#cutthecrustchallenge Begins September 1st!

Boom, check it! Calling all dysphagia advocates to intentionally switch it up for the month of September! When working in skilled nursing and inpatient rehab, it pained me to see chocolate pudding and applesauce accompany dinner for a patient's birthday, usually the default for anyone who was not on a"regular" diet. I constantly advocated to add a little razzle dazzle to the tray because life is precious!

ABC's (Anniversaries, Birthdays, and Celebrations) should be cherished and recoginized! People with swallowing difficulty deserve to have food that is presented nicely and is a party on the palate. Sometimes this means a little extra effort to find favorite foods and make it safe to eat at the same time. Usually this can be done with simple modifications such as making a flavorful trifle, parfait, or #cuttingthecrust off of a creme pie or cheesecake. Show me what you got!

Best submission wins a $100 Amazon gift card!

TikTok Challenge:

1. Film yourself with an easy modified tasty dessert that is considered pureed (Level 4 IDDSI) up to soft-bite sized (Level 6 IDDSI).

2. Use the "Cut It by O.T. Genasis (feat Young Dolph) [Challenge Version]"song!

3. Act on it:

• Spread the word about dysphagia with hashtags #cutthecrustchallenge #dysphoodie

• Make an occasion special for someone with dysphagia this month!