Tips for a perfect Christmas lunch

Christmas simply isn’t the same without traditional festive foods like baked ham, roast pork and plum pudding. We believe all aged care residents deserve to enjoy a delicious festive meal, including those on texture-modified diets.

Thankfully, Classic Christmas dishes can be adapted to IDDSI Level 5 and 6 and beautifully presented to residents. For those on a pureed diet, take some time to create flavoursome, colourful Christmas meals using food moulds.

Nothing says Christmas feast more than a beautifully glazed ham (for tips on perfect ham glazing, watch this video), perfectly roasted beef, crackling pork, with a side of  colourful vegetables.

Roast meats such as beef and pork can easily be texture modified for IDDSI level 5 and IDDSI level 6 (bite-sized, minced and moist).  Adding brown sauces such as a rich gravy helps keep the food soft, moist and flavoursome.

For Levels IDDSI level 3 and 4 meat and sauces can be further blended to pureed consistency and where appropriate, shaped using moulds. Use colourful garnishes – for example, finely chopped parsley sprinkled on roast carrots, shaped with a mould, to give the plate a festive feel.

Seafood at Christmas is an Australian twist on traditional festive foods. With summer temperatures often hitting over 30 degrees Celsius, many prefer a fresher, lighter meal to celebrate with.

Seafood is great for texture modification as it is soft and blends well without losing flavour.  Seafood is also able to carry layers of flavour so adding sauces and seasoning will give added dimension to your seafood dishes.

Try  Roast salmon with pureed corn – you can replace the pureed corn with any sweet vegetable, a roast sweet potato, pureed to a smooth consistency for example. Salmon will break down to level 5 and 6 with a fork, and combined with the pureed vegetable is moist, and flavoursome. Use colourful vegetables for appetising presentation.

While chicken dishes are not typically associated with Christmas, they can easily be adapted by substituting turkey for the chicken and adding mango for the popular flavour combination of roast chicken and the sweetness of the summer fruit.

Our Roast Chicken with mango gravy can be served as Level 6 or even 5 (bite sized, or minced and moist).

Mango Chicken (or turkey) style dishes can be served as a texture modified meal at any level from level 6 down to level 4.

For those fond of the Christmas trifle or the classic plum pudding, these are suitable for a texture modified diet. Both can be adapted for pureed diets and served in a parfait glass topped with custard and ice cream or whipped cream, such as this raspberry swirl trifle recipe.

Most desserts are relatively simple to texture modify so no matter what level a resident is on, a sweet treat can be prepared for them.

Always refer to the IDDSI testing guidelines to ensure your meals are at the correct texture level for your residents.

Disclaimer: The content of this article is created for inspiration purposes only. It is not intended as clinical, medical or nutritional advice.