Preparing texture modified meals for people with dysphagia can be challenging for care home caterers. Dysphagia has to be carefully managed as each person’s needs can be different and must be met to prevent malnourishment and more extreme medical problems.
To support care home caterers, the Country Range Group has published a new guide full of ideas and inspiration to make mealtimes more appetising for those with dysphagia. The guide details the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI) guidelines on how to provide the right dietary support and has been created in association with consultant Andy Cullum.
“The aim of the guide is to give care home caterers who use Country Range products a better understanding about IDDSI,” says Andy. “It contains tips, tricks and innovative methods on how they can produce snacks, mains and desserts. The idea of the guide is to give caterers confidence in producing modified meals for anyone with dysphagia and to push the barriers. An IDSSI meal doesn’t have to be a blob on a plate. Most foods can be adapted to IDSSI – all you need is belief, time and practice.”
The Country Range guide provides ideas on snacks for IDDSI diets including a texture modified bread for Level 4, sausage rolls, wraps and sandwiches. Andy says, “Snacks can be difficult, but you just need to practise. To make IDDSI wraps and sausage rolls have a ‘cooked’ appearance, first wrap a baking tray with cling film and sprinkle gravy powder on top. Once the pastry and bread mix has been added to the tray, the gravy powder will soak in and make it look ‘cooked’. Simple but effective.”
Making IDDSI meals look inviting is important. Andy recommends using a piping bag. “I use a thick plastic disposable bag. The end can be tied, put on a tray and stored in a hot cupboard, this then traps in the moisture and stops the mix changing consistency. If you put a nozzle in the bag, moisture comes out of it through the nozzle and the end of your mix will go dry and won’t pass the IDSSI audit test.”
The guide gives details on how foods need to be tested during preparation. For example, with Level 4 texture modified bread, once the mix is made leave the mix for 20 minutes, then check the consistency as you may need to add more food thickener or liquid until it passes the Level 4 testing method.
Menu ideas include Katsu Curry and Braised Beef and a Battenberg cake for Level 4 using Country Range dessert mix. Andy says, “The Country Range Katsu Curry Sauce is a joy to use and works with Levels 3 to 7. We also used the Crème Dessert Mix to make Swiss rolls and snack pots.”
Andy’s advice is to be prepared. “If you’ve always got a bag of modified sponge, fruit or bread in the fridge, you’ve got something for 10.30am and 3.30pm snacks and you can alternate it on a daily basis.”
The guide is available through your local Country Range Group wholesaler or by scanning the QR code. For more information on IDDSI, visit www.iddsi.org
ANDY CULLUM’S TOP TIPS FOR CARE HOME CATERERS ARE:
• Use a dash of olive oil, vinegar and brown sugar as a grinding agent for blending lettuce. Then add milk until you achieve
the colour that is needed and thicken. This must then be passed through a sieve.
• A good quality milk powder works well for fortifying food – it’s high in protein and the saturated fats have been removed and replaced with vegetable fats.
• Always have an IDDSI prep box ready with items such as a food thickener, piping bags, scissors, pastry brush – anything you would need to prep IDDSI meals. When you start to prepare IDDSI meals, if you can’t find items you need your food will go cold.
• Always check seasoning as you may need to add salt and pepper. Taste is important as bland food will not stimulate the appetite.
• Always try and make food look like food so that residents can identify what they are eating. Remember that we eat
with our eyes first.
• When presenting a meal use the “Mum’s test”. Would you serve this meal to your Mum? If the answer is no, redo
the meal.
