Nutrition Blogs
The importance of diet in digestive health
Our health and immunity depend largely on the health of our digestive system. 70% of our immune system lies within our digestive tract. Vital nutrients are delivered from our intestines into our bloodstream for use elsewhere in the body. If this system is compromised...
Stress Awareness Month – Calming dining environments in care
Have you heard the saying ‘You are what you eat’? I tend to lean more towards 'We are where we eat, how we eat, what we eat and how we digest, assimilate and eliminate'! Obtaining nutrition from food isn’t only about the food we choose to eat. It can also be about the...
Supporting a balanced diet in social care
Over the last two months, I have been coaching staff on healthy eating and how this might translate into our Nellsar Homes. A healthy balanced diet should include: A good quality protein A serving of a complex carbs A plate mostly made up from vegetables or salads...
Princess Christian Care Home creates delicious inclusive Christmas menu
Festive foods for every dietary taste and requirement Christmastime is one of the most important times of year for many people and our Head Chef and Kitchen Team at Princess Christian, our Outstanding Care Home in Woking (Surrey), dedicate their time to ensuring all...
Warming winter drinks
At this time of year, everyone needs something warm and comforting to get them through the day. At Nellsar we are always looking for new ideas, recipes and flavours to keep things interesting for our residents. Hot drinks are always popular throughout the year. The...
Immune boosting tips
It’s that time of year again when the daylight hours are diminishing and the temperature is dropping. It’s at this time of year that our immune systems could do with a little support and there are some very basic yet helpful choices we can make to help get us through...
Nellsar Chef Masterclass October 2021
This month Adrian Silaghi and I held our first Masterclass since before the pandemic. We adapted to the ‘new normal’ by holding the Masterclass on Zoom, rather than all the participants meeting in person as usual. Our Masterclass topics were; Fortification and...
Celebrating great flavours in National Curry Week
National Curry Week runs from 4–10 October 2021. Now in its 23rd year, the very first National Curry Week took place in October 1998 and was founded by the late Peter Grove. Peter was a prominent journalist who had fallen in love with curry. His vision was to drive...
Sleep trial at Lulworth House Residential Care Home
Catherine Singh, Home Manager at Lulworth House Residential Care Home, recently asked if I would help advise on a sleep trial. The intention behind the trial was to implement gentle, holistic elements during the evening to help residents who find it difficult to...
Adding calories to pureed foods
Often, when a food is puréed down, the surface area becomes increased. This means that what might only be one portion of chicken then becomes two potions and nutrition is then lost per serving. This can pose a problem when catering for someone on a puréed diet....
Catering for allergens
When welcoming a new resident into one of our Homes, we ask if they have any known allergies or intolerances to any foods. Allergies have become more common place amongst the population over the last decade or two. There are several theories as to why. Some people...
Discovering Diabetic Sweet Treats
14–20th June is Diabetes Awareness Week. Diabetes is on the rise globally and can have serious health implications for those living with both Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes. There has been lots of research and guidance to indicate that a healthy balanced diet can in fact...