AY Honors/Home Nursing/Answer Key

A soft diet is recommended in many situations, including some types of dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), surgery involving the mouth or gastrointestinal tract, and pain from newly adjusted braces.

A soft diet can include many foods if they are mashed or pureed, placed in soups, stews, chili, curries, or made into sauces.

In some situations, there are additional restrictions. For example, patients who need to avoid excessive reflux, such as those recovering from esophageal surgery for achalasia, are also instructed to stay away from foods that can aggravate reflux, which include ketchup and other tomato products, citrus fruits, chocolate, mint, spicy foods, alcohol, and caffeine.

Many of the foods listed here can be adapted for a "full liquid" diet (not a "clear liquid" diet) by processing in a blender with an appropriate thinning liquid, such as a meat broth, fruit or vegetable juice, or milk.

Grains/starches

• Cooked cereals: oatmeal, porridge, Weetabix/Cream of Wheat, Cream of Rice.
• Breakfast Cereal, soggy in milk.
• Macaroni & Cheese (pureed in blender if needed.)
• Mashed potatoes and gravy
• Mashed sweet potatoes
• Pasta cooked soft
• Rice cooked soft
• Skinless baked potatoes with sour cream or cream cheese

Protein

• Refried Beans with melted cheese, Sour Cream and Salsa or add some Chili.
• Baked beans, well-cooked and slightly mashed.
• Cottage cheese
• Canned tuna or canned chicken, water-packed (pureed in blender).
• Eggs, scrambled.
• Fish cooked soft
• Meatloaf, meatballs, cottage pie, and other soft dishes with ground meat
• Tofu
• Yogurt

Fruits and vegetables

• Applesauce
• Avocados
• Bananas
• Grapefruit sections
• Orange sections
• vegetables cooked soft or pureed in the blender
• Spinach, creamed.
• soup, many kinds.
• juices
• melons: Watermelon, Cantelope, Honeydew.
• Peeled Pears or Peaches, ripe or canned
• creamed Corn.

Desserts

• Custard
• Fruit smoothies
• Ice cream, Sherbet, Frozen Yogurt, Popsicles
• Milkshakes
• Pudding
• Pie: Pumpkin, Key Lime.
• Yogurt
• Whipped cream or Whipped Topping
• Chocolate, small pieces which melt in mouth (Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey Kiss).

See also

• NIDCD information on dysphagia
• Dysphagia Online
• British Dental Health Foundation