Soft Food Eating Plan

Soft food eating plan includes foods that are safe and easy to chew and swallow. Your health care provider or dietitian can help you find foods and flavors that fit into this plan.

Follow this plan until your health care provider or dietitian says it is safe to start eating other foods and food textures.

What are tips for following this plan?

General guidelines

• Take small bites of food, or cut food into pieces about ½ inch or smaller. Bite-sized pieces of food are easier to chew and swallow.
• Eat moist foods. Avoid overly dry foods.
• Avoid foods that:
  • Are difficult to swallow, such as dry, chunky, crispy, or sticky foods.
  • Are difficult to chew, such as hard, tough, or stringy foods.
  • Contain nuts, seeds, or fruits.
• Follow instructions from your dietitian about the types of liquids that are safe for you to swallow. You may be allowed to have:
  • Thick liquids only. This includes only liquids that are thicker than honey.
  • Thin and thick liquids. This includes all beverages and foods that become liquid at room temperature.
• To make thick liquids:
  • Purchase a commercial liquid thickening powder. These are available at grocery stores and pharmacies.
  • Mix the thickener into liquids according to instructions on the label.
  • Purchase ready-made thickened liquids.
  • Thicken soup by pureeing, straining to remove chunks, and adding flour, potato flakes, or corn starch.
  • Add commercial thickener to foods that become liquid at room temperature, such as milk shakes, yogurt, ice cream, gelatin, and sherbet.
• Ask your health care provider whether you need to take a fiber supplement.

Cooking

• Cook meats so they stay tender and moist. Use methods like braising, stewing, or baking in liquid.
• Cook vegetables and fruit until they are soft enough to be mashed with a fork.
• Peel soft, fresh fruits such as peaches, nectarines, and melons.
• When making soup, make sure chunks of meat and vegetables are smaller than ½ inch.
• Reheat leftover foods slowly so that a tough crust does not form.

What foods are allowed?

The items listed below may not be a complete list. Talk with your dietitian about what dietary choices are best for you.

Grains

Breads, muffins, pancakes, or waffles moistened with syrup, jelly, or butter. Dry cereals well-moistened with milk. Moist, cooked cereals. Well-cooked pasta and rice.

Vegetables

All soft-cooked vegetables. Shredded lettuce.

Fruits

All canned and cooked fruits. Soft, peeled fresh fruits. Strawberries.

Dairy

Milk. Cream. Yogurt. Cottage cheese. Soft cheese without the rind.

Meats and other protein foods

Tender, moist ground meat, poultry, or fish. Meat cooked in gravy or sauces. Eggs.

Sweets and desserts

Ice cream. Milk shakes. Sherbet. Pudding.

Fats and oils

Butter. Margarine. Olive, canola, sunflower, and grapeseed oil. Smooth salad dressing. Smooth cream cheese. Mayonnaise. Gravy.

What foods are not allowed?

The items listed bemay not be a complete list. Talk with your dietitian about what dietary choices are best for you.

Grains

Coarse or dry cereals, such as bran, granola, and shredded wheat. Tough or chewy crusty breads, such as French bread or baguettes. Breads with nuts, seeds, or fruit.

Vegetables

All raw vegetables. Cooked corn. Cooked vegetables that are tough or stringy. Tough, crisp, fried potatoes and potato skins.

Fruits

Fresh fruits with skins or seeds, or both, such as apples, pears, and grapes. Stringy, high-pulp fruits, such as papaya, pineapple, coconut, and mango. Fruit leather and all dried fruit.

Dairy

Yogurt with nuts or coconut.

Meats and other protein foods

Hard, dry sausages. Dry meat, poultry, or fish. Meats with gristle. Fish with bones. Fried meat or fish. Lunch meat and hotdogs. Nuts and seeds. Chunky peanut butter or other nut butters.

Sweets and desserts

Cakes or cookies that are very dry or chewy. Desserts with dried fruit, nuts, or coconut. Fried pastries. Very rich pastries.

Fats and oils

Cream cheese with fruit or nuts. Salad dressings with seeds or chunks.

Summary

• A soft-food eating plan includes foods that are safe and easy to swallow. Generally, the foods should be soft enough to be mashed with a fork.
• Avoid foods that are dry, hard to chew, crunchy, sticky, stringy, or crispy.
• Ask your health care provider whether you need to thicken your liquids and if you need to take a fiber supplement.