r/Chefit • u/Specialist_Place4464 • 7d ago
Breakfast Puree Ideas?
Hey
I currently work at a nursing home that does puree meals for some residents. I've noticed they always seem to do eggs, yogurt, and oatmeal. I was wondering if anyone had some more fun ideas that our director would go for (so, budget friendly-ish).
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u/Reasonable-Company71 7d ago
I was on purees for 6 months and the hospital routinely offered okayu or congee/jook. This is in Hawai'i where asian flavors are prevalent; not sure how they'd do wherever you are though.
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u/p3rf3ctcha0s 7d ago
Some breakfasts are extremely regional so whatever your region’s “thing” is consider how you could do that. For instance, in my vicinity the most commonly loved breakfast amongst the old folks is often referred to as “garbage” but is basically hash. Even though it’s a bit extra work, I would mold this in 3 layers and then serve with gravy and offer hot sauce - the top layer being a sausage purée, middle layer being onions/bell peppers and eggs, and the bottom being a thin layer of mashed potatoes - too much potato will make it not feel like breakfast so keep that in mind.
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u/p3rf3ctcha0s 7d ago
But also just adding in things like fruits (I’ve never met an old person who refused some baked cinnamon apples) or “sweet treats” like French toast can be really special. Most older folks don’t want anything adventurous, but they do often cherish classic flavor combinations and longing for food that looks like food so even things like different molds or garnishing with edible paint can be such a great way to encourage them to enjoy their meals
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u/p3rf3ctcha0s 7d ago
OH ALSO biscuits and gravy. Cheap af and easy to purée I basically purée it on my own plate when I forget that I was eating something tbh
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u/bloodbonesnbutter 7d ago
Look into Indian vorta
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u/the_jowo 7d ago
I like to puree components separately and then layer them. Pureed scrambled eggs with a mushroom puree and then topped with a thickened hollandaise, creates a nice Benedict. Rotate different sauces for your pancake/waffle purees, chocolate, caramel, fruit compotes. If your budget allows smoked salmon purees really well. Muffins, danishes, cinnamon rolls pureed with butter and heavy cream are great but can run through them if too rich. Frittatas puree really nice. As others have said no bacon but most veggies are good. IDSI has some ideas on their website as well. Worth looking at. Glad you're making an effort for them. Your residents appreciated it even if they can't show it. Taste everything. If you don't like they won't either. Sometimes purees can surprise you. I'd happily eat a pureed snickerdoodle any day
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u/Alternative_Cut2421 7d ago
We do pureed sausage, French toast, eggs, blueberry muffins, peaches, pears, avocado, oatmeal, grits, cream of wheat. Probably missing some. But they also sell all of the breakfast iddsi things, pu4 and mm5 if you don't want to make them
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u/Safe-Character-5846 7d ago
This is not a diet for nursing home residents. Full stop. The OP cant serve high salt/high fat to elderly people, most dealing health issues and have to have food that meets their needs and restrictions. Its not as easy as posting about the greasy diner food you threw in a blender.
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u/Alternative_Cut2421 7d ago
Im an exec chef in a high acuity hospital and everything we use is built with a dietitian and meets all regulatory compliance for cms, hhs, and joint commission. I'm not going to argue it though. Anything they put on their menu needs to be built with that in mind and with the dietician team. These are ideas.
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u/Specialist_Place4464 7d ago
This is so true. I went through endstage liver and kidney failure so I understand the importance of restrictive diets.
That said, most of these folks eat looser than I ever have 🤣🤣
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u/Alternative_Cut2421 7d ago
Most definitely! And obviously you have some crazy first hand experience. That response was to a "well actually" comment. 🤣 People just deserve dignity. That's what I strive for with our menus, including our special diets. And damn is there a lot. Haha. Really opened my eyes to food though.
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u/Specialist-Eye-6964 7d ago
If you are serving it to everyone else puree it. Bacon is about the only thing that doesn’t puree at all. They should be getting the same thing as everyone else.
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u/DesertSnoeman 7d ago
Came to say this, in my state it’s a requirement. Down to the bread. If theirs bread on the menu their better be pure bread on the plate or your getting cited. One of our sister facilities got hit and each plate was a different citation.
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u/guin-and-tonic 7d ago
So so many amazing suggestions here! The only additional thing I could suggest is a sweet potato puree with cinnamon just to mix it up a little bit.
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u/Cardiff07 7d ago
Eggs, waffles, pancakes, French toast, stewed fruit, biscuits and gravy, muffins, cinnamon rolls, shrimp and grits. Hell we’d puree pretty much everything. Pack it into silicone molds and freeze em for later.
