CaliPoutine

Of the 240 residents in our facility - 80 of them are on some form of texture modified diet. Not for cost reasons but because they either canot chew or cannot swallow. It is more expensive for us to make these types of diets than the regular food. About 50% of our facility have cognitive impairments. Maybe we are confusing the issue with the names of facilities? I work at a Nursing Home, for people who need heavy care (feeding, dressing, just getting out of bed.) this is not assisted care living. We are the end of the line, most care you can get - no going back kind of place. Retirement or assisted living places are different and you can expect a different level of food service. For this type of care you can expect to pay in the order of 2-3000$ a month. Because I am in Canada it may be different here than in the States. ← Yes - the US is different than Canada. My father-in-law's skilled nursing home cost almost $7000/month - and the price has increased since he died 2 years ago. And we live in a relatively inexpensive part of the US. We have assisted living places too - and they are less expensive. In general - the most frequent reasons for moves from assisted living to skilled nursing are 1) that the resident becomes incontinent; 2) that the resident can no longer self-administer medications (there are laws regarding what kinds of health and other care providers can and can't administer medications); and 3) that the resident needs medical care on a daily basis. I've read this whole thread - and - so far - no one has explained who these "seniors" are (except that they are Canadian and live in a non-urban area). How old are they? Seniors can be 65 - or 85. My husband and I are 60ish - and my father is 88. Big difference. So what is the nature of the group you're trying to feed? Range of ages? Range of physical ailments? How many people need to be on restricted diets (salt - fluid - sugar - etc.) for one reason or another (heart problems - diabetes - etc.)? How many have dental issues and have problems chewing? I assume you won't be dealing with people with serious health/eating issues - like people who need thickened food to swallow properly. You're not dealing with a large group. Take a poll. I suspect if you're dealing with a pretty old group - your most common problem will be cardiac issues - and in that event you should be working with a "heart healthy" diet - like low salt. It is easier for people who can eat a lot of salt to add it at the table than for people who can't to take it out. I don't know what is wrong with trying to prepare meals that people enjoy. No matter how boring that job may seem because of the peoples' lack of culinary sophistication. The job isn't to educate some 90 year old. It's to give him or her a meal that he/she enjoys - one that won't cause an episode of congestive heart failure. So what do these people really like to eat? ASK THEM. Again - a poll would be a good idea. Because my father-in-law had congestive heart failure and because his skilled nursing home was kosher - his treat for the week was a breakfast out with 2 slices of bacon. He loved those 2 slices of bacon . As well as his weekly lunch out for a cheeseburger. I find nothing wrong with eating frozen foods. In fact - when it comes to certain vegetables - like peas - frozen is usually much better than fresh (unless you're getting English peas in the spring in a high class restaurant). I would try mightily to get a large freezer you can use on a regular basis so you can take advantage of sales on things that are or can be frozen. You know what people at my father-in-law's nursing home loved? Ice cream. Except for the diabetics and the people with bad congestive heart failure - they ate tons of it. Do you have access to any kind of "club" - like Sam's - or Costco? If you do - even if it's an hour away - you can use it to stock up on things cheap. And you can buy institutional packages of condiments - so people can do things like dress their salads to taste. In my opinion - the worst thing you can do to older people is to take away their dignity - and you do that by implying that what they really like to eat is garbage. Robyn ← Whoa there, I never said it was garbage. I said that I don't cook the way the previous cook did. I prefer to use fresh vegetables over frozen and limit my use of convience products. I dont use canned soups or 1 dollar a kilo margarine. These are seniors that live in Grand Bend, Ontario( the majority of them). I've only been there one time before, but I'd gather the ages range from 65-90. The agency that is providing the meals is a local social service agency serving the senior community. They are not there to cater to everyone's health issues. They host a hot meal in 3 different towns ( mine is 2x a month, the others are every week). I suppose I should have said that its not only the seniors that prefer meat and potatoes, its the whole area. I was in major culinary shock when I moved here( I'm originally from California). There is no fine dining anywhere in the area or even in London, ON for that matter. This is not a foodie area. I don't eat red meat nor does my spouse and when people around here hear that, they are shocked. How could we not eat red meat? What a travesty. I worked at a pizza place for a few weeks helping a friend's sister out. She admonished me for blotting the grease off the fries. She said " you're wasting paper towels" " they like grease in this county". I could go on and on, but unless you experience it first hand, its hard to understand. I'm making a rice dish with spinach and tomatoes. I was originally told that I don't have to prepare a second veg, but then yesterday I was told I better get another veg so there are no complaints. Oy...... There is a costco and a Sam's in London, but like I said. I'm only getting paid for a 7.5hr day. I've probably put in a good 2 hrs already and I havent even cooked a darn thing yet. I'll be back at the grocery store at 11:30am on Thursday and I wont be finished at the church until 7:30pm. I've ordered a case of frozen veg from ( Eg member Pookie) and I'll have to drive to London to pick that up. I'll report back on Friday.

