To most of us, eating and drinking is something we take for granted.

Sitting down to enjoy a meal a couple of times a day is simply part of our daily routine.

But for others, it is not as straightforward. People with a learning disability and dysphagia – experiencing difficulty swallowing – can have difficulty eating and drinking, which could mean that they do not consume the right amounts of food or drink. This can lead to further health problems.

To address this, Bradford District Care Trust has launched a recipe book – believed to be the first of its kind, filled with great-tasting recipes for people in need of modified diets.

The project is the culmination of extensive research on the subject, followed by practical cooking sessions.

Dieticians Grainne Boyle and Rebecca Martin and speech and language therapist Rebecca Leighton are behind the book, Safe Swallowing Recipes.

Explains Rebecca Leighton: “It is so important that people with dysphagia eat and drink safely as they can be at risk of choking, of food or fluid entering their airways. This means they can be at risk of not getting the right amount of food or fluid intake. If food is not the right consistency, it is more likely to enter their airways and cause choking or lead to a chest infection.”

There is a higher prevalence of dysphagia in people with learning difficulties than the general population. The main role of speech and language therapists and dieticians working in this field is to assess, identify and reduce risks.

The team spoke to carers supporting people in homes, as well as chefs, to find out what problems they encountered when preparing and modifying food. They found that many were unsure and anxious about meal preparation.

“They told us they weren’t sure what consistency food should be and what foods could be mashed or blended safely,” says Grainne. “It can be stressful for carers to prepare meals and we wanted to support them, too.

“We had a look at what was already available and found recipes online, however many were for large numbers, such as hospital recipes for more than 100 people. We couldn’t find any for amateur cooks rather than qualified chefs, or any which has been tested by speech and language therapists and dieticians for taste, consistency and nutritional value.”

After several cooking sessions, the team had a shortlist of nutritious recipes that they were confident could be safely modified and tasted good. Portion sizes were measured and modification procedures were carefully documented.

Leeds Metropolitan University allowed the team to use its professional kitchens in the dietetics department, and with help from a number of volunteer students, the final recipes for breakfasts, main meals, side dishes, light meals, snacks and puddings were created. These include salmon fishcakes with parsley sauce, sweet potato and coconut soup, and fruit with custard.

Some recipes were trialed at the care trust’s safe swallowing days, where carers and support workers gave feedback.

Katriona Walton, a support worker for the learning disability charity Home Farm Trust at Shipley Resource Centre, took part in a training session run by the team. She says: “I found the recipes really easy to follow and tasty, too. We held a taster session with service users and watched for signs as to whether they liked it or not – there were lots of smiles for the mango and banana smoothie.”

She adds: “I think the recipe book will be really useful for carers and give them lots of ideas of what to make using natural products.”

Says Rebecca Martin: “We knew we needed to create meals with our specialist knowledge in safe swallowing to make sure they were fit for purpose. “Seeing what foods modified well together and which didn’t: blending, mashing and chopping food to create the right consistency – tasting different foods, checking portion size and nutritional value. We gained a good insight into the problems in preparing meals that are safe to chew and swallow, that carers are coming up against every day.”

Rebecca Leighton adds: “We learned a lot while trialing the recipes, getting round hurdles such as chopping fresh tomatoes to put into a casserole – there was tomato skin floating in there which isn’t safe. We know next time to use a tomato puree. For us, it was all about safer, tastier more appetising food on the plate.”

For more information or to order a copy of the book, which costs £5, visit bdct.nhs.uk/ safeswallowing, or call (01274) 223900.