Nourishing Fluids
Gaining adequate nourishment should be a top priority for your residents. At this time in their lives, residents may be dealing with disease, reduced appetite and a general reduction in their ability to eat well. This impacts their ability to consume enough energy (kilojoules), protein and other important nutrients. Weight loss and malnutrition can follow. As Dietitians, our goal is often to maximise the amount of nutrients our residents consume.
Drinks are often better tolerated than meals, and can be a great way to get in good nourishment and help keep individuals well hydrated.
The following is a list of nutritious fluids, comparing the amount of energy (kilojoules) and protein, to help you understand why some fluids are better choices than others for your elderly residents. Remember, for many residents, the more kilojoules and protein the better!
As you can see, milk-based drinks are the best nutrition choice, to help your residents consume adequate energy and protein (as well as micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals). You don’t have to use commercial-based supplement such as Sustagen (which may be expensive), even homemade milkshakes with full-cream milk, ice-cream or yoghurt, milk powder and fruit or milo can just as nutritious (and cheaper – see below for a milkshake recipe). A plain glass of milk is a great choice too. Therefore we recommend staff to encourage milk-based drinks over juice, lemonade and tea/coffee for those residents who require additional nourishment.
If you are concerned about a resident’s level of nourishment, please refer to your facility Dietitian.
Banana Honey Milkshake
Serves 1. For multiple servings simply make a large batch and serve up as a delicious, nutritious morning or afternoon tea.
Ingredients
200ml Full-Cream Milk
1 tablespoon Milk Powder
1 scoop Vanilla Ice-Cream
½ a ripe Banana, chopped
1-2 teaspoons Honey
Method
Mix the milk powder with the full-cream milk, whisking to combine.
In a blender add the milk/milk-powder mixture with the ice-cream, banana and honey. Blend to combine.
Serve cold.