ideas for pureed food for an adult please

[Deleted User]

lessonlearned wrote: »

Thanks for that.

Not tried lamb yet but lamb shanks should be nice and soft to puree.

Unfortunately soupy/broth type of meals are not usually suitable because they are too liquid and he would run the risk of choking and aspiration. All drinks, soups etc have to be thickened and the thickener does tend to spoil the taste of food. So ideally I think we are looking at a fairly thick smooth puree - no lumps or fibres...

You can use potato to thicken things rather than the thickener. I use this to make thick soups which are easier to carry to work.

Here is a nice tasty soup.

Roasted red pepper soup (4 portions)

De-seed 3 large red peppers and cut into large chunks. Brush with olive oil and season with pepper, garlic and anything else you fancy.

Roast in the oven until slightly blackened. Take tinned chopped, or plum tomatoes and add to the peppers. Heat until the tomatoes are hot and then remove peppers and tomatoes from the oven. Chop and boil two medium potatoes (leave the skins on). When the potatoes are cooked mix into the peppers and tomatoes. Crumble two stock cube on top and add basil and oregano.

Blend to the right consistency by adding a little water. You could make this very thick almost like a puree if you wanted too.

Look for vegan recipes on how to use a potato to set food. You can peel them, cook them slightly then blitz with a bit of water. The resulting starchy sludge will set anything including quiche.

lessonlearned

Thanks for the potato thickener tip - will definitely look into that.

SALT have been very good.

They prescribed a particular thickener which agreed with OH. The GP practice changed the prescription to save money and went for a cheaper option. It was a disaster.

It took me several months of fighting but eventually SALT sent the GP surgery a very strongly worded letter telling them that they simply had to stick to the original prescription.

I do get tired of the endless fighting - hence the reason why I have decided to do more of OH's food prep and cooking. It's just quicker and easier than the endless battles.

I know I shouldn't have to and that I should carry on battling it out. However, given that his illness is now in the terminal stages I prefer to do things myself to ensure that he gets the best care and that includes decent food.

Oddly enough I ended up doing exactly the same thing when my father was in hospital over 10 years ago.

Some things never change……...

lostinrates

I think the ideas above of mixed plates are good.

A mixed plate of baba ganoush, houmous and some kind of oniony tomato maybe Harissa pur!e is suddenly not a sacrifice but a treat!

Then a fish plat of mackeral pate, with something like a tart gooseberry pur!e, like a traditional relish.

Taramasalata with a yogurt, pur!ed ( presalted and Drained) cumber and mint and some thing else sort of med inspired.


The idea of lovely little bursts of flavours would help get round the sameyness of texture best. Especially if you can theme them to feel like 'real' meals. As you have said his tastes are broad and exotic I think it helps a lot!

scaredy_cat

lessonlearned wrote: »

:rotfl::rotfl:

Cracking idea. I would love to see their faces - especially if they have a bored disinterested carer mush it all up together and just keep shovelling it in.

Twice this week my husband has been unable to eat their offerings because the food was served cold. You would think that the carers would have the nous to check that the food was at least hot enough. There would at least be a chance of it being reasonably edible if it was served at the right temperature.

Not rocket science is it. Nothing worse than cold hot food.

The food used to be really good, nourishing, appetising, well balanced meals, presented nicely and always a choice of two main courses. Technically it's still two choices - take it or leave it.

I don't know whether she is just a very poor cook or whether the owners have slashed the budget so much that she just cannot deliver.

I can appreciate that cooking for over 40 people with various dietary needs must be difficult but something has gone badly wrong of late.

I will definitely be raising this issue with the management. I will check out when the next family/resident's meeting is due first.

you can raise a complant with the CQC if you have already spoken to the home manager and nothing has improved.

lessonlearned

scaredy_cat wrote: »

you can raise a complant with the CQC if you have already spoken to the home manager and nothing has improved.

There were two different carers involved, both new to the home and both young and inexperienced so I have given them the benefit of the doubt.

I have explained the problem to them and have given them the opportunity to get it right next time. That should do the trick, if not then obviously I will deal with it.

Rather than simply going over a carer's head, reporting them to the manager and getting them into trouble, I generally find it's better to talk to the carer direct, explain our difficulties and then help them to work out a solution.

OH cannot speak at all and until a carer gets to know him then it's very difficult for them to ascertain his needs and know his little quirks and preferences.

I find the "jungle telegraph" works well in these situations because I usually only have to mention it one carer and they then pass on the information among themselves.

I have a very good relationship with his carers. They seem to appreciate the fact that I don't run around "telling tales" and reporting them for every little mistake.

I've noticed that they work long shifts for very little pay and the work is very demanding. Many of them seem to have no real training, they are just thrown in at the deep end and have to learn on the job.

Prior to my OH going into the nursing home I was his primary carer for several years so I know from personal experience just how demanding the work is. Add the fact that the home, like many others, are nearly always short staffed it's easy to see how things are rushed, why the carers take short cuts sometimes and why things like checking food temps are sometimes overlooked.

Now that I have drawn their attention to this matter I feel confident that should OH refuse food again the carers in question will think to check that the food is the correct temperature.

