Ideas for FIL with no teeth

<p>FIL just had all his teeth removed and will be fitted with dentures in about a month. He’s single with not much money and we recently learned he has been living on Ensure and now has some very unpleasant side effects from that. I’ve now sent him two Crustless quiches, which he loved and appreciated very much, but I need some ideas of other soft foods which are nutrient dense and fairly easy to prepare. He doesn’t have any dietary restrictions that I’m aware of, other than the fact that he has no teeth.</p>

<p>Any suggestions?</p>

<p>Yowser. Interesting topic.</p>

<p>Soups?</p>

<p>Hope this helps:
Modified Diet: Mechanical Soft Diet</p>

<p>What is a Mechanical Soft diet?</p>

<p>This diet is designed for people who may not have enough energy or enough teeth to chew all foods. The foods in this diet are easy to eat and do not need a lot of chewing to swallow safely.</p>

<p>This diet is designed to help prevent you from becoming tired and not having to chew so much. This will allow you to eat more and be able to heal. This diet is also helpful if you are missing teeth or have just had surgery and are not able to chew real hard foods. This diet does include soft breads and rice so it is vital that you are able to move food in your mouth and be able to swallow safely.</p>

<p>Milk Products
Smooth or fruited yogurt
Cottage cheese
Soft sliced cheese</p>

<p>Meat and Protein
Ground cooked meat and poultry
Baked, poached or broiled fish
Casseroles with ground or 1/4 inch diced meat
Eggs
Cottage cheese
Sandwiches with soft bread
Shaved deli turkey or ham
Tuna salad or egg salad without celery or raw vegetables</p>

<p>Vegetables<br>
Soft cooked vegetables
Legumes, potatoes, and squash
Minced 1/8 or Diced ¼ inch vegetables (you may find that some do not mince well</p>

<p>How to Prepare Diced Meat and Vegetables</p>

<p>All food must be in pieces that are no larger than ¼ inch.</p>

<p>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</p>

<p>How can I increase my calories without a lot of chewing?</p>

<p>Add nutritional supplements such as Ensure®, BOOST®, or Carnation Instant Breakfast® 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”. It can be made based on what tastes you like.</p>

<p>Super Duper Cereal</p>

<p>1 package of plain instant oatmeal
4 ounces of high protein nutrition supplement such as Boost Hi Protein®, Ensure High
Protein®, or similar product. You pick the flavor.
Nutmeg or cinnamon
Empty instant oats into a microwave 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.</p>

<p>Butterscotch Oatmeal</p>

<p>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 sauce pan 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 2 servings. Each serving will provide 497 calories and 16.4 grams of protein </p>

<p>Fruits<br>
Applesauce
Drained canned fruits (unless you are allowed thin liquids)
Soft, fresh fruits such as peaches, nectarines without skin, melon, berries and bananas
Canned fruit with juice or syrup unless allowed to drink thin liquids, skins, and seeds
Breads, Cereals, and Starches<br>
Cream of Wheat®, Cream of Rice®, oatmeal, Malt-o-Meal®, or Co-Co Wheats®
Pancakes, soft French toast
Soft pasta
White rice
Soft breads, rolls, or muffins
Plain cold cereal softened with milk</p>

<p>Soup<br>
Any cream soups or broth soups strained or put in a blender.
Plain broth</p>

<p>Desserts<br>
Custards or pudding
Rice or bread pudding without dried fruit
Sherbet or sorbet
Gelatin
Ice cream and popsicles
Cakes and pies without nuts
Soft cookies without dried fruit or nuts
Chocolate candy without nut</p>

<p>Beverages<br>
All beverages</p>

<p>Butter, margarine, oils, vegetable shortening,
Salad dressings, mayonnaise
Vinegar,
Gravies
Salt, pepper, spices
Catsup, mustard,
Jelly or preserves
Sugar, honey, molasses, or syrup,
Horseradish
Chili sauce
Cream cheese
Olives</p>

<p>I think the previous post gives lots of great ideas.</p>

<p>Well cooked vegetables for a veggie plate? (mashed potatoes, well cooked beans or peas, broccolli casserole with the broccoli over cooked) </p>

<p>Some kind of creamy vegetable soup? potato, asparagus?</p>

<p>Jello, pudding, grits , overcooked pasta</p>

<p>Smoothies -if you have a good blender you could put spinach, yogurt, fruit even protein powder </p>

<p>You could even try some baby foods -it is temporary so maybe he wouldn’t mind</p>

