Restricted diet anyone?

[karryon55]

I have recently been placed on thickened fluids and soft diet from my Speech Therapist and was wondering if anyone had any drink or meal ideas that I could try? I am not enjoying my food or drinks at the moment and was hoping someone had some good tips pleeeeaseee? :)

[karryon55]

Lol food for thought that's very good!

I spoke to my Speechie today and she has suggested slow cooker meals as well. I already have one so I will get onto this and try to actually get some meat into me. I actually don't eat a lot of meat but I have not been managing any and my iron/ferritin is already low so I don't want to push myself to anaemia again but am not prepared for an infusion any time soon. I have had spinach etc but as I have malabsorption there is every chance this will not assist with my low iron.

I haven't been eating crumbly foods for some time now anyway as I tend to easily inhale them. I love Cous Cous but that is just such a bad food to eat right now as well. Biscuits, bread, peanut butter etc are all out for me but then I haven't been able to tolerate peanut butter for a long time anyway so that's not new.

I know what you mean about how you present the food because I was originally on puréed and I was getting things like a plate of brownish (well no need to explain that further lol) slop but just couldn't touch it as it looked so ghastly. What our eyes see on a plate is actually very important and is something they started to look at with me because I just wasn't eating.

I need to consider all my food groups like you have suggested because up until now I have solely focused on just finding soft moist meals just so I can get some food into my belly.

I think I am doing a little better everyday but I always fall into the trap of being too exhausted for the main meal in the evening so I need to eat more at breakfast and lunch. I can afford to lose weight unlike you so I guess I have that advantage. I have tried Sustagen which I didn't like but I will look into the sustain because if I'm too fatigued to eat this is a great alternative.

Thanks for the tips.

Take care,

Karry.

[supermum_ms]

Hey babe,

When my speech tanks, I can't chew well enough to swallow so my slow cooker (crock pot) becomes my friend. I prefer steak but I need soft foods that are easy to swallow with minimal to zero chew action and the slow cooker makes the meat fall apart moist and soft enough for me to swallow when my chew action isn't happening.  

I'm genetically a small person and hanging onto my weight has always been an issue but i've really had to learn to be creative, small crumbly, bitty or graining ie mince, rice etc foods don't work for me because i need a liquid to get it down, which then artificially fills me up and i don't get enough nutrients.

I've had to learn to juggle other family members dietary needs with my own, so I keep meals physically easy to make, highly nutritional, low fat, natural, full of flavour, easy to swallow etc etc and my slow cooker ticks all the pain in the butt boxes for stews and soups.

Mashed potatoes, pumpkin, sweat potatoes, mushy peas, banana, avocado, corn flour, egg milk custard, aga aga, soaked weetbix, (ugg) porridge are all good for thickening various things up but with blending, keep an eye on colour appeal, nothing worse when everything turns brown or greenish :D        

Food for thought (lol)..........JJ

PS the product sustain is good because of the high nutritional content, i prefer choc but vanilla is a good addition to other sweet based foods  

[karryon55]

I have been eating stuff like mashed potato, mashed pumpkin and always with sauce or gravy. I haven't tried mince so that may be a great choice of meat right now as I'm finding other meats to dry.

I wish I was able to have jelly or ice cream but unfortunately they are definite no no's as they turn to liquid or can go down too easily and make me choke. I am an absolute lover of ice cream but the speechie has said this food is a big risk right now. I love rice pudding so that is probably a good one.

I hope you are doing well with the peg and that you can at least maintain the weight you are currently at with it. I know a few who had to do this and sometimes it is essential so you don't wither away. Also having a good schedule of the appropriate amount of feeds will bring you to a healthier weight range.

I am actually overweight so I don't have any problems with withering away yet lol. I have lost some weight through this so hopefully I might reach some sort of happy medium.

Take care,

Karry.

[torikat32]

When I was on mince moist I would have things like tuna fish or chicken salad plain no celery. Also would make a burger and cut it up real tiny and have it with gravy and mash potatoes. My other half thought it was great to be able to eat jello, pudding, ice cream etc everyday but after a week or so I hated it.

I hope your situation is temporary I have a g tube now but still eat when I want to I couldn't handle eating enough to maintain my weight losing 5lbs a month so opted for the tube but still haven't gained.

[karryon55]

Thanks Ess and Corrie!

I am hoping it's only temporary too. I have got my very own tipee cup, special straw, plate and cutlery so I'm feeling a bit like a two year old right now.

I have got a very old dysfunctional blender (a bit like its owner I'd say lol) and I have mastered smoothies for breakfast with berries, yoghurt and a bit of milk. It's just the meals like lunch and dinner where I'm getting sick of eggs all the time.

I've graduated from completely puréed which is an improvement and am now on "mince moist" but I can't tolerate meat so far. The drinking is ok but not with tea or coffee as its soooo bad so I've just stuck to water with a bit of lemon in it.

I'm like you Ess and don't think I'd like vegetable smoothies because they sound nasty but maybe I should try one before I judge. The soups seem to be the easiest option right now and I guess I'm lucky we are heading for winter here soon.

Corrie, thanks for the links and I will look into them. I am of a positive mindset that this will eventually settle to a certain degree and I can eat something normal again soon.

Thanks,

Karry.

[Corriel]

Hi Karry, like ess, I hope this is temporary. :(

I found these links that might be helpful.

http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/coping-with-cancer/coping-physically/diet/managing/soft/soft-diet-meals

http://www.dentalfearcentral.org/faq/soft-foods/

http://www.digestivehealthcare.net/diets/soft_diet.html

Best of luck and lots of gentle hugs,

Corrie

[essdipity]

I'm sorry to hear about this. Not fun.

But are you into drinks such as smoothies? They taste good and provide a lot of nutrients. In the US, lots of people are big on juice drinks made at home in a blender and combining lots of veggies (sometimes fruit as well). I haven't tried them and don't find the idea appealing, but many folks swear by them. At least they're very healthful, leaving room for stuff that just tastes good :-)

I hope you do have a blender, because you can thicken soups and other foods that way. I also hope this is only a temporary problem.

Thinking of you,
ess