Prepared foods: how they can assist in meal preparation for the aged

Prepared foods are those which have had some sort of process undertaken to make them useful in meal and menu planning. Unprepared foods are usually found in their natural state and often can be eaten raw or with minimal cooking from the plant or animal source. These include fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, some meats, milk and eggs, to name a few.  

An egg is a good example of a food which can be both unprepared and prepared. For example, an egg can be consumed raw in a power shake, or boiled or poached to eat.  However, eggs can also be used as an ingredient in their raw state to make cakes, or eggs can be purchased ready to use either as egg whites or whole egg products, such as ready-to-eat omelettes.

The concept around prepared foods is to make meal and menu production easy, affordable and supportive to choice.

Prepared foods can be classified in a few different ways:

• Complete meal. This is where you open a box or packet and the meal is either ready to eat or needs to be heated to be consumed. This can also include meals which need to have simple ingredients, such as water, added. Examples of complete meals are ready-to-eat frozen meals, noodles and ready-to-eat, shelf-stable rice and meat dishes.
• Part of a meal. This can reduce the time it takes to put a meal together and includes when the consumer needs to add some meat or a sauce packet to bring the meal together. Examples of these are premade spice and curry pouches, pasta sauces, simmering sauces, premade soup, mousse and dessert mixes.
• Part of an ingredient.  This is when the ingredient is premade for use, like curry pastes, spice mixes, pasta sauces and cakes mixes. There are many ready-to-use ingredients made by food manufacturers to make meal preparation easier.

Some foods can be classified across all three categories – it just depends on how the consumer uses the food in meal preparation. For example, premade cake can be a complete snack for morning tea, used with custard to make up a dessert or used as an ingredient in the example of trifle.

Our food supply is made up largely of prepared foods, and this is important as some foods need to be processed before they can safely be eaten. Unless we live a totally sustainable life, prepared foods will be found in all pantries.

Prepared foods have allowed the food supply that we have available in Australia to increase and flourish. This is largely due to the technology of preserving food through the processes of freezing, canning, and cook chill and drying. Prepared foods have also gained popularity as they provide convenience. This is an attractive feature when preparing meals for a large amount of people, like in a hospital setting or in an aged care home.

Disadvantages of prepared foods:

• Often the raw foods are so highly processed that they no longer resemble the original food. For example, potato chips no longer look like a fresh potato; biscuits do not resemble wheat grain.
• The use of preservatives, salt and food chemicals to prevent food spoilage is also required to increase shelf life, which may not be desirable from a nutrition perspective.
• Adding of additional flavour or nutrient loss during food preparation can also affect the nutrition profile of the end product.

Advantages of prepared foods:

• There is saved time and added convenience for meal preparation and food consumption.
• Foods are made available all-year round — for example, mangoes, cherries and certain vegetables — through the use of food-preserving techniques.
• Meal items can be prepared in advance and stored.
• It results in increased menu variety and flexibility.

Quick and easy menu planning

Prepared foods allow for quick meals to be put together. When catering for a large number of people, prepared food strategies need to be used to enable the meal to be served on time. Prepared foods also allow flexibility within a menu to offer different sauces, gravies and meal components to cater for different likes and dislikes.

Tackling cultural diversity

When planning meals for large groups of people from different cultures, ready-made meals can help with solving issues with menu planning. Prepared meals are also designed to have a longer shelf life, especially in freezers, and therefore can provide flexibility with menu planning. For example, when residents in aged care do not like menu items, using complete prepared meals is a useful strategy to provide meal solutions.

Prepared foods are an important part of meal preparation and menu planning. They save time and provide meal variety options. We would not be able to prepare the types of meals in the time we often have without the help of prepared foods.

Dr Karen Abbey is a foodservice specialist dietitian and the Foodservice Ambassador for Church Resources. Karen’s career has covered the foodservice system, training, quality menu planning, texture modification enhancement and finding effective solutions for aged care dining and foodservice. Karen is the Director of Nutrition and Catering Consultancy and publishes the Nutrition and Catering Global Hub, a free online publication which promotes recipes, resources and valuable information to support foodservice. Karen has a passion for, and is actively involved in, promoting the importance of quality in foodservice.

 

 

Karen is an Accredited Practising Dietitian (ADP) and member of the Dietitians Association of Australia’s Food Service Interest Group. To find an APD, visit the ‘Find an APD’ section of the DAA website at www.daa.asn.au or call 1800 812 942.