Soft diet
A soft diet is recommended in many situations, including some types of dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), surgery involving the jaw, mouth or gastrointestinal tract, and pain from newly adjusted dental braces.
A soft diet can include many foods if they are mashed, pureed, combined with sauce or gravy, or cooked in soups, stews, chili, or curries.
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 vegetable or meat broth, fruit or vegetable juice, or milk.
Contents |
[edit] Grains/starches
- Baked potatoes, skinless, with sour cream or cream cheese
- Breakfast cereal (Cheerios, Cornflakes, Corn Pops, Corn Chex, Rice Krispies), softened/soggy in milk
- Cooked hot cereals such as oatmeal, porridge, Cream of Wheat, grits, Cream of Rice, Farina, or Weetabix
- Couscous
- Lasagne with extra sauce
- Macaroni & cheese, cooked soft
- Mashed potatoes and gravy
- Mashed sweet potatoes
- Muffins, pancakes, or waffles (softened by adding syrup or butter and reheating)
- Gruel
- Pasta cooked soft
- Potato salad, mashed
- Quinoa
- Rice cooked soft with sauce or gravy
- Risotto
[edit] Protein
- Baked beans, slightly mashed
- Canned tuna or canned chicken, pureed in blender
- Chicken salad or tuna salad
- Cottage cheese
- Eggs, scrambled
- Enchilada pie
- Fish cooked soft
- Meatloaf, meatballs, cottage pie, and other soft dishes with ground meat
- Nut butter such as peanut butter, almond butter, or cashew butter
- Refried beans with melted cheese, sour cream, salsa, or guacamole
- Sloppy joe
- Tofu
- Yogurt
[edit] Fruits and vegetables
- Applesauce
- Avocados
- Bananas, mashed if needed
- Creamed corn
- Creamed spinach
- Fruit juices
- Melons: Watermelon, cantelope, or honeydew, ripe and cubed
- Orange or grapefruit, sectioned
- Peeled pears or peaches, ripe or canned
- Soup with soft-cooked vegetables
- Vegetable juices such as tomato juice or carrot juice
- Vegetables cooked soft, mashed, or pureed in the blender
[edit] Desserts
- Cake softened with milk or ice cream
- Cheesecake
- Cream pies
- Custard
- Fruit smoothies
- Gelatin desserts such as Jell-O
- Ice cream, sherbet, frozen yogurt, popsicles, Italian ice
- Milkshakes
- Mousse
- Pudding
- Pumpkin pie, key lime pie, and other soft pies
- Whipped cream or whipped topping
