Unit 3 - Diet and nutritional treatment approach for dysphagia

3.2.4. Foods and ingredients for dysphagia diets

3.2.4.1. Recommended and inappropriate foods and ingredients

  • The following are some of the permitted foods:

    • Pureed breads (also called “pre-gelled” breads)

    • Smooth puddings, custards, yogurts, and pureed desserts

    • Pureed fruits and well-mashed bananas

    • Pureed meats

    • Souffles

    • Well-moistened mashed potatoes

    • Pureed soups

    • Pureed vegetables without lumps, chunks, or seeds

  • It is important to avoid other foods, including:

    • Non-pureed breads

    • Any cereal with lumps

    • Cookies, cakes, or pastry

    • Whole fruit

    • Non-pureed meats, beans, or cheese

    • Scrambled, fried, or hard-boiled eggs

    • Non-pureed potatoes, pasta, or rice

    • Non-pureed soups

    • Non-pureed vegetables

    • Seeds, nuts, or chewy candies

  • In each of the groups you should choose …

  1. Vegetables and fruits:

  • Soft diced cooked vegetables (carrots, squash), mashable cooked vegetables (peas, spinach)

  • Minced cooked vegetables (broccoli, yellow or green beans)

  • Very finely shredded or minced salads (coleslaw, leafy greens, lettuce) with extra dressing if needed.

  • Mashed potatoes or other well-cooked potato side dishes such as scalloped potatoes.

  • Canned cream corn.

  • Soft ripe mashable fruit: canned, fresh, or frozen(bananas, canned crushed pineapple, canned mandarin oranges, canned sliced peaches, ripe pears), fresh fruit with skins and membranes removed (diced soft cantaloupe, seedless watermelon) fruit cocktail without pineapple pieces or grapes.

  • Pureed, stewed pitted prunes.

  • Fruit smoothies.

  1. Grain foods:

  • Cooked cereals (cream of rice, cream of wheat®oat bran, oatmeal).

  • Cold cereals that soften in milk (bran flakes, corn flakes, rice crisps).

  • Soft moist bread products (biscuits, buns, buttered toast, muffins) served with butter, soft margarine, or other allowed spreads.

  • French toast, pancakes, or waffles, served with applesauce or syrup to moisten

  • Soft moist barley, couscous, quinoa, or rice in sauces, soups, or casseroles.

  • Pasta served in sauce.

  • Bread pudding, or soft and moist bread stuffing (without chocolate chips, coconut, dried fruit, nuts, seeds, or any other hard particles).

  • Soft crackers, such as soda crackers.

  • Soft cereal bars, such as nutri-grain® bars.

  • Ground flax seed or wheat bran stirred into cereals.

  1. Protein foods:

  • Milk: plain or flavoured.

  • Buttermilk, smooth milkshakes, or fortified soy beverages.

  • Smooth yogurt or fruit yogurt with small soft pieces of fruit.

  • Cottage cheese, all cheeses (hard or soft), diced, sliced, or grated.

  • Soft tofu/soy protein.

  • Soft cooked beans, lentils, peas, or soft dishes made with allowed ingredients (soft bean salad).

  • Smooth nut butters mixed into allowed foods (peanut butter smoothie).

  • All cooked eggs or egg substitutes including omelets and quiche, made with allowed foods.

  • Soft moist tender meat or poultry, diced.

  • Canned fish with bones removed (canned salmon with mashed bones is allowed).

  • Tender boneless fish that flakes easily.

  • Thinly shaved soft deli meats (roast beef, turkey, ham).

  • Sandwiches with finely-minced salad-type fillings (egg, chicken, tuna salad, minced lettuce, or cheese) without whole lettuce or whole raw vegetables.

  • Tender mashable meats, made with allowed ingredients (casseroles, lasagna, meatloaf, meatballs).

  • Soft and mashable perogies, served with allowed condiments.

  • Stir-fry made with allowed ingredients.

  • Spaghetti sauces made with allowed ingredients.

  • Broth or cream soups made with allowed ingredients.

  1. Desserts and snacks:

  • Ice cream, popsicles®, sherbet, soy frozen desserts, or frozen yogurt.

  • Smooth custards, milk pudding, mousse, rice pudding, or tapioca pudding.

  • Soft, moist, or easy-to-break cookies (digestive biscuits).

  • Soft baked desserts (cream or pumpkin pies, moist cakes) made with allowed foods.

  • Jellied desserts.

  1. Condiments and sauces:

  • Butter, soft margarine, mayonnaise, salad dressings, or sour cream.

  • Condiments that are smooth, or have small pieces such as BBQ sauce, horseradish, ketchup, mustard, or relish.

  • Finely ground herbs, seasonings, and spices, without hard seeds.

  • Gravies or sauces that are smooth such as cheese sauce, hollandaise sauce, orwhite sauce.

  • Soft, mashable jam and jelly, without seeds or hard pieces.

  • Sugar, syrup, or sugar substitutes.