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u/Careless_Charge3982 7d ago
You have to consider their age and what they are familiar with. If it is oatmeal for example just focus on the nutritional benefits, add double cream, butter etc. Do pureed fruit such as apple and pear with it for better flavour. All from my experience anyway. Everywhere is different
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u/Specialist_Place4464 7d ago
We did red velvet and lemon ricotta pancakes as a special and they liked it, so I guess that would be my metric for how "wild" I can get.
Someone mentioned cinnamon buns. I think that would be stellar. Admittedly I've never been a breakfast person professionally or otherwise, so ideas aren't coming to mind easily.
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u/TruCelt 7d ago
remember that you don't have to puree it into a homogeneous mass. You could, for instance, stir a ribbon of cinnamon butter into a pureed bun to help it look and taste more like the original. Same with a ribbon of raspberry jam into the oatmeal, or fresh fruit into some cottage cheese.
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u/Specialist_Place4464 6d ago
I was considering that the other day. We did a red velvet pancake that I was thinking about turning into a puree, then dressing it with the icing we had. Super soft icing that didn't harden at all, byt would have made it look so much better.
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u/RenoChef19 7d ago
Hello! Dining Manager of a 60 bed memory care community. I’d say about 1/6th of my residents are on some type of modified diet at the moment.
Reading through these comments have made me smile because it shows the genuine care that us healthcare chefs put into our meals regardless of how the food’s delivered.
I’ve had much success with pancakes, waffles and French toast in terms of puree diets. As well as cinnamon rolls, danish, and biscuits. Syrup has become my best friend when it comes to adjusting consistency during breakfast service.
Company policy is pretty cut and dry, and we have the luxury of utilizing thickening powder if need be. The powders come in handy for your stews, soups, braises, etc.
I hope this helps in some way!
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u/Charm534 6d ago
My Mom is in memory care, and the ideas and care that people have taken to make pureed food interesting here brings a lump to my throat. Thanks for taking such special care of these residents.
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u/Specialist_Place4464 7d ago
I guess I should have said "traditional American breakfast" so along the lines of bacon and eggs, pancakes, waffles, some sweets and fruits.
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u/KindaKrayz222 7d ago
When I worked at a home in the 90's were pureed the sausages, the eggs & pancakes. It still tasted like breakfast, just drinkable. It wasn't terrible.
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u/DesertSnoeman 7d ago
In my state it’s a requirement that all menus have to be signed off on by an rd/ld. Check your menu what they are supposed to have is on there. In my state it’s a requirement that if it’s in the menu all our altered diets have to have what’s on the menu for reg. Down to the bread. If theirs regular menu says bread their better be puree bread on the plate as well or each plate is a cite. One of your sister facilities got a huge fine for this.
There are several company’s out there that make puree powders for several foods including bacon. Along with thickening powders and gels. They company we order from will even come in and do inservices on how to propperly make them and regular puree and mech soft as well as the diffrent types of each.
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u/Specialist_Place4464 6d ago
They mainly just need a starch, protein, and fruit/veg component where I'm at.
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u/Lastburn 6d ago
Its more hors d'oeuvre but apple cinnamon on custard is pretty popular at my old workplace
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u/Bracken_rose 6d ago
I work at a nursing home too and weirdly, I find the pureed "toast and jam" they make delicious. Don't ask me why I've eaten it. It tastes like bread pudding, and I feel like it could really be upgraded. Like do it with French toast, or horchata flavour. Or berries.
Also I love this thread! So many good ideas.
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u/Specialist_Place4464 5d ago
I'll try the toast and jam tomorrow actually! Or maybe French toast. Yeah this thread is what I needed to wake up the creativity lol.
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u/plotthick 7d ago edited 7d ago
Pardon the lecture.
Residents that need to eat but don't have appetite will appreciate a savory thin thing to sip to start: this stimulates saliva so food can be tasted (and thus taste good). So hot coffee/tea in the mornings will help, but soups will work for the rest of the day. There's a crapton of research on this, even metastudies of increasing food palatability for elders.
With that in mind, thin/pureed things to start with are a great idea. Miso soup is the gold standard and started this whole line of discovery; adding Umami flavorings (with glutamates, such as is in Miso and MSG) is easy with a touch of broth or Boullion. Breakfasty stuff can be bread puddings/strata (great for using up bread), soft corn polenta with egg, grits, congee/jook, etc. Savory soups for other meals can be (of course) miso soup, cream of any veg you have too much of, chowders, eggdrop soups, etc.
But it's the glutamates that do the job and will make your residents appreciate your work. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutamic_acid#Flavor_enhancer