Soft Meals^ For The Elderly - Using Professional Food Processor PRO-Series
As people age, their chewing, swallowing, and saliva production diminish. Swallowing difficulties in the elderly, caused by Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, or strokes, increase choking or aspiration risks. Safe eating is achieved through dietary modifications.
Pureed meals can be unappealing, affecting appetite. “Soft food” or “care meals” offer a smoother, more appealing dysphagia diet for better nutrition, and they are easier to swallow.
Introducing the Professional High-Speed Food Processor Series! With a 40,000 RPM motor, it effortlessly smooths food with just one button. Perfect for dysphagia diets, it handles hot and cold items with adjustable thickness. Prepare IDDSI-compliant meals at home, enhancing seniors' appetite and simplifying caregivers' tasks. German Pool Professional High-Speed Food Processor Series:
What is Soft Food / Care Food?
The International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI) was founded in 2013 with the goal of developing new international standardised terminology and definitions to describe texture modified foods and thickened liquids used for individuals with dysphagia of all ages, in all care settings, and all cultures. IDDSI Framework consists of a continuum of 8 levels (0-7). Levels are identified by numbers, text labels and colour codes, providing detailed descriptors and simple measurement methods that can be used by people with dysphagia or by caregivers, clinicians, food service professionals or industry to confirm the level a food or drink fits into.
| Level 0: Thin | Level 1: Slightly Thick | Level 2: Mildly Thick | Level 3: Moderately Thick/Liquidised |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flows like water, such as water, juice, broth, etc. No need to add thickener. | Thicker than water, requires a bit more effort to drink than thin liquids, flows through a straw, such as nutritional supplemental drinks. | Flows off a spoon, but slower than thin drinks, still sippable, such as thick milkshakes or custards. | Can be drunk from a cup or eaten with a spoon, not sippable, such as bisques or cream. |
| Level 4: Extremely Thick/Pureed | Level 5: Minced & Moist | Level 6: Soft & Bite-Sized | Level 7: Regular/Easy To Chew |
| Cannot be drunk from a cup, does not require chewing, smooth with no lumps, such as puddings or fruit puree, suitable for persons with dysphagia. | Soft and moist with no separate thin liquid, small lumps of 4mm or less visible within the food, lumps are easy to squash with tongue and easy to swallow. | Soft, tender and moist throughout but with no separate thin liquid, chewing is required before swallowing, such as softly cooked vegetables or cake, lumps no larger than 1.5cm. | Normal, everyday foods of soft/tender textures, suitable for persons without dysphagia. |
The establishment of IDDSI provides a unified standard for healthcare institutions, nursing homes, and home care environments worldwide, ensuring that diets are tailored to the patient's swallowing abilities and reducing the risk of aspiration and choking.
Challenges of Preparing Soft Food/Care Food At Home
Preparing meals for the elderly with swallowing difficulties at home is both a labor of love and a significant challenge. Traditional mashed or pureed meals are often unappetizing, dull in color and have an uneven texture. People with swallowing difficulties may become disinterested in eating due to the monotony of their meals, leading to nutritional imbalances. Moreover, the methods for making soft food (collectively known as care food) are not only complex but also often fail to achieve the desired texture, leaving many family caregivers feeling frustrated.
For example, traditional methods of making soft food typically require steaming ingredients until they are very soft, then blending them with a food processor. This often involves multiple steps, such as steaming, blending, straining, and adjusting the thickness, which can take a significant amount of time to prepare for each meal. Additionally, common blenders on the market often fail to achieve a consistent smoothness, resulting in food that may have large particles or be too watery, affecting swallowing safety. To make food smooth and easy to swallow, prolonged heating and excessive blending can also destroy essential nutrients, such as vitamins and dietary fiber, preventing the elderly from getting enough nutrition. So, preparing soft food at home often become a heavy burden for caregivers.
Your Perfect Partner for Making Soft Food^/Care Food^ at Home!
German Pool Professional High-Speed Food Processor Series is not your ordinary blender! With German Pool Professional High-Speed Food Processor, you can easily churn out soft food that meets the IDDSI standard, and with a little creativity, you can make visually-appealing soft food^/care food^ that is both safe and at the same time nutritious and delicious for persons with swallowing difficulty! The process is simple and efficient, freeing caregivers from spending a lot of time on meal preparation, and improving quality of life for both the caregiver and the elderly!
40,000+ RPM Pulverizes Food Into Lump-free Silky Consistency
Equipped with Japanese high-carbon steel blending blades, an ultra-powerful motor with spinning speed of over 40,000 RPM and 6 one-touch blending functions including Vegetable, Sauce, Bisque, Soy Milk, Smoothie and Nuts, German Pool Professional High Speed Food Processor can easily pulverize all kinds of food into smooth silky and lump-free consistency that is easy to swallow, lowering the risk of choking! The blades and blending jar of the German Pool Professional High Speed Food Processor are also very easy to clean, saving you time and effort!
Adjustable Blending Speeds To Achieve Just the Right Texture & Consistency
German Pool Professional High Speed Food Processor allows for adjustable speeds, enabling flexible control of the blending speed based on the unique characteristics of different food ingredients. This ensures that food achieves the ideal texture and consistency. Whether making finely chopped, moist, pureed, or liquid foods, the German Pool Professional High Speed Food Processor provides precise control to meet the needs of individuals with various swallowing difficulties.
Also, by adjusting the blending speed one notch at a time, the
user can adjust the food consistency to suit their own
preference, ensuring the food is not only easy to swallow, but
also retains its pleasant taste and texture, making mealtime
more enjoyable.
Shaping & Molding Soft Food Increase Taste & Appeal
After blending food to the right softness with German Pool Professional High Speed Food Processor, you can reshape and remold the soft food to enhance its presentability and appeal, allowing individuals with swallowing difficulties to rediscover the joy of eating. At the same time, the visual appeal of the meal effectively stimulates appetite and increases willingness to eat, ensuring that the elderly receive adequate nutrition, making mealtime both safe and enjoyable!
^According to the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI) guidelines, care meals are divided into 8 levels, ranging from level 0 to level 7. Each level includes considerations for eating abilities and testing methods; food thickeners should be used in conjunction with these guidelines. Soft food is not suitable for all individuals with swallowing difficulties. Consult a speech therapist, doctor, healthcare provider, or other professionals before meal preparation.
