# Nursing Home Trip



## cindy_texan (May 6, 2009)

Hi! I'm an Activity director for a non-profit Nursing home in Cleveland Texas. We have started a Round the world tour for our resident's via the internet, pictures,decorations, and foods from each country that we "visit".
The first trip was Mexico And in June we are planning a Virtual visit to Australia. The Resident's are very excited about Australia, but I have to tell you that on my budget I'm finding it difficult to find food, decorations and ideas for your beautiful country. If anyone has any ideas for me please let me know. Maybe you have some picture's or traditions that you can share with us.Most of our Resident' are between 80 yrs. and 100yr's.
Yall have a great day! 
Cindy


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## Wanderer (Jun 16, 2007)

Hi Cindy,
Sounds like a great concept to allow the elderly to travel.

I've heard that elderly people do not have quite the same food appetites as when they wereyounger and that's understandable if you're not exercing as much and from that aspect if you wanted to have more finger type food and nibbles that is something that is somewhat traditional to many Australians.

Like the US, we are a country with peoples of diversified background, something over 200 nations in the heritage of our populaton and so whereas initially a lot of our food was a bit on the bland side in coming from initially English/Irish tastes, our choices of food has changed somewhat dramatically but you'll still find older country folk on their porridge or bacon and eggs for breke, staple meals of a meat, potato and other vegetables etc.

Fortunately, European/Asian/Mexican/Indian cuisines have been good for us and at same time our moderate weather allows us to have most things in any season and actually because Xmas here can be a scorcher, one thing popular in recent years is to have Mid Year Xmas Dinners so as to have more of the traditional roast and Xmas puddings etc., our Xmas lunch/dinners we make a big deal of, a bit like how I understand the Americans have more of a feast for Thanksgiving than for Xmas or maybe you do it twice!.

And so while I generalise I would say that a lot of our eating is very much like that in the US though maybe not the deep fried deal quite as much.
And traditional foods here can be a whole range depending on where ones ancestors came from.

A few things though, and some that should not cost too dearly.
. BBQs - and snags[sausages] and rissoles [hamburger patti] are just as popular as steaks or chops and whereas you can get all sorts of flavoured gourmet sausages these days [and pay for them], some mince meat with chopped onions/carrots etc., using eggs as a binder and flavoured with spices makes great rissoles.

. Casseroles are also a great favourite and it is popular to have mince as above formed into little meatballs and then with a tomatoe base[chopped/diced canned tomatoes often cheaper than fresh] sauce, extra veges added you can have a tasty cheap meal and you could have some boiled rice to seve it on.

. Personal size meat pies and sausage rolls are apparently something not so much on the American menu but they've been something of a traditional take-away food here from way back before KFC and Mickey Donalds birth and they are somewhat traditional fare to have at football matches, a pie and sauce [or dead horse] washed down with an ale or two.
The standard size is about 4" in diameter, 1.5" high and so something of a meal in themselves and whereas original ones were very basic, they come in all sorts of flavours these days.
The tradition with football has gone a step further and many a football training night would include finishing off with party pies, pasties and sausage rolls [all in mini size] and as the name could imply, they have become popular party fare.

The home made variety are the best for you know exactly what the ingredients are and so with some pastry rolled, again some mince to roll thebpastry around, you have your sausage roll for an oven, they usually being rolled up as a length and then cross indentations made with side of a fork and cut there after baking to give a size good for a couple of bites - bowls of tomato, chillie or BBQ sauce for dipping into.
If you have some little cup cake trays, you have the mould for doing pies too but more work in those.

