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Pureed Diet

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You may need a pureed diet if you have difficulty chewing or swallowing your food.  Foods recommended on this diet are in a smooth form — pureed, blenderized, or strained — to make them easier for you to eat.


General Tips

  • Add small amounts of liquids such as broth, milk, or gravy to foods to make them easier to swallow
  • Try pureeing each food in combination foods separately - then, layer them and top with a sauce to make meals more appetizing 


Recommendations by Food Group
 

Breads, Cereals, Rice, and Pasta

Foods Recommended

Cooking Tips

Cereals

  • Corn Flakes
  • Frosted Flakes
  • Rice Krispies

  • Cooked cereals without added fruits, seeds or nuts

Breads
Soft, crustless bread pureed with milk or other liquid as tolerated

Grains
Pureed rice and noodles

Other
Blended strained soups
  • Cold cereal is to be served with milk of desired thickness poured over to pre-soften cereal
  • Add bread crumbs to pureed soups, casseroles, and vegetables
  • Puree non-instant oatmeal
  • Add small amounts of sauce or gravy when pureeing rice or noodles.

 Fruits

Foods Recommended

Cooking Tips
  • Peeled and pureed fruits
  • All fruit juices and nectars\
  • Blend fresh or canned fruit into milkshakes or yogurt
  • Remove seeds in fruit where needed

Vegetables

Foods Recommended

Cooking Tips
  • Mashed or creamed potatoes
  • Vegetable juices
  • Season vegetables with butter or margarine to boost calories and ground spices for added flavor
  • Peel vegetables and remove seeds where needed

Protein (meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, peas, eggs, nuts)

Foods Recommended

Cooking Tips
  • Meat, fish, and poultry pureed without skin or bones and thinned with a liquid such as broth or gravy
  • Cooked and pureed scrambled eggs or egg substitute
  • Pureed dry beans and peas thinned with broth or gravy
  • Try liquids that add flavor to the food, such as adding beef broth to ground meat or turkey gravy to turkey
  • Cook eggs well; no raw or runny yolks

Protein (milk, yogurt and cheese)

Foods Recommended

Cooking Tips
  • Milk, malted milk, or milkshakes
  • Pureed cottage cheese
  • Plain yogurt
  • Pureed fruit yogurt
  • Avoid milk or milk products made with raw eggs
  • Use hot milk in cocoa or coffee instead of water to boost calories

Fats, Snacks, Sweets, Condiments, Beverages

Foods Recommended

Cooking Tips
  • Butter or fortified margarine, cream, cream substitute, cooking fats and oils, gravies, whipped cream and whipped topping
  • Broth, bouillon, consommé
  • Plain custards, puddings, sherbet, ice cream, fruit-flavored ices, frozen fruit pops, fruit whips, flavored gelatin, and cakes and pies pureed with milk or other liquids
  • Clear jelly, sugar, sugar substitute,  honey, and syrup
  • Seasonings such as salt, pepper, and ground spices
  • Scan cookbooks for recipes like cream soups or whipped fruit desserts to add variety to your menu

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It is for informational use only. It does not take the place of getting advice from a doctor for diagnosis or treatment. Never ignore your doctor's advice or wait to get medical help because of something you have read on this site. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or dial 911 right away.  Read disclaimer information.