Food and Nutrition is very important for the elderly
The Head Chefs at Safe Harbor residential care homes are responsible for, and take pride in offering a balanced, nutritious diet. We use fresh, quality ingredients, to meet all our residents' preferences including any specific dietary requirements. Feedback is always welcomed to ensure the needs of residents are being met and to ensure that
menus cover the types of food that residents like.
Every resident is offered a hearty breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, afternoon tea and an evening meal. Safe Harbor uses fresh produce rather than frozen (where possible) and our menus are assessed for nutritional validation. The menu is varied and changes weekly and the staff will cater for any special dietary requirements you may have. You will be asked for your meal choice at lunchtime the previous day. If Service Users choose to remain in their own rooms for meals, they are welcome to do so.
All residents are encouraged to join the community in the dining rooms at mealtimes, however, if you wish your meals can be served in the comfort of your own room. Our staff are well-trained to ensure residents’ individual needs and preferences are understood and catered for. Feedback is always welcome to ensure this continues and that menus cover the types of food that residents like.
Along with all our healthy meals we also have fun with themed suppers , such as;
- Pie and Pint Night
- Fish Supper Evening
- Olde World Foods etc
Other special events are our residents' birthdays. These are always celebrated with a birthday cake and a sing song to help make their day even more special.
To ensure that we meet individual needs, we are committed to producing good quality, appetising meals, with the same high standards for those residents who have smaller appetites but still need an adequate intake of calories and nutrients and for those who have difficulty eating or swallowing food.
To meet these challenges we have produced a variety of innovative solutions, which we believe sets us apart from any other care provider.
Enriched food
Residents who eat only a quarter or half of the food offered could be at risk of losing weight, which can have a detrimental impact on health and well-being. We therefore enrich food for those who need it to provide the right amount of calories and nutrients into a smaller volume of food.
For example, a small portion of white sauce would provide 18 calories and 1.2 g of protein. Add a teaspoon of double cream, a teaspoon of skimmed milk and 10g of cheese and the calorie value is increased to 119 and provides 5 g of protein.
Modified textures
About one in three of our residents requires some level of texture modification of their food. This can be to accommodate 'soft diets' where the food is soft enough to be mashed by a fork but still retains some texture, or a pureed diet, where food has a smooth, even texture and is free from lumps.
At Safe Harbor, we believe that residents requiring texture modified foods can still enjoy the delicious items planned into the days standard menu.
We are able to produce soft or pureed food which allows us to maintain the highest of nutritional, appetising standards for all of our residents. The images below show meat and vegetables in all 3 stages of texture modification; in it's original form, as a 'soft' diet and finally as a pureed diet. Each stage still looks colourful and appetising and retains it's true flavour.
We have been working very hard recently to tailor menus around the preferences of the residents in our care. We understand that this is an ongoing process however we are happy to show you an example of our current menus.
We have a 4 weekly rolling menu cycle, Please select here for a SAMPLE weekly MENU here
At the start of June 2022 we have started to develop daily menus for our residents. Please see below or CLICK HERE for an example of this
Modified Menu textures for those who require modified food and or fluids - known as Dysphagia
We are also able to cater for those who have difficulty eating or swallowing food - known as Dysphagia. This is something we will work closely with various healthcare professionals and specialists to ensure we are offering the correct textures of food and fluids for each person.
Dysphagia is the medical term for swallowing difficulties.
Some people with dysphagia have problems swallowing certain foods or liquids, while others can't swallow at all.
Other signs of dysphagia include:
- coughing or choking when drinking or eating
- bringing food back up, sometimes through the nose
- a sensation that food is stuck in your throat or chest
- persistent drooling of saliva
- being unable to chew food properly
- a gurgly, wet-sounding voice when eating or drinking
Over time, dysphagia can also cause symptoms such as weight loss and repeated chest infections. For more information on Dysphagia please click here.
We follow the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI) framwork which was founded in 2013 with the goal of developing new international standardised terminology and definitions to describe texture modified foods and thickened liquids used for individuals with dysphagia of all ages, in all care settings, and all cultures. For more information about the IDDSI Framework please click here.
For more information about our menus, nutrition or anything else - please click here to contact us
Our homes
