Download Nutrition Therapy for Soft Foods

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Nutrition Therapy for Soft Foods
A registered dietitian can provide guidance as to how to modify foods so that you can enjoy
favorite flavors, and also to eat safely. Follow the diet below until your registered dietitian,
physician, or other health care professional changes the texture of your diet.
• The purpose of altering foods is to provide foods that can be successfully and safely
swallowed.
• This diet consists of foods that are soft and easy to chew and swallow.
• This diet consists of food of nearly regular textures but excludes very hard, sticky, or
crunchy foods. Foods should be moist.
• “Bite-size” pieces (½ inch or smaller) are easier to swallow.
Cooking and Preparation Tips
• Cook meats using a moist cooking method such as braising, stewing, or baking in liquid
until meat is tender.
• Cook vegetables until tender enough to mash with a fork. Continue to avoid cooked corn
and tough, stringy, or crisp-fried potatoes and potato skins.
• Soft, peeled fresh fruits such as peaches, nectarines, or honeydew melon can be a
welcome change from canned fruits or well-cooked dried fruits.
• Serve broths, soups, or chowders with small pieces of meat and vegetables or strain them
if pieces of meat and vegetables are larger than ½ inch.
• Prepare quantities of favorite food items and freeze them in portion sizes for use later.
• Reheat foods carefully so that a tough outer crust does not form on them.
Notes:
Copyright © Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
This guide to foods served may be printed for client education purposes.
It is not intended to replace the individualized nutrition intervention provided by the Registered Dietitian.
Nutrition Therapy for Soft Foods – Page 1
Liquids
Liquids may be difficult to swallow and may require thickening. Your diet may also need
to be adjusted to allow only thickened liquids, as described below.
Prescribed liquid consistency:
Thick only
Thin and Thick
Thin Liquids
• Thin liquids include unthickened fruit juices, milk, coffee, tea, soda, carbonated
beverages, alcoholic beverages, nutritional supplements, broth, and strained, unthickened
soups.
• Frozen malts, yogurt, milk shakes, eggnog, nutritional supplements, ice cream, sherbet,
plain regular or sugar-free gelatin or other foods that become thin liquid at body
temperature (98°F) are considered thin liquids.
Thickened Liquids
• Thick or thickened liquids may be purchased already mixed or made by adding
commercial thickeners.
• Soups may be pureed in a blender or strained to remove chunks or lumps then thickened
with flour, cornstarch, potato flakes, or commercial thickeners to a pudding consistency.
• Thicken beverages such as milk, juices without pulp, coffee, tea, soda, carbonated
beverages, alcoholic beverages, and nutritional supplements to pudding consistency.
• Thicken frozen malts, yogurt, milk shakes, eggnog, nutritional supplements, ice cream,
sherbet, plain regular or sugar-free gelatin or other foods that become thin liquid at body
temperature (98°F) to pudding consistency.
Recommended Foods
Food Group
Grains
Vegetables
Fruits
Recommended Foods
Breads, biscuits, muffins, pancakes, waffles that have been well
moistened with syrup, jelly, margarine, or butter. Well-moistened
cooked or dry cereals. All pasta and noodles, rice, wild rice, and
moist bread dressing.
Tender-fried potatoes. All cooked tender vegetables. Shredded
lettuce.
All canned and cooked fruits. Soft, peeled fresh fruits such as
peaches, nectarines, kiwi, mangoes, cantaloupe, honeydew,
watermelon (without seeds). Soft berries with small seeds such as
strawberries.
Copyright © Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
This guide to foods served may be printed for client education purposes.
It is not intended to replace the individualized nutrition intervention provided by the Registered Dietitian.
Nutrition Therapy for Soft Foods – Page 2
Food Group
Milk
Meat and Other
Protein Products
Fats and Oils
Recommended Foods
Milk, cream, half and half, pudding, custard, ice cream, sherbet,
malts, frozen yogurt, and cottage cheese.
Well-moistened, thin-sliced, tender, or ground meat, poultry, or fish
with gravy or sauce. Eggs prepared in any way. Yogurt without
nuts or coconut. Casseroles with small chunks of meat, ground or
tender meats.
All except those on the foods not recommended list.
Foods Not Recommended
Food Group
Grains
Vegetables
Fruits
Milk
Meat and Other
Protein Foods
Fats and Oils
Foods Not Recommended
Dry bread, toast, and crackers that have not been moistened. Tough,
crusty breads such as French bread or baguettes. Coarse or dry
cereals such as shredded wheat or All Bran®. Dry bread dressing.
Dry cakes or cookies that are chewy or very dry.
All raw vegetables except shredded lettuce. Cooked corn. Tough,
crisp-fried potatoes, potato skins, or other fibrous, tough, or stringy
cooked vegetables.
Difficult to chew fresh fruits such as apples or pears. Stringy, highpulp fruits such as papaya, pineapple, or mango. Fresh fruits with
difficult to chew peels such as grapes. Uncooked dried fruits such
as prunes and apricots. Fruit leather, fruit roll-ups, fruit snacks,
dried fruits.
None unless liquids are restricted.
Anything with nuts, seeds, dry fruits, coconut, pineapple. Tough,
dry meats and poultry. Dry fish or fish with bones. Chunky peanut
butter. Yogurt with nuts or coconut.
All fats with coarse, difficult to chew, or chunky additives such as
cream cheese spread with nuts or pineapple.
Notes:
Copyright © Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
This guide to foods served may be printed for client education purposes.
It is not intended to replace the individualized nutrition intervention provided by the Registered Dietitian.
Level 3 Nutrition Therapy for Dysphagia: Advanced Foods – Page 3
Sample 1-Day Menu
Prescribed liquid consistency:
Thick only
Thin and Thick
Meal
Breakfast
Menu
½ cup (4 ounces) orange juice*
½ cup well-moistened dry cereal with ¼ cup of milk
1 scrambled egg with cheese on a moist biscuit
1 cup (8 ounces) milk*
1 cup moist beef stew in small chunks with a variety of wellLunch
cooked vegetables
1 slice moistened bread with butter or margarine
½ cup canned fruit salad
½ cup pudding with a moist cookie
1 cup (8 ounces) milk*
½ cup potato soup made with milk*
Evening Meal
1 slice moistened bread with butter or margarine
3 ounces moist chicken on ½ cup soft-cooked rice
½ cup green beans
1 slice apple pie with a moist crust, cheese wedge, and ice cream
1 cup (8 ounces) milk*
* These liquids may require thickening to meet the prescribed liquid consistency
Notes:
Copyright © Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
This guide to foods served may be printed for client education purposes.
It is not intended to replace the individualized nutrition intervention provided by the Registered Dietitian.
Nutrition Therapy for Soft Foods – Page 4
Sample 1-Day Meal Plan
Use this form to develop an individualized meal plan.
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Snack
Notes:
Copyright © Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
This guide to foods served may be printed for client education purposes.
It is not intended to replace the individualized nutrition intervention provided by the Registered Dietitian.
Nutrition Therapy for Soft Foods – Page 5