Food matters, and the quality and presentation of pureed food served to your care home residents, REALLY matters. If residents are well fed, with nutritious, appetising and visually appealing meals that are served to them in a dignified way, they will eat more, improving their nutrition levels and overall wellbeing while reducing food wastage.
Due to a basic lack of information, resources and available training for catering staff in care settings, many residents with swallowing difficulties (dysphagia) who require texture modified diets will be served pureed food, which is shapeless, tasteless, nutritionally deficient and visually unpalatable. Each year, individuals of all ages all around the world are diagnosed with feeding or swallowing difficulties. Put simply, dysphagia can be described as difficulty moving food, liquid, saliva or medication from the mouth to the stomach.
With dysphagia affecting up to 70% of residents in care homes and 50% of these residents are thought to be malnourished producing a real challenge facing care providers today.
Able is passionate about providing innovative products into care homes and have a complete solution to assist care providers improve the quality and presentation of pureed meals, thereby increasing appetite, quality of life and dignity for the people they support.
Managing Director, Myles Cook commented, ‘Our wide range of food moulds, paired with a food thickener, help to shape pureed meat, vegetables and fruit back into their natural shapes, creating more visually appealing and tastier meals.
See the difference? Moulded food is much more visually appealing
Introducing effective pureed meals is not difficult, but there are some important points to follow. Pureed meals…
- Should have the same taste, look and nutritional value as a normal texture diet.
- Should be presented at mealtimes as separate food items, not blended together.
- Requires a blender or food processor (and possibly a strainer) to achieve a smooth, thick, lump-free texture.
- Must meet daily dietary requirements.
- Can be made up of small, nutritionally fortified, frequent meals to ensure nutritional adequacy is achieved.
Pureeing meals changes their characteristics, for example:
Particle size: Puree food is completely smooth and lump-free and feels smooth when tasted (similar in consistency to a commercial pudding).
Moisture: Solids and liquids do not separate.
Stickiness: Food will hold shape on a spoon but must pour/slide off if spoon is tilted or lightly shaken.
Softness: No chewing or biting is required. Solids and liquids are one. No lumps observed.
Preparation is easy and produces wonderful results!
Step 1: Puree
Place cooked food in a food processor and puree until a smooth, thick, lump-free consistency is achieved.
Step 2: Thicken
Add a small amount of food thickener to the puree to ensure the food can retain its new shape when it is removed from the mould and is reheated. Look for a puree mixture consistency which will hold shape on a spoon but pours/slides off if spoon is tilted or lightly shaken.
Step 3: Mould
Using a spatula, evenly distribute the puree into the individual mould cavities. Cover the moulds with the mould lid and place in the freezer to set for a minimum of 4 hours. NB: to save space, frozen moulded food portions can be placed in suitable freezer bags, logged and labelled in accordance with HACCP requirements.
Step 4: Present
Once frozen, remove the individual food portions from the mould onto a plate. Cover and allow to thaw in the fridge.
Step 5: Heat and Serve
Cover moulded meal with heatproof cover to retain moisture and reheat to 75 degrees.
If you’re ready to prepare more appealing meals for those under your care, check out our supply of food moulds and thickener. If you need any guidance or advice, don’t hesitate to contact me, I’ll be happy to help you find the best solution.
