Soft Diet

Soft Menu Diet To Help Maintain Your Health

Maintaining nutrition on a softer consistency diet is important to good health. Foods that are easy to chew and swallow should include a nourishing variety from each food group so that mashed potatoes are not the only staple. Food processors and blenders are helpful kitchen tools. Jell-O accompanying meals can help food slide down easier.

Protein foods can include ground meats, beans, and eggs

– Egg salad, poached, boiled, or over easy eggs, deviled eggs, scrambled eggs
– Beans can be pureed, mashed, or cooked into soups, hummus, & dips, or baked
– Salmon, tuna or crab can be mashed with mayonnaise to make a salad or blended into patties
– Ground or puree meats with gravy or broths to moisten them
– Chile, Cottage pie, Corned beef hash, casseroles, meatballs with sauce
– Add strained baby meats to soups, sauces, and gravies

Dairy

– Grated cheese or cheese sauces add nourishment to a variety of main courses, potatoes, vegetables, and soups
– Cottage cheese and ricotta can be paired with soft fruits
– Milk, soy milk, or almond milk or yogurt can be made into shakes, mixed with instant breakfast powder, or added to hot cereals and other foods to soften
– Ice Cream, sherbet, frozen yogurt can be made into fun shakes, floats, or smoothies
– Custards, mousse, and puddings
– Powdered milk can be added to foods and beverages to fortify them with extra protein

Breads, Pastas, and Cereals

– Macaroni and cheese or pasta or lasagna with tomato sauce (cooked soft)
– Bread crumbs can be added to casseroles and ground meet
– Bread soup and Bread pudding
– Porridge with milk and honey
– Moist muffins or soft cake
– Dumplings can be added to soups and stews
– Pancakes with syrup and butter to moisten
– Corn flakes and rice krispies left in milk can become soft and easily slide down
– Crackers become very soft when crushed into soup

Fruits and vegetables

– Fruit and vegetable Juices
– Watermelon, cantaloupe, honey dew melon, fresh orange slices; kiwi
– Canned peaches, pears, fruit cocktail and mandarin oranges tend to be soft
– Applesauce, apple butter and other fruit butters or jams can moisten breads
– Berries can be pureed into smoothies
– Bananas and other soft fruits can be eaten as is or sliced into jello and smoothies
– Pureed pumpkin can be eaten with cinnamon or made into soup
– Cooked Peas and beans
– Sweet potatoes and squash- mashed or baked
– Potatoes- mashed, baked, or as a base for soup
– Cauliflower with cheese sauce
– Tomatoes- sliced, in sauces or added to casseroles for color and flavor
– Gazpacho or cold soups
– Soups: Black Bean, cream of mushroom; cream of celery, tomato bisque, cheesy potato, broccoli cheese, split pea

Speech pathologists at Axiom Home Care can work with a variety of swallow problems to help strengthen muscles in the throat and teach strategies to improve swallow function.

If you feel you could benefit from home care services, please speak to your doctor and ask for Axiom Homecare, or call us directly @ 734-324-3166