ideas for pureed food for an adult please

lessonlearned

I handle my parents finances, deal with SS, form filling etc but it is my sister who is more involved in supervising mum's care. She
has been a bit nervous and reticent about "rocking the boat". Plus I don't think she realised just how indifferent mums care really is.

Tbh I think that it's only because I have first hand experience of my OH's better care that I can see what happens with my mum and make comparisons.

I had years of caring for my husband before he finally had to go into a nursing home but for my sister it's been a steep learning curve. She's learning fast and now realises that she can speak up and voice her concerns, hence the meeting next week. She has already spoken to Social Services on this matter.

Well see what happens but I'm not holding my breath. I've had a couple of conversations with the manager and frankly I'm underwhelmed. Realistically I think we will be looking at moving my mum to a different care home.

I could have mum moved to my husbands nursing home but it is too far for my sister and dad to visit regularly.

We'll sort something out eventually.

JustKeepSwimming_2

Goodness, LL - you certainly have your hands full.

You are quite right about the care your Mother is getting - some aspects of it are completely unacceptable & the staff involved with the issues you mention cannot cite "they didn't think". That carer who tried the wash cloth experiment sounds like he has the right idea - what a brilliant (& quick) way of showing staff what it is like to be treated as a thing rather than a person.

How often do they test your Mother's urine for infections? Just when she has symptoms, or routinely? No idea about her situation, but UTI's are fairly common in the elderly, especially if they aren't being looked after/cleaned well, & they aren't being hydrated enough (I have experience of a residential home where they routinely didn't give their residents drinks after 8 pm, so that the night staff didn't have to be "wasting their time taking them to the toilet through the night" - these staff weren't as highly trained as those in nursing homes, & some hadn't been told how important hydration is :mad:).

UTI's in the elderly can present differently than in younger people - often they don't feel that uncomfortable, & as they often have other continence issues, it can be easy to pass off additional symptoms as a worsening of existing problems. They can also become quite confused & unsteady, which can often be put down to neurological problems, or normal aging.

LL - I'm sure you know this, but thought I'd post it in case somebody reading this is new to caring.

Hope the recipe testing is going well.

lessonlearned

Thanks for the tip re asking about their policy on routine urine testing.

My mum has type 2 diabetes so is at increased risk of uti's. I don't think she is encouraged to drink enough and I'm pretty sure her urine is not tested unless she shows symptoms.

She also has vascular dementia and osteoarthritis. I also think she might have osteoporosis. I have concerns about her left hand. It is contracting as is quite common with stroke victims but she practically screams if you try and touch her.

I just don't feel she is safe and well cared for. My dad and my sister have been a bit wary of speaking out and voicing their concerns but I have no such qualms.

We have a meeting tomorrow with the manager and I'll take it from there.

moneyistooshorttomention

Just to wish you luck LL in that meeting. Fingers crossed all goes well and you are able to get it sorted out to your satisfaction.

You rock that boat and make those waves if that's what it takes.

lessonlearned

Yes I will........

I'm in fine sabre rattling mode :rotfl:

JustKeepSwimming_2

Good luck for the meeting LL.

I had baked potato (cooked for too long as I forgot to take it out of the oven ) with some disgustingly blue cheese crumbled on top, then drizzled with honey for supper last night - delicious & very soft so maybe an idea? The honey takes some of the blueness out of it.

babyshoes

Wow, you have a lot on your plate! Hope you manage to get things sorted...

To add to the idea of using potato as a thickener, a quick 'cheat' that I often use to thicken stews and soups is frozen mashed potato - the benefit of it is that you can use as much or as little as you need, and it is already pureed so can be added after processing if something has turned out too runny. I also find it quite acceptable as plain mash with the addition of mayo and pepper (and sometimes a splash of cream). It's not as nice as my home made mash, but better than some people's home made that I've tasted - and of course a million times better than the powdered stuff! Perhaps it's something to consider having in the freezer in case there's a day when you are under pressure, need a carb base for a meal, and already have a strongly flavoured sauce or side dish to go with it.

Scrambled eggs with cream cheese can be made really smooth if you cook the eggs VERY slowly, then add some cream cheese just as it starts getting dry and cook for a little longer as it melts in. Perhaps try it for your own brekkie first to see if the texture is right. I often add other flavours, from mixed herbs, salt and pepper to smoked salmon and other cheeses.

When we were low-carbing some years ago, we experimented with a few non-potato mashes. Butternut is really nice if you season it well and add a good grating of nutmeg and some butter. Other squashes work too, but butternut was our favourite. Squash is also a good base for bolognese sauce - might make a nice unusual flavour combination that your hubby might appreciate. Cauliflower will mash but only if you overcook it to the extreme - if it isn't overcooked it gets stringy bits when hand mashing. I imagine it would puree fine if it was well cooked, and could then be added to cheese sauce.

If he likes food from different countries, you could try making porridge from maize meal - we used to get it for a breakfast treat in winter when I was growing up in Africa, served with a knob of butter, a good sprinkling of sugar or syrup and milk - other people like it with flavourings such as peanut butter or lemon juice. It's somewhat similar to oats porridge but isn't lumpy, though the coarse-ground texture is evident. I've seen maize meal in the 'ethnic' sections of the supermarket - just make sure it is made from white maize and not yellow maize for this recipe - they do taste quite different. Here's a link to a recipe that looks about right: http://www.zimbokitchen.com/how-to-make-traditional-zimbabwean-porridge-rehupfu-mealie-meal-porridge/
You can use the same method to make a thicker 'pap' (known by different names in different countries) which is traditionally a base for savoury dishes - again you could adjust the texture for your husband and serve it with a pureed stew or tomato based sauce.

lessonlearned

Hi Babyshoes

Thanks for that. Some great ideas there, especially the suggestions for alternatives to potatoes. He must get bored with mashed potato being the only carb. He does have porridge (with lashings of golden syrup:rotfl:) for breakfast.

Actually he's not been too well this last few days and has not really eaten much. I'm afraid he has a chest infection which is caused by his swallowing difficulties. His GP hS concerns over his left lung.

Realistically these chest infections are likely to become more frequent .....and one of them will probably end up as pneumonia and that will probably what kills him in the end.....

This time he seems to be responding to the antibiotics -just keeping my fingers crossed. He's comfortable but very tired.

The meeting with my mums care team went well. They have now made some changes to her care plan and it seems to be working. She seems to be deteriorating too but again she is more comfortable now.

In both their cases it is now just a case of keeping them comfortable and ensuring that the end, when it comes, is quiet, calm, dignified and pain free. It's all about palliative care really - sadly no miracle cures....

JustKeepSwimming_2

lessonlearned wrote: »

....The meeting with my mums care team went well. They have now made some changes to her care plan and it seems to be working. She seems to be deteriorating too but again she is more comfortable now.

In both their cases it is now just a case of keeping them comfortable and ensuring that the end, when it comes, is quiet, calm, dignified and pain free. It's all about palliative care really - sadly no miracle cures....

Glad the meeting went well, & she is more comfortable now.

Palliative care has improved a great deal, but it isn't easy to cope with, is it? At the very least you know what you want to achieve for their care with their respective palliative care teams (& support for you & the rest of your family). Thinking of you.