Here is a promotion code for a year of Cook's Illustrated for 19.95( 6 issues). Its normally about 26.95-28.95 Code PO3A222

I think they are both owned by members of the same family. I've ordered from both and I much prefer The Spice House. I still shop at Penzey's when I go to Detroit, but I still prefer The Spice House.

Today I did some grocery shopping for Thursday. I previously bought 50 bone in chicken breasts and stored them at the agency. They don't have the room to defrost them by Thursday so I picked them up and took them to my other job. We have a walk in there and the breasts can defrost slowly. I'm supposed to shop on the morning of the program, however, I needed to go to the store today so I picked up the non-perishables so I can get those out of the way. I wanted to see how my budget was shaping up as well. To recap, my first menu is Greek Chicken( baked bone-in breasts), I'll remove the skin after cooking. I don't have to debone these because there is 1 large bone, unlike chicken legs. Greek rice( basmati rice cooked pilaf style with onions, garlic, canned tomatoes and frozen spinach( sprinkle of feta on top, not sure if I'll do this) Greek salad( romaine, cukes, tomatoes, green peppper, red onion,black olives and homeade viniagrette) frozen veg( probably green beans) rolls( bought at a bakery) tomato juice and Pineapple Manadarin cake. I previously spent 71$ on the chicken, 10 bucks on a jug of Olive oil and 4.00 on 4 cake mixes. I'd much perfer to make a homeade cake, but time and cost will allow that( at least this time anyway) Btw, I shopped at NO Frills, one of the cheapest grocery chains in Ontario. Today I spent 31.81. It's broken down like this: 4 boxes of chopped spinach .97 each = 3.88 2 boxes of low sodium chick broth = 2.47 each 4.94 2 lbs of hot house tomatoes 99 cents lb 1.94 3lb bag of red onion 1.29 3lb bag of spanich onion 1.29 colavita red wine vinegar 1.69 cider vinegar( for my next meal) .99 4 cans of mandarin oranges .69 each x 2.76 2 cans of crushed pineapple .97 each 1.94 4 boxes of instant pudding .97 each 3.88 1 box sugar free jello( for the diabetics) .49 1 can ripe black olives 1.43 4 cans of tomato juice 4.00 I still need to get lettuce, green pepper, cukes, feta, coolwhip, butter and eggs. I already bought some spices, the basmati rice and coconut at the bulk store. I'm thinking about including a tzatziki sauce too, of course I would call it a yogurt sauce so they would eat it. Yogurt is on sale this week( 3 for 99 cents) and its balkan style as well. I ran that idea by the director and she said " It doesnt have too much garlic in it does it?. So, of course I'd have to cut the garlic way back. I'm still thinking about it. I'll be sure to bring my camera along to get some pics on Thursday.

I've already suggested that, but since we cook our meals at a rented church kitchen, we don't really have room to store much. A friend of mine( eg member pookie) works as a food service supervisor for a long term care facility and she is going to order the frozen veg for me. She has access to much better blends and brands than I have access to. I've picked a Prince Edward Blends( green and wax beans and carrots). Surprisingly though, the price is not that much cheaper. The program I work for, also feeds Seniors in two other towns. The frozen veg come in 12kg size( 26.4 lbs) and I wont need that much. I don't want to serve the same veg two weeks in a row so I'll pass it on to the other program. Speaking of frozen veg, I have a mental block when it comes to using them, but I know that I have to. Especially in the winter. I plan to use a lot of fresh, local produce come summer.( We're in Farm country, our biggest crop is Corn) Speaking of Summer, I can't imagine cooking heavy roasts, stews in Summer. What do you suggest for those very hot( thanks to global warming) months? Btw, I WONT have access to a BBQ. ( not that I can imagine them eating a burger but ya never know).

Thanks for all your great comments Roast Turkey is ONLY served on Thanksgiving( in October) and Christmas. Turkey is another outrageously expensive item here and because of that, we're given an extra 2 dollars a person and an extra 2 hrs to prepare. Even with the extra time, the turkeys have to be cooked the night before. I was training during the Christmas meal( early December) and the cook made stuffing with tons of margarine and canned mushroom soup. Furthermore, I can't really plan the next meal( Jan 25th) until the grocery ads come out on the prior Friday. A lot of your ideas( dutch thread, braised dishes) are really good and I will check out the Dutch thread( in fact, there is a large Dutch population here as well) and my All About Braising book.

Thanks for everyones comments. I just need to reiterate that this is RURAL Ontario. None of these clients would ever participate in Egullet, they might not even know how to get online for that matter. I guess if you don't live here, its hard to understand. Someone told me this once " if they can't pronounce it, they wont eat it". She wasnt talking about seniors either, she was talking about the residents of another small rural town( Pop 1,000). Maybe Kerry knows what I'm trying to say since I imagine Manatoulin is similar. I was told by the director that I might be getting complaints this week because of the rice dish I'm serving. They would rather have potatoes at every dinner.

