Meals should not just be healthy and nutritious, but they should also whet one’s appetite.

 

In an ongoing effort to improve the quality of care for elderly in the Community Care sector, which includes eldercare centres and nursing homes, the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) has come up with a compilation of 50 recipes that are tailored to meet the nutritional requirements of the elderly. This includes soft diets for those with swallowing difficulties.

Teaming up with celebrity chef Eric Teo, the special edition cookbook called “Eat Well, Age Well, Live Well” honours our families’ food heritage – a tribute to the SG50 celebrations. The cookbook was launched recently by Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for Health and the Environment & Water Resources, during the finale of the Intermediate and Long-Term Care (ILTC) Nutrition Movement 2015.

The majority of the cookbook’s recipes are well-loved nostalgic dishes like ngoh hiang and soto ayam, which will give clients a touch of “home” during mealtimes. Recipes of modern, restaurant-worthy fare like quinoa salad with avocado and endives are also added in for variety. The recipes were contributed by 18 elderly clients and Community Care institutions, 12 chefs and heritage restaurants including Red Star Restaurant, Islamic (Indian) Restaurant and Tambuah Mas.

The sector’s service providers praised the move to involve their elderly care clients in the cookbook. A senior occupational therapist with AWWA Rehab & Day Care Centre, Seetharaman Prabakaran, shared that this empowered its clients to contribute to the community by sharing their knowledge, thus boosting their self-esteem. His client, Lee Geok Eng, 77, contributed her ngoh hiang recipe.

Said Lee, “I inherited this traditional recipe from my father. He used to make and sell it for a living and I would help him prepare it when I was young. By sharing this recipe, I am able to keep my pleasant memories with my father alive.”

Dr Wong Kirk Chuan, deputy CEO of AIC, added: “The cookbook is a resource for our Community Care partners and cooks to draw on in their ongoing efforts to improve their food service. Variety is the spice of life and with more meal options offered, we hope to bring greater enjoyment to our clients so that they gain the nutrition needed.

“I am encouraged by the support shown by our clients, partners and industry professionals in contributing their recipes. Community support is invaluable to the success of the sector’s quality improvement efforts to help our clients live well and age gracefully at home and in the community.”

AIC also partnered Temasek Polytechnic to provide the nutritional analysis for the recipes to ensure that they meet the nutritional needs of the elderly.

The cookbook is available to all Community Care organisations. The public can also download the recipes here. AIC is also working with public libraries to make the cookbook available there.

 

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