If not, then they will have to answer to me:rotfl: I am quite capable of tearing a strip off them should it be necessary……

I've only had to do it once. Everyone soon got the message that I wasn't to be messed with and that I watch over my OH like a tigress watches over her cubs.

No the real issue here is the quality of food on offer, the fact that it tastes so bland and the menu is so monotonous. I appreciate that a lot of the residents will be on a salt free diet but you can still add flavour without resorting to salt.

Today I asked the cook why there was only one menu choice for the main course and she told me that it was an edict from the NH owners as a cost cutting measure. She went on to say that she can "rustle something up" if a resident doesn't like the dish of the day.

I wonder how many residents are aware of this, and even if they were, I'm guessing that the majority of them would be unable to request an alternative because most of them are unable to communicate effectively due to their illnesses (mostly neurological).

I will be looking further into this, chatting with residents and their families etc and sounding them out. I'm sure I won't be the only one to have concerns about the drop in standards.

In the meantime my top priority is to see that OH is well fed - even if it means me cooking most of his meals myself. I visit him everyday so it's no real hardship for me. I just need to get organised and widen my repertoire.

Anyway you've all come up trumps. You've given me lots of ideas, tips and recipes. I've no excuse now - I shall have to whip up some seriously delicious culinary delights for him.

Thank you all so much for your help. It is greatly appreciated.

Fen1

I hope the quality and feeding issues are being resolved.

A little while ago James Martin did an expose on the dreadful food in hospitals. It might give you some ideas. There is also a link on contacting Martin himself.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01cbwfm

http://www.jamesmartinchef.co.uk/contact/#.U8oVmbEfwtI

JustKeepSwimming_2

Just a few thoughts, I've no experience of this so apologies if I suggest anything inappropriate or sound patronising -

would gluten-free pasta/rice based pasta puree up any better than ordinary pasta (assuming its the gluten that can cause problems with sticking?)

would ensuring that your OH's food is served in plates with separate small sections on them (like I remember from primary school) help - then the carers wouldn't be able to mush it all together? Or does the NH have to use their own plates for H&S reasons (insert roll eyes smiley)

I add a dollop of creamed horseradish (or even a tiny bit of wasabi) to lots of things to get an extra zing, especially vegetables.

I found curries made in the slow cooker, then pureed up seemed to provide a better taste (fish curry was a favourite with my Dad even if it was somewhat anti-social).

I do hear you on the being tired of fighting & wish you well. Good luck with trying to sort out the food issue within the NH - I think your idea of getting the other residents' families involved is excellent. I was a part time carer for a short while & that was absolutely exhausting.

I've had a few health problems (all minor compared to what you & your OH have been through) but what surprised me was how those looking after me sometimes missed really obvious (to me) things - when I questioned them they simply hadn't thought about whatever was wrong & we're usually a little sheepish when they saw it from my side. Hopefully now you've pointed things out it will be better for all at the NH.

suzybloo

We had this problem when my mother was ill ( motor neurone disease) and everything had to be pur!ed and of a thickish consistency. One of her favourites was smoked haddock and mashed potatoes mixed with a cheese sauce. You can then alter the consistency with the sauce. Stewed lamb and vegetables pur!ed were fine, the fat content of the lamb was helpful to keep the Calories up compared to the likes of chicken, not much but every one counts! Puddings were easier, custard, semolina mixed with stewed rhubarb and ginger, apple and cinnamon and even good old gingerbread. Home made yogurt was helpful as the consistency was thicker than bought and could be flavoured with whatever she fancied. One thing that was to the fore was using the full fat options in every case. Lentil or thick pea and ham soup was great, pur!ed well and the flavour of the ham hock was strong enough that the meat was not required to much in the mix.
Hope this helps.

lessonlearned

Thanks JKS and Suzy. Some great ideas there.

JKS I think you are right.

I think sometimes carers/nurses etc just don't always think. Sometimes you do have to explain things in detail.

One of his carers is superb. He told me he asked someone to catch him off guard and just start washing his face without forewarning him. He said he wanted to try and put himself in the position of being a patient to know how it felt to be on the receiving end of such casual disrespect.

I have to say that all of his carers are fantastic. I don't think the nh owners and managers really appreciate the high calibre of their staff. Most of them appear to have had very little training but I work closely with them, explaining my husbands needs and preferences and we usually manage to take good care of him between us. His communication problems do compound the difficulties but I am usually able to work out what he wants.

I think the cook is well meaning even if she isn't top notch. I think she does try but she just seems to lack any real flair. I think the tight budget constraints would probably stretch the most imaginative chef.

I've noticed that she has started adding curries and chillis to her repertoire since I've started taking them into my OH. She even attempted boeuf burginion the other day. There's hope yet.....

The horseradish sounds good and my husband loves smoked haddock so I'll try that this week.

I did wonder about gluten so trying gluten free pasta is well worth a try. I'll give macaroni cheese a go.

You guys have really come up trumps with some brilliant ideas.

A huge thank you.

whitewing

If you are really short of time, my DD used to sometimes have the Ella's Kitchen range of pureed fruit. They were delicious. I never tried their savoury versions though. They were also in a pouch with a screwtop which was very handy.