Nutrition

Blended diet is quite the opposite to having the same formulation every meal – it is about variety and using everyday foods that over the course of the day give you enough energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals to stay healthy. The aim is to have a balanced diet, whilst also meeting individualised requirements.

    • The Eatwell Guide provides a useful overview of different types of foods and drinks we should all consume – and in what proportions – to have a healthy, balanced diet.

    • Your dietitian can provide estimated daily requirements as a starting point. This can then be divided between daily blends.

    • The principles of the Eatwell Guide will apply to many accessing blended diet, but anyone with special dietary requirements or medical needs will want to check with a registered dietitian on how to adapt the Eatwell Guide to meet their individual needs.

    • Your dietitian is the expert and will provide you with more guidance as to how to tailor blended diet to meet your needs.

  • Food can be split into four main groups:

    • Carbohydrates

    • Protein

    • Fruit and vegetables

    • Dairy (and alternatives)

    The Eatwell Guide shows how these foods should ideally be proportioned in your diet.

    Achieving this exact balance at each meal is not essential, but it should ideally be achieved each day.  Adequate nutritional needs will also be more easily met when including a wide variety of foods from each food group. Remember - most food can be blended.

    • The nutritional profile of a blended diet is variable, depending on the food ingredients and cooking methods being used.

    • The choices made by the person preparing blends therefore wholly dictates the nutritional adequacy of the blend. 

    • Support from dietitians is therefore important, and to make use of their expert knowledge and skills in food and nutrition.

    • It is good practice to plan meals (especially when starting out), this may include menu choices.

    • Beyond ensuring nutritional adequacy, planning will also help with shopping and managing your budget.

    • Age and any medical condition will influence energy requirements.

    • Estimated energy requirements are usually calculated as part of any dietetic assessment by your dietitian.

    • Hydration is an important and often overlooked aspect of nutritional adequacy.

    • Look out for signs of dehydration, for example, decreased or dark urine. Giving a bolus of water around 30-60 minutes prior to giving a blend will assist hydration and may improve tolerance of the blend.

    • Total fluid requirement will be based on age and weight, including individual considerations due to any medical conditions.

    • Water flushes, given to keep the tube clear before and after feeding and medication administration, will also count toward the daily total of fluid.

    • Your dietitian will be able to provide advice on the correct daily intake.

Tips for nutritional adequacy

1.

Speak to your dietitian to estimate energy and protein requirements and create a daily guide for reference.

2.

You will want to split total energy over a number of blends per day, including snacks. A daily plan can be split over 3-7 blends (breakfast, lunch, dinner, (supper) and 2 to 3 snacks, depending on the individual’s volume tolerance per feed and at different times of day.

3.

Blended diet does not have a uniform energy density, therefore you will more likely focus on daily energy and protein as the guide. For blend consistency you will typically be aiming for liquidised level 3 (see below IDDSI Framework).

4.

Hydration is important. Ensure fluid requirements are adequate as part of nutritional intake and that this is monitored.

5.

It is good to speak to your dietitians on healthy eating and age-appropriate portion sizes using government recommendations for the general public.

6.

Use a wide variety of foods from each of the four main food groups (see the Eatwell Guide).

Texture and thickness of blends

We recommend using the international IDDSI Framework to check the texture and thickness of your blends. The IDDSI Framework was developed to standardise consistent terminology for different food textures and drink thickness.

This will therefore help you understand what level you are blending to and give you a common terminology to use to describe your desired texture and thickness. The following link explains a relatively simple method for working out the different levels.

When blending at home, blends will typically range between levels 2-3. Whilst there is no definitive rule on what the right level is to use, from our own experience, level 4 may be too difficult to push through the giving set, where as anything below level 2 may be difficult to keep calorie density at an adequate level.

The thickness and texture of the blend will be influenced by the type of ingredients, amount of liquid, temperature, time blended, as well as your own aims for volume tolerance, calorie density and how much pressure you are comfortable applying to the giving set.

Wilbo’s has been developed to be level 3 as this is likely to be meet the broadest range of people’s needs.