Nothing beats a homecooked meal; getting in from a cold winter walk to a steaming soup, or classic shepherd’s pie, or serving up a light summer dish such as a fresh salad on a hot day. Residents in a care home shouldn’t miss out on this which is why we are proud to serve locally sourced homecooked meals at Country Lodge.
Our home-cooked meals are an important part of our everyday life at Country Lodge. In the article, we share why.
Packed full of nutrients
We don’t need to tell you that a balanced diet is important, whatever your age. In fact, we have already discussed the importance of healthy eating at our care home in a previous article.
As a care home for residents with various health conditions, residents may have specific dietary needs, allergies or intolerances that will need to be considered. We also cater for religious diets following their food guidelines should this be a resident’s wish.
The home-cooked meals offer a balanced and nutritious diet with high-quality, fresh ingredients. Having them cooked in the kitchen allows us to meet residents’ preferences and dietary requirements, as well as create appetising meals for residents who have small appetites or difficulty eating or swallowing food.
A big benefit to cooking homemade meals each day is that we are able to source locally grown and produced food, meaning that our ingredients are fresh.
Residents have a say
Even as adults, we have our favourite meals and those dishes that we would rather avoid.
Cooking meals fresh each day allows our chefs to curate a menu that residents want. Our chefs take time out of the kitchen to catch up with our residents and get their preferences on food, and any feedback on the meals that were served previously. This way, our residents still get to enjoy their favourite meals and get to share thoughts on what they liked about what they have eaten.
Our Chef has recently changed some of the menu items with great success and our residents have shared their positive feedback with us and the chefs as they enjoyed the change.
Giving our residents a voice when it comes to their food allows us to make sure they are eating the meals and are getting what they need from their food.
Flexibility to amend for dietary requirements
Cooking dishes in our own kitchen at Country Lodge means that we are able to amend them to suit a variety of dietary requirements.
Being a nursing home that cares for various health conditions, we know that food can have a big impact on the wellness of our residents. Therefore, by offering homecooked meals, we are able to amend the dishes so that they include the right nutrients for each resident and any conditions they may have.
Flexibility to amend for health conditions
We will encourage the residents at our care home to be as independent as possible if required we have adapted cutlery and crockery. We provide meals safely for residents who have difficulty with chewing or swallowing with the IDDSI framework (International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative) following assessment by SALT.
As with anything we do here at Country Lodge, maintaining the dignity of our residents is at the forefront of our minds at meal times. Homecooked meals allow us the flexibility to ensure the dignity and independence of the residents.
Catering for festivities and occasions
Nothing brightens up our days quite like a celebration and for us, food is always at the heart of a celebration.
Homecooked meals mean we can make the celebrations special for our residents, as we can tailor the meals, cakes and snacks to a resident’s preferences. It also means that we can make a celebration out of anything as our chefs can decorate cakes for any occasion (seriously, last year we celebrated the building of our Garden Lodge Rooms with construction cupcakes.)
Life is valuable, so we celebrate everyone’s birthdays here at the care home. But not all of our residents enjoy a birthday cake, so having an incredible chef in the house has seen our residents blow out candles on a tower of doughnuts before.
Wanting to learn more?
If you are looking for a care home for a loved one, get in touch with us and learn more about how we cater for various health conditions at Country Lodge.
We always recommend coming and visiting our home to get a true feeling of how we make it a home away from home for our residents. This visit will also enable you to meet our chefs and discuss any concerns you might have regarding your loved one’s dietary needs.
Book your visit today by calling our Registered Manager, Debbie, on 01903 830600, or emailing her at manager@countrylodgenursing.co.uk.