Thanks. Shepards pie is on my list( I plan to use ground turkey). I'm allowed to use real potatoes too. No instant potatoes for me!! I should probably mention, I dont eat red meat( I do eat poultry though), but I will have volunteers that can taste for me.

I think I forgot to mention that they dont want pasta at all. And, remember the meal has to include a main, and 2 veg( 1 can be a salad) .

Here is the deal.... I start another job next Thursday( in addition to my sous chef/pastry chef job for a caterer) for a senior dining program. The program is run 2 x a month and my budget is 3 dollar a person.( the seniors pay 8 dollars for the meal). The town I'm working in is right on Lake Huron, but its still farm country. I've been told that they perfer meat and potatoes. I've also been told that in order to meet the 3 dollar a person budget, I'll have to purchase the meat/poulty at 1.99lb. Additionally, I'm not allowed to cook chicken legs because someone previously chocked on the bones. The meal must consist of juice, roll, main dish, starch, 2 veg( 1 can be a salad) and a dessert. I must also make a diabetic friendly dessert too. I've already perused Tammy's Thread on cooking for 40 but that doesnt really help me much because that type of cooking is too fancy for the seniors. I'm having a difficult time because I don't cook this way. I hope to introduce the seniors to a new way of eating, but I'm realisitic too. I mean, its probably too late to change your way of thinking at that age. The prior cook used a lot of canned soups, bottled dressing, sauces, margarine etc. I am *hoping* I don't have to resort to that. I actually refuse to use margarine and I won't bend on that one. I've already planned my first meal and I when I was telling the coordinator about it, she said she hoped it goes over well. I was able to buy bone in chicken breasts at 1.97lbs( very cheap for Canada, chicken is outrageously expensive here). I'm going to bake the breasts with some greek seasonings. I found a greek rice dish ( basmati rice, tomatoes, spinach., onions, garlic cooked pilaf style) online that I'm going to use too. I'll make a simple greek salad using regular black olives( not greek). I'll also make the salad dressing with olive oil and red wine vinegar as well as some oregano. Dessert will be a pineapple mandarin cake( doctored up cake mix). I wanted to serve pita but was told that is too " out there". I only have 7.5 hrs to shop and cook the meal. I also have a few volunteers that will come and help. Too many labor intensive dishes wont work due to the time constraints. I also only have 2 ovens( regular kitchen ovens, not commercial) I can usually plan the meal on Friday when the new grocery ads come out. This weeks ad shows Pork shoulder bone in for 99 cents a lb. I think that would be perfect for the next meal( I can buy and freeze in the agency's large chest freezer). Any ideas for that? If you have any other ideas, please feel free to post them here. Thanks a lot!!

I like brylanehome. Believe it or not, they are a division of Lane Bryant, but they have great kitchen items. The last item I bought was a petite four pan( really a very mini bundt pan). They had the best price( using a 30% off coupon) as well.

Here in canada I don't know anyone who has tried the See's. Maybe the simplest thing to do would be to get someone to send me some so I would have a speciman to compare to. Of course when I figure it out I'll never make them again cause they are just too damn sweet. So how about making a butter cream with fondant and butter then adding some of the penuche? ← Hi Kerry, As an Expat from Cali, I've tried See's numerous times( more times than I can count). In fact, I just brought a box back from Detroit( its sold at the airport) and gave it to my MIL for xmas. I wish you would have posted this message a week ago, I could have sent you the piece of candy. I'm not a fan of the Bordeaux though, I enjoy the coconut buttercream, scotch mallow and California brittle. I'm having a craving now...... Their chocolates are very good, I like them so much better than godiva.

I googled it. Its in Wisconsin.

So what was the total cost?

I use the Hershey's special dark. It's good stuff, it got a very good rating from Cook's Illustrated. Try the Hershey's black magic cake. So moist and so delicious.

Everytime I go back home to Ft. Lauderdale, I bring home a dozen bagels. I put them in ziplock freezer bags( uncut). They defrost( I take one out the night before I want one) and toast up fine, nothing like a fresh bagel, but better than anything around these parts.

Hey, Hey, now whats with everyone's dislike of Ashkenazi food. I'm Jewish too, and thats the kind of Jewish cuisine I grew up with. I do hate chopped liver though. I'd love to see your recipe as I put it on the menu where I work for New Year's Day Brunch. I was going to ask my mom for a recipe, but I'd like to see yours too.

I always put smoked paprika on Roasted Potatoes

brandy doused fruit cake!!

I just bought an Oxo Mango Pitter. Cook's Illustrated said it really works.

You can't eat calamari without a good Marinara sauce Like this

and some mulled cider

with Tahini( in Babaganoush) I guess nobody wanted to tackle the blintzes because that was skipped over.

my grandma always used to serve me bananas with brown sugar and sour cream ← Sour cream is great on Blintzes( yay, I got some jewish food in here)

juniper!!! ← with a boneless pork loin( Juniper is good in the brine)