. Seafood, yes with all that surrounding ocean we like our fish too and you could even have a fish casserole or a chicken one too, catering to all tastes, or for fish finger food - crumbed fish fingers could be commercially available and they're not all that expensive in larger packs and into the oven and out onto plates and you're in business.
Fish and Chips was also our initial take away Friday night family meal more so than Meat pies and you had pieces of battered fish, crumbed or hot plate fried in later days and then potato cakes, a slice of potato in batter and similarly in batter or crumbs, prawns or scallops.
An extension of the chip is the Potato Wedge or jumbo chip I suppose you could call it and in microwaving a little first and then putting pieces into a bag of spiced bread crumbs before finishing off in the oven you have them crunchy and tasty, bowls of sour cream, quacamole or cheese dips [even home made ones - mash up some avacado or cooked carrots and blend with sour cream]

And then the humble spud can be turned into a meal with a sizable one cross cut, microW & baked so the quarters fall outwards and you fill the centre void with a saucy mince or whatever with strips of cheese on top.

And to have all those dips put to a healthy use, lengths of cut carrot, celery, slices of cucumber or tomato or even raw cauliflower can be used as finger food to dip into sauces or dips.

An Anzac biscuit can be simply made and consisting largely of oats is quite healthy for a sweet nibble as against doing up a full desert and I'd reckon our tastes in deserts are much the same, Cheesecakes, fruitsalad and icecream etc.

So hope that helps food wise and as for tradition, we're much like America inmay ways though our Australia Day to commemorate first fleet arrival is hardly as big as Thanksgiving and we love our outdoors and sport just as much as Americans, we playing four major types of football here not counting Grid Iron and then of course Cricket here is much bigger than Baseball.
Our population is not as spread across inland regions as what America is, our inland being far more desert like and rainfall is extremely low at times, Australia being the driest continent they say.

For your decorations, you probably haven't got any Gum Trees handy and not too sure what you could do re decoration wise.
As for pictures etc. do you mean sending some across or just posting some via the internet? - have you thought of using the net and a big screen set-up of some type if that was possible and seeing if you've got someone who can work up a disc of Google Earth for if you haven't looked at it, do so for you'll be anazed just how much of an armchaor traveller you can be.
I've got an additional DVD copy here at home of a flight video over the Ord River and Bungles in NW of WA, one of Australia's more remote areas - you're welcome to it if you want something sent.

But let me know [by PM if you like] of what you were thinking off re photos etc.

And just a thought on decorations - there'll be plenty of pictures online of Ayers Rock, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House and if you can get yourself some sizable sheets of cardboard, someone artistic could knock up some bacdrops.

And another thought too - many web sites of tourist areas already have mini movies or slide shows and ones that come to mind are Lady Elliot Island and Whitsundays but probably also many more.


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## cindy_texan (May 6, 2009)

*Thanks for information*

Wanderer, thanks for your reply. It was very informative. I've found out through internet research that your food is very much like ours. 
We have decided to have a BBQ outside if it's not terribly hot. I also like the idea of the anzac bisquits, and I have a friend that will make some of the little meat pies.
I noticed that you didn't mention crocidile or kangaroo meat. I guess people from this country get the idea from TV that yall eat this regularly.
I like the idea of using google earth. I'm going to try to find someone to connect to the big screen TV in the dining room and give that a try.
Again thanks for taking the time to help out. I'll try to post a picture of our "trip".
Have a great day,
Cindy


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## Wanderer (Jun 16, 2007)

No Cindy,
Crocodile meat is not eaten widely and more of a novelty in the Northern Territory region, apparently having a chickenish favour to it.
I was up there last year and didn't even think to try some.

And Kangaroos even less on the menu though I've heard some supermarkets are starting to stock it in gourmet sections but nothing too gourmet about it as in being what we'd describe as 'game' meat it is rather tough/stringy with a very strong flavour and takes a bit of preparation apparently, marinating and all to come up with something reasonably edible.
That aside, just came home from shops an hour or so ago and bought some kangaroo steaks [but in pet foof section], and was actually thinking I'll lightly kook them on the BBQ for the hounds - they're old ones too!

Hope the day goes well and if you have an address for the home I'll post over that DVD I have [hopefully it'd work re zones and all] - that area not only is remote but also very ruggedly beautiful, about as close as what Australia would have to likes of Grand Canyon.


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