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Road and parking lot construction in Madison, Wis. may result in travel delays and route changes to UW Health clinic and hospital locations. Please plan accordingly.Read more
Road and parking lot construction in Madison, Wis. may result in travel delays and route changes to UW Health clinic and hospital locations. Please plan accordingly.Read more
This diet is designed for people who have trouble chewing and swallowing. Chopped, ground and pureed foods are included in this diet, as well as foods that break apart without a knife.
The foods in this diet are easy to eat and do not need a lot of chewing to swallow safely. This diet is helpful if you are missing teeth or have just had surgery and cannot chew hard foods. This diet does include soft breads and rice, so it is important that you can move food in your mouth and can swallow safely.
Smooth or fruited yogurt
Cottage cheese
Soft sliced cheese
Hard cheese cubes and slices
Yogurt with nuts or granola
Ground cooked meat and poultry
Baked, poached or broiled fish
Casseroles with ground or 1/4 inch diced meat
Eggs
Cottage cheese
Sandwich with soft bread
Shaved deli turkey or ham
Tuna salad or egg salad without celery or raw vegetables
Tofu
Well cooked, moistened and mashed dried beans, peas and legumes
Diced meatloaf and meatballs
Thick cold cuts
Sausage, wieners, hamburgers
Large chunks of cheese
Casseroles with large chunks of meat
Entire pieces of meat
Fried fish
Peanut butter
Chili with beans
Crisp fried eggs
Soft cooked vegetables that can easily be mashed with a fork
Legumes, potatoes without skins, and squash
Minced 1/8 or diced ¼ inch vegetables (you may find that some do not mince well)
Corn
Asparagus
Raw vegetables
Stir fried or lightly cooked vegetables that are still crunchy
Fried vegetables
Crispy French fries, crispy hash browns or fried potato skins
Applesauce or other pureed fruit
Drained canned fruits (unless you are allowed thin liquids)
Soft, fresh fruits such as peaches, nectarines without skin, melon, and bananas
Cooked fruit, mashed or diced
Canned fruit with juice or syrup unless allowed to drink thin liquids
Fruit with skins and seeds
Pineapple
Dried fruits
Cream of Wheat®, Cream of Rice®, oatmeal, Malt-o-Meal®, or Co-Co Wheats®
Soft pancakes, soft French toast moistened with syrup or sauce
Soft pasta, spätzle or dumplings with sauce, butter or gravy
Moist white rice
Soft breads, rolls, or muffins
Plain cold cereal softened with milk
Brown or wild rice
Cold coarse cereals with whole grains, dry fruit or nuts
Dry coarse breads with pieces of grain, nuts or seeds
Coarse hard crackers such as Rye Crisp or Melba toast
Hard taco shells
Popcorn, chips
Chow mein noodles
Any cream soups or broth soups without large chunks of food
Plain broth
Soups with stringy meats, hard vegetables or other firm pieces of food
Custards or pudding
Rice or bread pudding without dried fruit
Gelatin
Sherbet/sorbet, ice cream and popsicles if thin liquids are allowed
Cakes and pies without nuts
Soft cookies without dried fruit or nuts
Chocolate candy without nuts
Desserts with nuts, seeds, coconut or dried fruit
Candy with nuts
Hard or chewy candy or cookies (taffy, caramel, licorice)
Granola bars
All drinks
None, unless you have been told to thicken your liquids. Then see Health Facts for You #468.
Butter, margarine, oils, vegetable shortening
Salad dressings, mayo
Vinegar
Gravies
Salt and pepper
Ketchup, mustard, bbq sauce
Jelly or preserves (without tough fruit skins)
Sugar, honey, molasses or syrup
Horseradish
Chili sauce
Tomato, alfredo or cheese sauce
Cream cheese or spreads with soft fruits and vegetables
Whipped topping
Olives
Jam or jelly with seeds
Salsa with large pieces of vegetables
All food must be in pieces that are no larger than ¼ inch.
Cut meat or veggies into strips that are ¼ inch or less.
Turn and cut every ¼ inch or less. You will want to be sure that all cubes are smaller than ¼ inch.
Use tools, such as a blender, food processor, food chopper, grinder, or potato masher to prepare foods for this diet.
Use gravies, sauces, vegetable or fruit juice, milk, half-and-half or water from cooking to moisten foods when blending, chopping, grinding, or mashing them.
Serve foods with gravies or sauces to moisten them and to add flavor.
Serve soft, moist casseroles and fish, meat, or egg salads without large chunks of meat or vegetables.
Serve soups with small pieces of easy to chew and easy to swallow meats and vegetables.
Cover bread products such as pancakes or bread slices with sauce, gravy, or syrup, then mix the two items until the bread product begins to dissolve into a slurry.
Add dry milk powder to foods to increase the calories and protein in this diet.
Prepare favorite food items and freeze them in portion sizes for use later.
Reheat foods with care so that a tough outer crust does not form on them.
Avoid sticky foods such as peanut butter, and chewy candies such as caramel, toffee, and licorice.
Vegetables should be cooked tender enough to be easily mashed with a fork.
Add nutritional supplements such as Ensure®, BOOST®, or Carnation Breakfast Essentials® to your diet. Most people on this diet are happy to find out that desserts are a fun way to increase calories. In the morning, you can fix what you might want to call “Super Duper Cereal.” You can make it based on what tastes you like.
1 package of plain instant oatmeal
4 ounces of high protein nutrition supplement such as Boost High Protein®, Ensure High Protein®, or similar product. You pick the flavor.
Nutmeg or cinnamon
Empty instant oats into a microwave safe bowl. Add supplement. Microwave uncovered for 1 ½ -2 minutes or until thickened. Use potholders to remove. Sprinkle with nutmeg or cinnamon. Serve with milk or cream as desired. Each serving will provide 212 calories and 20.5 grams of protein.
1 egg, beaten
1 ¾ cups milk
¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup quick cooking oats or blended rolled oats
2 tablespoons butter
In a saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the egg, milk, and brown sugar. Mix in the oats. When the oatmeal begins to boil, cook and stir until thick. Remove from the heat. Stir in the butter until melted. Makes two servings. Each serving will provide 497 calories and 16.4 grams of protein.
If you are a UW Health patient and have more questions, please contact UW Health at one of the phone numbers listed below. You can also visit our website at www.uwhealth.org/nutrition.
Nutrition clinics for UW Hospital and Clinics (UWHC) and American Family Children’s Hospital (AFCH) can be reached at: (608) 890-5500.
Nutrition clinics for UW Medical Foundation (UWMF) can be reached at: (608) 287-2770.