Healthy food for seniors shouldn't be boring.

"Stop watering down food for seniors," says Ray, star of the Food Network's "30 Minute Meals" show and author of a series of recipe cookbooks. "There's no excuse for making food dull, lifeless and boring," the popular food host advises family caregivers.

Ray said that adult children often assume their loved ones need bland food. "What they really want is good flavor. Cook to impress, cook to be excited or, at the very least, cook to share," Ray said.

Nearly half (44 percent) of family caregivers surveyed in a Harris Interactive[R] poll conducted for the eldercare company Home Instead Senior Care help their loved ones cook, while 59 percent assist with grocery shopping. Home Instead Senior Care often steps in to assist the elderly with meal preparations when their family caregivers can't. "We know from experience that seniors like their mealtimes to be interesting ... not just the food, but the setting, the companionship and the conversation," said Al Jensen, owner of the local Home Instead Senior Care office serving the Western San Fernando Valley and Santa Clarita, just one of 15 local offices in LA County. "Appetizing meals are an important part of seniors' lives, and vital to their physical and emotional well-being,"

Ray, who was raised in a multi-generational Sicilian restaurant family, said she was lucky to share food with many generations. "I think that maps you out for life. Nobody can fight when they taste delicious food and they're together. There's something really intimate about it."

Food also helps seniors reconnect with the past, Ray said. "What's great about food is the nostalgia factor that ties all of us to where we're from. So it's a wonderful tool for seniors who are having trouble with memory or dementia or an illness that has removed them from the world. Food can allow them to travel in the amount of time it takes to go to the grocery store. If they're from Russia or Germany or France or Ireland, give them food from those places and take them back to the things that make them feel good, whole, happy and excited about living."

Be creative to liven up food while staying within a senior's dietary guidelines, said Ray, who advocates moderation rather than denial. Here's how Ray recommends adding flavor to a senior's diet without compromising good health:

Add low-sodium, no-salt stock to a sauce to make it taste like it has been simmering all day. Likewise, cook rice in chicken or vegetable stock rather than water, and replace cream with stock when making mashed potatoes for a flavorful, low-fat alternative.

Fresh herbs are a no-fat addition, and readily available in grocery stores to brighten the flavor of salads, dressing and sauces.

Purchase better cuts of meat for better flavor and less fat. Seniors shouldn't sacrifice quality, Ray said, even if they're on a budget. "Never buy less than a ground sirloin because of the fat content. Don't buy fatty foods as opposed to lean, healthy meats to save pennies because in the end you're not, you have to trim. And the amount of waste balanced against lean clean meat is negligible. A small amount of lean protein is better than a larger amount of fatty protein."

Stock up on fresh meats and vegetables when they're on sale, then divide and freeze them. "Prepared foods are not good for seniors because they can't control the amount of salts, fats and additives," Ray said. "They should spend the money instead on prepared raw foods they can finish cooking, which will taste better to them as well."

Both Ray and Home Instead Senior Care's Jensen said that it's important to involve seniors in meal preparation as much as possible. "Our CAREGivers get to know seniors' likes and favorite recipes and often help them prepare those special dishes," Jensen said.

Having help in the kitchen can make the difference between whether a senior eats well or not, Ray said. "But even if a senior can't help prepare the food, have them in the room when you're cooking, talk to them, let them smell it and feel it," Ray added. "It's a visceral experience that involves all the senses and makes seniors feel whole. It doesn't just fill you up, it makes you feel alive."

Information for this article was provided by Home Instead Senior Care. To learn more, visit www.homeinstead.com.