren’t for candy, cookies, cake, ice cream, chocolates, potatoes, rice, whole lobster, king crab legs, rib eye steak, caviar, champagne at every lunch and dinner. At least her cravings have lots of fiber, and healthy content! It could be a worse (and more expensive) set of cravings!
Oh my....if that is the only problem that you have with your "precious mom" who has dementia, please count your many blessings. Everything you have listed is very healthy for your mom, so please don't try and make an issue out of something that clearly isn't, but instead be grateful that your mom even in her dementia is choosing to eat healthy. And like others have said, at this point in your moms life she should be able to eat whatever she wants, whenever she wants if she enjoys it.
Why is this a problem? The only thing that would make it a problem is if she has diarrhea or incontinence of bowel. Just let her enjoy the foods she likes. Whatever makes her happy at this point is a good thing.
It could be she associates those things with a period of her life (maybe childhood) when she was happier. Whatever it is, let her have as much as she wants. Halve the grapes.
I was thinking the same thing, all these foods are great for the body especially cubumbers. Plenty of water and very low in calories. Really, can't get too much.
My mother with vascular dementia craves sugar and salt. She doesn't get much salt at the memory care, but if I take her out, I don't argue with her about salt or sugar. She just had a McDonald's burger, fries and sundae. I mean, she has a terminal illness, and she's not enjoying her life as it stands right now, so I let her eat what she asks for without fighting. Cucumbers and lettuce and grapes are the kind of thing I crave when I'm dehydrated. And oranges.
Those all contain a lot of water. Perhaps she isn't drinking enough. She might also like jello, which is another good way to get water. Does eat other foods to get enough protein?
If she has trouble swallowing liquids, try a thickening agent. I like the Nestle Resource Thicken Up. It is clear and tasteless. A lot of the thickeners you can buy in your drugstore, in giant containers, are simply cornstarch, and make the liquids chalky or pasty. My husband only drinks thickened protein shakes for his nutrition. I use vanilla Boost, milk, water, instant pudding mix, a thickener, and some fruit juice for flavor, usually strawberry or orange. He gets all the protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and liquid he needs in a day. If I have some, I will add some mashed sweet potato or banana.
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Everything you have listed is very healthy for your mom, so please don't try and make an issue out of something that clearly isn't, but instead be grateful that your mom even in her dementia is choosing to eat healthy.
And like others have said, at this point in your moms life she should be able to eat whatever she wants, whenever she wants if she enjoys it.
Cucumbers and lettuce and grapes are the kind of thing I crave when I'm dehydrated. And oranges.
She might also like jello, which is another good way to get water.
Does eat other foods to get enough protein?
If she has trouble swallowing liquids, try a thickening agent. I like the Nestle Resource Thicken Up. It is clear and tasteless. A lot of the thickeners you can buy in your drugstore, in giant containers, are simply cornstarch, and make the liquids chalky or pasty.
My husband only drinks thickened protein shakes for his nutrition. I use vanilla Boost, milk, water, instant pudding mix, a thickener, and some fruit juice for flavor, usually strawberry or orange. He gets all the protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and liquid he needs in a day. If I have some, I will add some mashed sweet potato or banana.
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