Hi everyone, I’m looking for ideas or recipes for things you had luck with feeding your loved one who is on a puréed diet. My mom is 83 with worsening dementia and the puréed food she gets at her nursing home is terrible. She refuses all of it and says is taste like poop. I don’t blame her. She is bed bound and and has been declining fast these last few weeks. I’ve been making and puréing soups for her, and she’s been enjoying those. I bring her cherry applesauce, cherry jello, mashed bananas, and high protein boost drinks. I tried cream of wheat with cinnamon and brown sugar and she turned her nose up at it. I was thinking of trying some smoothies, but I need some good tasting ones as she’s very picky. Any ideas to get some calories in her I would greatly appreciate.
Thank you!
If you take each component and freeze it in portion size amounts, I would do more than 1/2 cup each.
But...are you bringing each meal to her and feeding her each day or several times a day? If so this does not seem like a sustainable option.
Have you discussed options with the care manager?
There are liquid meal replacements that can be used and there are liquid calorie boosters (these are essentially small portions of oil) that can be added to food or liquid meal.
Again this all should be discussed with her care manager I would also ask the dietitian be included in the meeting
This obviously depends on the individual's specific condition. Dad couldn't have any fluids that weren't thickened, which included (water and ) ice cream, since it melted so quickly. So we gave up ice cream and milk shakes, but I fed him a few tablespoons of ice cream at a time so he could swallow it BEFORE it melted.
Baby food was recommended though.
2. Our speech therapists gave us lists of diets with corresponding foods. It was surprising how much some foods could be dangerous, such as foods swallowed through a straw.
3. You've gotten some good advice, but can also find excellent ideas online. through the established diets. Some of the big well known hospitals publish information on dysphagia, and it's valuable information.
These are good explanations and guidelines for understanding the concepts:
Dysphagia Diet | Saint Luke's Health System (saintlukeskc.org)
Dysphagia Pureed Diet - University of Mississippi Medical Center (umc.edu)
Eating Guide for Puréed and Mechanical Soft Diets | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (mskcc.org)
The diets we were given were very thorough, broken down into 4 and sometimes 5 levels, with examples of what could be eaten and what could not. I don't recall who published them, but I haven't seen such elaborate and thorough lists online for years.
When I was hospitalized I found out that some of my medications changed my taste buds.
All of that said, it is important to remember that as dementia( or other illnesses) progress, the patient's taste buds change and, also they actually do not need nor want as much intake as one normally does. This is important to factor in the equation because your mother may simply not want nor be able to manage more calories. Talking with the dietician and your mother's doctor may help you further assess and understand this. Often loving, well meaning family members have the hardest time accepting that their loved one simply does not want nor need food regardless of how it is prepared or processed.
It can be anxiety producing for family members to watch this and experience it. Loving your mother and being present with her is "nourishing". Take care of yourself making sure that you are well hydrated, exercising and getting good support from other family and or your faith leaders if you practice a faith ; and or speak regularly with the facility chaplain and social workers ; both can be very supportive.
The things I enjoyed most through a straw were mashed potatoes watered down with gravy, milkshakes, carnation instant breakfast drinks (chocolate & strawberry), applesauce, and baby food fruits. But the mashed potatoes and gravy were my absolute favorite. I felt full and satisfied, it was almost like having a real meal.
For those resistant to the idea of pureed foods I think it goes better if you try to concentrate on foods that are normally almost that texture -
mashed potatoes with gravy (some meat can be pureed with the gravy)
as you've mentioned almost any soup is good pureed (thickened if necessary)
lentil dahl
hummus
silken tofu
polenta with marinara sauce, or refried beans
squash and rutabaga are both often served mashed, as are sweet potatoes
grits
guacamole
custards, both sweet and savoury
egg salad
for breakfast cream of wheat or oatmeal with lots of sugar and butter/cream
yogurt, especially greek yogurt
fruit sauces - there's more than applesauce
....
Hipster types will pay $30 for a meal like that.
1) Make clear light soup or broth first with chicken, beef or pork; add salt and ginger only; I use high-pressure cooker for 40 min. Pour the soup into bottles and refrigerate it overnight. Take out all the grease. Save the meat. Prepare this twice a week.
2) Use the broth to cook quick oats for three mins. Bake walnuts. Add a few sliced meat and any vegetable you like (tomato, celery, carrots, spinach, peas, green pepper etc. ) . Add onion power and garlic powder if you like it. Add little olive oil. Sometimes, add avocados.
3) Use a good blender to purée it.
We make a lot of smoothies in our vitamix. Basically we just take a variety of fruits - berries, banana, sometimes some other fruit like an apple or whatever we have on hand. Add a good amount of plain whole milk yogurt - has good protein and no added crapola. For liquid with extra nutrients - add coconut water or a green juice blend.
It's really not that difficult to come up with things because again, pretty much everything can be pureed.
Best of luck!