<p>Maybe a good mushroom soup?</p>

<p>Thank you for the suggestions. I should have mentioned FIL told me “I’m not a soup person.” </p>

<p>That sure eliminates a whole lot of great options.</p>

<p>I had thought of doing some “overcooked” things which would soften them, pasta being one thought. I even wondered if a Lasagna, with pasta over cooked and the meat really finely ground might work. I keep thinking of high protein options as he is severely malnourished and has lost a lot of weight through all this ordeal.</p>

<p>He likes oatmeal, so thanks for the suggestions above.</p>

<p>I don’t like soup either… Mushroom soup is the only soup I’ll eat. =P
Shame.</p>

<p>Cream corn, perhaps?
Cobbler then remove the crust?</p>

<p>He could probably manage a Shepherd’s Pie with ground beef, peas, finely diced carrots and mashed potatoes.</p>

<p>^^^^I actually thought of that, and maybe a finely ground Moussaka. </p>

<p>It’s easy to think of soft foods. But when you consider the needs of an elderly person over a long period of time vs. days, it’s more challenging. My poor FIL needs food that will help him get back on track as he’s not been meeting his needs nutritionally. You really cannot live on Ensure and flan alone…</p>

<p>Thanks for the help…</p>

<p>Risotto? Puddings. Mashed potatoes/squash. Custard. Creme of wheat.</p>

<p>My mom has been without teeth for 33 months (not intentionally; we thought she’d have her teeth within 6 months.) Surprisingly her weight has remained stable. She doesn’t do shakes or smoothies. Ensure bothered her stomach so that didn’t last. She’s had lots of eggs, pastas such as lasagna and manicotti, quiche type dishes, grilled cheeses. Bananas, cheese, oatmeal, puddings. Lots of variations of dishes with ground beef such as meat loaf. </p>

<p>At this point she can eat almost anything, but many only in the privacy of her own home. Roasted meat is a problem since she can’t really chew it.</p>

<p>What about chili?</p>

<p>Oatmeal or other hot cereals should be easy to eat. Mix in eggs for more protein if desired.</p>

<p>Many kinds of fish do not require heavy chewing to eat.</p>

<p>Here’s a good vegetable lasagna recipe. It calls for gluten-free pasta but you could use any. I have made it with whatever vegetables I had on hand. Shred the veggies and you can pack a lot of nutrition into the meal.</p>

<p>[Vegetable</a> Lasagna - The Gluten-Free Homemaker](<a href=“http://glutenfreehomemaker.com/vegetable-lasagna/]Vegetable”>http://glutenfreehomemaker.com/vegetable-lasagna/)</p>

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<p>Great idea. He loves oatmeal, and the egg will give it more bang for the buck.</p>

<p>veggie lasagna, a great idea as well. Thanks. :)</p>

<p>Greek yogurt has way more protein than regular yogurt.
Saw Greek yogurt popsicles in the store this week…more protein in the form of dessert. </p>

<p>Quinoa is a good source of protein,provides all essential amino acids and is so tiny that no chewing is required. </p>

<p>How about pancakes? You can get the microwave kind that he can do himself. Once he put some syrup on they should soften up enough for him to eat them. </p>

<p>Baked sweet potatoes/acorn squash</p>

<p>Stove Top stuffing would be something easy he could do himself.</p>

<p>Canned tuna plain or tuna salad finely minced.</p>

<p>Any canned fish (sardines, salmon, tuna, herring, etc.) is cooked well enough to be soft enough so that heavy chewing is not required (any bones that may be present are edible).</p>

<p>Well cooked or canned vegetables can be soft enough, although heavily cooking or canning vegetables can reduce their nutritional value (except for tomatoes).</p>

<p>Tofu, particularly the soft kind, does not require heavy chewing.</p>

<p>What about something like this -you could add some kind of finely diced meat to it if you wanted
[Hash</a> Brown Casserole for the Slow Cooker Recipe - Allrecipes.com](<a href=“http://allrecipes.com/recipe/hash-brown-casserole-for-the-slow-cooker/]Hash”>http://allrecipes.com/recipe/hash-brown-casserole-for-the-slow-cooker/)</p>

<p>Stuffed green peppers? Mac & Cheese with ham or crab? Baked potatoes/Sweet potatoes topped with veggies, finely cut meat?</p>

<p>veruca, good idea. Thanks.</p>

<p>gosmom, I was just at the grocery store and saw some frozen stuffed green peppers and thought about making some myself. :)</p>