A number of medical and dental conditions require special care to ensure complete and balanced nutrition while maintaining a soft or liquid diet. Information follows to help guide your choices.

While you are having difficulty chewing or swallowing, use these recipes for preparing pureed meals . They can be the basis for developing your own recipes. Be creative! You can puree almost any food. Serve foods attractively and try a variety of herbs and seasonings. Do not limit yourself to plan foods and milkshakes. Experiment and enjoy!

 

Poached Eggs
Bacon and Eggs
Sausage and Eggs
Eggs and Toast
Hot Cereal and Milk
Dry Cereal and Milk
Yogurt Fruit Drinks
Cran-Orange Cup
Milk and Fruit Shake
Prune Nog
German Hot Chocolate
Canned or Fresh Fruits Blended
Yogurt n’ Fruit
Hot Spiced Applesauce

 

Poached Eggs

• 2 poached eggs
• ½ slice buttered toast
• 1 cup warm milk

Combine all ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth. Yield: 1 serving

Bacon and Eggs

• 2 slices bacon, cooked
• 2 soft cooked eggs
• ½ cup slice buttered toast
• 1 cup warm milk

Put bacon in blender. Blend into small pieces. Add eggs, potatoes and toast, and continue blending. Add milk and blend until smooth. Yield: 1 serving

Sausage and Eggs

• 1 sausage patty, cooked and drained
• 2 soft cooked eggs
• ½ cup fried potatoes
• ½ slice buttered toast
• 1 cup warm milk

Chop sausage into small pieces. Put into blender and add eggs, potatoes, toast and milk. Blend until smooth. Yield: 1 serving

Eggs and Toast

• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs, raw, beaten
• ½ slice buttered toast

Heat milk in small saucepan. Add beaten eggs and simmer until cooked. Put milk, eggs and toast into blender. Blend until smooth. Season to taste. Yield: 1 serving

Hot Cereal and Milk

• 1 cup cooked hot cereal (oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, etc.)
• 1½ cup warm milk
• 2 teaspoons sugar or brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon butter or margarine
• Dash of cinnamon

Put all ingredients into blender. Blend until smooth. Yield: 1 serving

Dry Cereal and Milk

• 1 cup dry cereal
• 1½ cups milk
• 2 teaspoons sugar

Put cereal into blender. Grind or blend until fine. Add sugar and milk, and blend until smooth. Yield: 1 serving

Yogurt Fruit Drinks

Combine the following ingredients in blender and blend well. Yield: 1 serving each

Peach-Apple

• 1 carton peach yogurt
• 3 tablespoons cottage cheese
• ¾ cup apple juice
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Apricot

• 1 carton of plain yogurt
• 3 tablespoons of cottage cheese
• 1 jar of strained baby fruit
• ¾ cup apricot nectar
• Dash of nutmeg

Bananna

• 1 carton of plain yogurt
• 3 tablespoons of cottage cheese
• 1 medium ripe banana
• ½ cup milk or fruit juice
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Egg Nog

• 1 carton vanilla yogurt
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup grape juice
• ¼ cup liquid egg substitute
• Dash of nutmeg

Cran-Orange Cup

• 2 ¼ cups boiling water
• 6 orange herbal tea bags
• ¾ cup cranberry juice cocktail, heated to boiling
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

In teapot, pour boiling water over herbal teabags. Cover and brew for 5 minutes. Remove teabags. Stir in remaining ingredients. Yield: 4 servings

Milk and Fruit Shake

• ½ cup fresh or frozen fruit (bananas or peaches)
• 1 cup milk

Place fruit and milk in blender. Blend until smooth. If you use berries, strain to remove all seeds. Yield: 1 serving

Prune Nog

• 1 cup milk
• 1 jar strained baby prunes
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Place all ingredients in jar or blender container. Cover. Blend and serve chilled. Yield: 1 serving

German Hot Chocolate

• Mix 1 box (8 quarts yield) nonfat dry milk powder
• 1 jar (8 ounces) powdered creamer
• ½ cup sugar

Mix well. Store in covered container. When ready to use, add 1/3 cup mix to 1 cup boiling water.

Canned or Fresh Fruits Blended

• ¾ cup canned or cooked fruit
• 2 tablespoons syrup from fruit or fruit juice

Place all ingredients in blender. Cover. Process on low speed until smooth. Serve cold. Yield: 1 serving

Yogurt n’ Fruit

• 4 ounces yogurt
• 1 banana
• 8 ounces strawberries
• 3 tablespoons milk

Add all ingredients to blender. Blend until smooth. Strain mixture through strainer or sieve to remove all seeds. Chill seedless mixture. Yield: 1 ½ cups

Hot Spiced Applesauce

• ½ cup applesauce
• ½ cup apple juice
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of nutmeg

Add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth. Yield: 1 serving

This information originally appeared in the Journey Guide Patient Handbook developed by the Ireland Cancer Center at University Hospitals, and was adapted for use on NetWellness with permission, 2013.

 

More About Pureed Meals

• Guidelines for Pureed Meals – Proper Nutrition on a Pureed Diet
• Recipes for Pureed Foods – Beverages, Shakes and Desserts
• Recipes for Pureed Foods – Entrees, Vegetables, and Salads
• Recipes for Pureed Meals – Soups

 

For more information:

Go to the Diet and Nutrition health topic.