Nutrition in Aged Care – Finger Foods

1. Hot chips – potato / sweet potato / yam
2. Chicken nuggets
3. Fish fingers
4. Hash browns
5. Cheese cube / cheese sticks
6. Meatballs – chicken / beef / lamb
7. Shelled prawns
8. Scallops
9. Soft fruits like kiwi, strawberries, grapes, orange, cherries, pear, plum, lychee, watermelon, rockmelon, peaches, apricots, mandarin
10. Gherkin
11. Fresh cut vegetables – cucumber, mushroom, celery (stings removed), baby carrot, tomato
12. Cut steamed vegetables – carrot, broccoli, baby zucchini, cauliflower, baby squash, sweet potato, asparagus, mushrooms, baby corn,
13. Gnocchi
14. Watermelon
15. Sweet potato pieces
16. Cooked pumpkin pieces
17. Grilled potato / sweet potato / yam wedges
18. Biscuits
19. Cakes
20. Rice cakes
21. Corn Thins
22. Vanilla wafers
23. Water crackers – cheese, tomato, jam, honey, avocado
24. Dried fruits – apricots, apple, prunes, sultanas, raisins, peaches, figs, mango, pineapple, dates
25. Sandwiches – lean ham, chicken, egg, fish, jam, vegemite, peanut butter, avocado, cheese, butter, jam, honey
26. Scone
27. Toast / Raisin toast / Fruit loaf / Pretzels
28. Hard-boiled egg
29. Pastries – Minced pie, Custard tart, Chicken pie, Beef pie,  Raspberry tartlets, Small cup cakes, Small muffins,
30. Cold cuts – processed meats like chicken breast / corned beef / meatloaf / chicken loaf /corned silverside, smoked fish, cold roast meats, sausage
31. Ice cream on cone
32. Rocky road / marshmallow / bite-size chocolate / toffees / brownies
33. Mini quiche – vegetables / pumpkin / leek / spinach and basil / cheese and mushroom
34. Crumpets
35. Tea / Coffee / Milo /High protein favoured milk drinks in spill-proof cups for drinking on the go
36. Sliced ham / salami / prosciutto / Devon
37. Chicken schnitzel (fish-finger size)
38. Pikelets – raspberry and cream, honeycomb, coconut and banana, mascarpone
39. Seafood basket (fried) – calamari / fish / scallop / prawns / seafood stick
40. Mini Pies – cheese and spinach / chicken / beef / seafood / vegetable / cheese
41. Filo triangles
42. Gozleme
43. Quesadillas
44. Mini Muffins – salmon and chive / cheese and raspberry / banana and walnut/ chocolate / cappuccino / blueberry / strawberry and ricotta / peach / sticky date / apple and oat / fig jam / spinach and cheese / peach and buttermilk / strawberry and cheesecake
45. Ravioli – meat / vegetable / ham and cheese
46. Pillows – ricotta and spinach / walnut / pear / fig and walnut
47. Dumplings – meat / vegetables / meat and vegetables
48. Spring rolls – vegetable / meat / seafood / meat and vegetable
49. Fish cakes – salmon / tuna / cod
50. Rissoles – Moroccan / chicken and almond / beef / Thai chicken / tuna / salmon / Turkey / French / Italian / Greek / Mexican / beef and lentil
51. Lemon coconut slice
52. Donuts – raspberry / blueberry / chocolate / cheese
53. Mini Bagels – blueberry / strawberry + cream cheese + honey
54. Profiteroles – raspberry / cream / chocolate / vanilla mascarpone / caramel / custard
55. Mini Pavlova – mango / passion fruit/ coconut mixed berry mascarpone
56. Mini friands – lemon / blueberries / raspberries / apple / cherry
57. Samousa
58. Macaroons – berries, chocolate, French almond
59. Sausage rolls / Savoury mince
60. Croquettes – crabs / tuna / potato and herb / ham or bacon and cheese / lentil
61. Finger buns
62. Baked miniature frittatas
63. Meringue dessert slice / milk pudding
64. Twists – herb, cheese, pesto and parmesan, sugar, cheddar and cumin

 

How to calculate the BMI of an Amputee

I was stunned and thought I was going crazy!

How was it possible I could not understand a simple calculation of BMI for an amputee?

You see, at a recent seminar in Ballina, I was asked how to calculate the BMI of an amputee.

I decided to share the answer with you via our newsletter. So one evening I sat down at my laptop, went to the official MNA (Mini Nutritional Assessment) website to look up the latest body part percentages and write the newsletter article.

So how do you calculate the BMI of an amputee?

The answer is actually quite simple – first you need to look up the estimated percentage of the missing body part as compared to a whole body. Now you can calculate what the "whole" body of the amputee would weigh based on the amputee’s current weight and the missing limb’s percentage. Once you have the "whole" body weight, you can determine the BMI as normal.

The following table has the appropriate percentages:

Body Part Percentage
Trunk without limbs 50.0
Hand 0.7
Forearm with hand 2.3
Forearm without hand 1.6
Upper arm 2.7
Entire arm 5.0
Foot 1.5
Lower leg with foot 5.9
Lower leg without foot 4.4
Thigh 10.1
Entire leg 16.0

What completely threw me was the example in Appendix 3 of the MNA guide for how to calculate the BMI of an amputee, which simply multiplied the missing body part’s percentage with the body weight to add to the total body weight.

Have a look:
example on how to calculate the BMI of an amputee

You see, the percentage of WHOLE body weight for the missing leg is 5.9%. But in the example, the percentage is taken from the CURRENT (i.e. amputated) body weight.

I struggled, I kept re-reading the definition of terms, questioned my husband for his opinion (in Star Trek he would be Mr Spock, because he is so logical).

In the end I sent a message to the MNA team. It turns out the example was wrong and I was correct.

So with my sanity saved (and Mr Spock on my side), let me give you a correct example.

Correct Example of How to Calculate the BMI of an Amputee

An amputee has lost an entire leg and weighs 70kg without his prosthesis.

His estimated total body weight would be 70kg/(100-16) x 100 = 83.3 kg.

And if his height is 1.7m, the BMI would be:
weight (kg) / height (m2) = 83.3 kg / (1.7 x 1.7) m2 = 28.8.
 

Hope you find this helpful in calculating your amputee’s BMI.

I’m told the MNA example will be rectified shortly, so hopefully nobody else will tear their hair out anymore. And we can all confidently calculate the BMI of an amputee!