FOOD & DRINK FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Tess Warnes, Dietician at food procurement specialist allmanhall, discusses seasonal eating and why it is important in a care home setting.
Fresh food comes from all over the world, year-round, but is that actually good for your residents?
Consider the humble green bean. Most green beans are imported from Kenya and have travelled thousands of miles to get to your residents’ plates.
But the concept of food miles argument is too simplistic, and an air-freighted green bean from Kenya is more sustainable than one grown out of season in a British hot house. Picking the right sources for your green bean depends on the time of year.
However, when it comes to the quality of that imported green bean, that’s a different story, because by the time your residents eat it, it could be weeks old.
Vegetables tend to be picked at the peak of their ripeness and at their peak nutritional value. In contrast, that little green bean has travelled for days, even weeks, to get to the point of being eaten, so it has started to age. This ageing causes the green bean to lose its nutritional density, so your residents won’t get the same nutritional benefits as if they had eaten it freshly picked. One research associate at the University of Austin, Texas reports that supermarket produce may have 5% to 40% fewer vitamins and minerals than when freshly picked.
WHY IS SEASONALITY IMPORTANT IN A CARE HOME SETTING?
Older people tend to have smaller appetites meaning that it is of utmost importance that everything they do eat is as nutritionally dense as possible. This helps to ensure that your meals will provide their bodies with all they need to function optimally.
Therefore, if you can base your menus on food that is in season, you are potentially increasing the nutritional density of their meal. Use a seasonal calendar to check when British produce is at its best.
https://allmanhall.co.uk/foodsight WHEN PREPARING SEASONAL MEALS FOR OLDER PEOPLE:
• Get in tune with what is in season and when. Speak with a food procurement expert like allmanhall so that you can stay informed about what is in season and best to use in menus.
• Use cookbooks based on seasonal eating. This will take the stress out of having to create recipes using ingredients you may be less familiar with cooking.
https://issuu.com/allmanhall/docs/hero_recipes_for_the_pass_2024_-_final_ copy?fr=xKAE9_zU1NQ
https://issuu.com/allmanhall/docs/hero_recipes_booklet_volume_2_ document?fr=xKAE9_zU1NQ
• Looking for inspiration? allmanhall’s Hero Recipes offer a delicious selection of seasonal, plant-based meals. Explore themhere and here.
• Ensure you are providing variety. Although you might be choosing ingredients from a smaller pool, it is still important to focus on variety throughout the week. This will ensure you are delivering a variety of nutrients for your residents to support overall health.
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If fresh and seasonal options are limited due to budget or availability, consider using frozen fruit and vegetables. These are typically frozen within hours of harvesting, locking in their nutritional value and helping to reduce food waste by maximising surplus produce.
CLIMATE CHANGE WILL AFFECT SEASONAL EATING
Climate change is already transforming British agriculture – chickpeas and oranges may become common crops in the UK by 2080, ushering in home-grown hummus and marmalade. Chickpeas, for example, offer multiple benefits: they’re excellent protein sources and are rich in soluble fibre, which can lower cholesterol and control blood sugar; they help reduce soil fertiliser dependence by fixing nitrogen, which eliminates any need for synthetic nitrogen fertilisers – a major contributor to climate change and environmental pollution; and they are a cost- effective menu ingredient offering great value for money.
Nutritious, sustainable and cost-effective food? That’s welcome all year round!
https://allmanhall.co.uk
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www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
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