Tips and Hints from Bega Foodservice Senior Nutritionist and APD Jennifer Arguelles

“Much of the strengthened Aged Care Standards focuses around giving residents more choice and that may change the way some aged care facilities look at how they provide food. This might include the provision of tasty snacks which meet protein and calcium needs – these are particularly important nutrients in this demographic and using quality readymade dairy products can help fulfil these requirements while cutting down on labour and preparation time.

“There are multiple products within the Bega Foodservice range which can be used to fortify the nutritional content of meals while making them tastier and more enjoyable for residents. Dairy Farmers Instant Whole Milk Powder and wholesome Dairy Farmers Buttermilk are two great examples, and there are lots of others, some of which are shown below.”

• Consider offering residents nutritious milk-based drinks in addition to regular tea and coffee, for example M2GO Flavoured Milk which can be served as is or used as a base to make protein smoothies.
• Instead of using gravy as your go-to savoury topping, why not make up a white sauce using a base of Dairy Farmers Tasty Shredded Cheese and Dairy Farmers Instant Whole Milk Powder? This can be more flavoursome than gravy, and more nutritious too.
• Sprinkle Dairy Farmers Tasty, Mozzarella or Parmesan Shredded Cheese on top of casseroles, pastas or bread. You can also offer residents snack and mealtime options like Yoplait or Dairy Farmers Thick and Creamy Yoghurt.
• Dairy Farmers single serve Vanilla Custards have been developed specifically with the high energy and high protein requirements of aged care residents in mind and conform to IDDSI Level 6.
• It’s up to you to investigate what your residents want and enjoy and would like to eat more of. You may need to invest a little more time and effort into menu development – remember the new Aged Care Standards are all about putting residents at the forefront.