Add Desserts And Snacks
Skipping desserts while being on a strict diet is a recipe for disaster. Remember that being on a puréed food diet doesnt mean you cant have any desserts or snacks. You still need these things to add variety and stay happy. The important thing is you consume desserts and snacks that follow the puréed diet.
Some good purée dessert options include sorbets, chocolate mousse, custard, smoothies, and yogurt. Skyr is an Icelandic cheese and yogurt recipe and an interesting puréed snack choice that you might want to try.
Tips For Adding Calories To Your Pure Diet
Try these tips to get more calories for each meal or into your diet plan:
- Eat 6 to 8 small meals in a day instead of three main meals.
- Choose creamy soups instead of soups with clear broths.
- Drink high-calorie drinks, like soy milkshakes and milkshakes.
- Mix honey or nut butters into your tea, yogurt, hot cereals, shakes, ice cream, or smoothies.
- Add mayonnaise to your tuna, pasta, potatoes, or chicken to create a moist and smooth salad.
- Add 2 to 4 tablespoons of canned coconut milk or cream to smoothies, yogurts, cereals, or shakes to increase your calorie intake. You can also add it to diced chicken or rice for extra flavor, moisture, and calories.
- Supplement your dishes or smoothies with avocado.
- Consider adding sour cream, half and half, whole milk, or heavy cream to your foods if you arent on a low-fat diet.
- Create ice cubes from fruit nectar or milk and use them to make your shakes and smoothies. As they melt, youll be getting more calories in your beverages.
- Drink fruit smoothies or shakes made with ice cream or yogurt.
- Replace gelatin desserts with puddings and custards.
Tips For Adding More Protein To Your Diet
If you need to increase the amount of protein in your diet, here are some easy tips:
- Add tofu to cooked vegetables, soups, smoothies, or in place of chicken or meat if youre having difficulty eating animal proteins.
- Add cooked eggs to your soups, broths, and cooked vegetables. Purée the cooked eggs, if needed.
- Use plain Greek yogurt in smoothies, cream sauces, or wherever you would use sour cream.
- Use a plain protein powder, such as a whey protein powder, in liquids and shakes.
- Add cheese to your soups, cooked eggs, vegetables, and starches.
- For example, adding full-fat ricotta cheese can moisten a dish and add calories and protein. Add cottage cheese to smoothies, purées, or canned fruits.
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How Many Calories Should Be Consumed During A Pureed Diet
Calorie intake will differ based on the surgery, restriction, complications, and toleration. Similar to before surgery, your calorie intake will decrease again. For about the next 2 months following surgery, it can be common to only consume around 300-600 calories per day. After the 2 months, it can increase to up to 1,000 calories per day.
Don’t expect big changes in eating capability in one day. Lifestyle adjustments take time, especially to promote long-term success. The diet phase process will promote healing, relieve discomfort after surgery, and maintain weight loss.
It is extremely important to follow the guidance of your healthcare provider and dietitian during this time to ensure you are receiving all of the nutrition you require.
Adult Pureed Meals And Special Diets

If you’re looking for lean protein, low sodium, delicious pureed meals that are easy to swallow and require no chewing, we offer a beautiful variety of flavors.
Bambino’s Baby Food is a perfect organic and pureed meal similar to the texture and taste of Butternut Sunflower soup or Lobster Bisque that one might find at a fine dining establishment. Our meals are deliciously smooth, pure and nutrient-rich, and guaranteed to be enjoyed by all age generations. The combination of fresh Alaska pure veggies and lean proteins such as our Wild Sockeye Salmon, Halibut, and Filet Mignon are guaranteed to satisfy taste buds.
Our pureed meals make an excellent choice for:
Children with autism |
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Best Food Processors For Purees
The typical machine most households use for pureeing foods is a food processor.
Pros
- Food processors are very multifunctional, performing all kinds of functions from simply mixing to julienning vegetables to chopping and slicing and pureeing.
- Their large bowl is also usually convenient for adding ingredients, and they generally have straightforward, easy to use settings.
- Most have high powered motors and large blades that make quick work of purees.
Cons
- They tend to be on the expensive side.
- Theyre also large and bulky, so finding storage for them in your kitchen may be a pain.
- Because they are large, they might not be the best for small single serving pureed meals.
Whats the Difference Between and Food Processor and a Blender?
The main difference between food processors and blenders is the blade. The blade is sharper on a food processor because it is designed more for solid foods. Blenders are better for liquids or food with high liquid content like fruits and veggies.
What Is A Pure
Any puréed food is cooked food turned into a paste or thick liquid. Typically, the food turned into purée is cooked and chopped or ground finely before it gets puréed. A food processor or blender is the key kitchen appliance used to create puréed food.
Here is a list of the qualities of puréed foods:
- It has a smooth consistency.
- It is free of lumps, strings, seeds, and skins.
- It holds its shape on a spoon.
- You usually eat it with a spoon.
- You cannot suck it through a straw.
- It flows very slowly
- It doesnt separate into liquid and solid.
- It falls off the spoon when tilted in a single spoonful.
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Best Food Mills For Smooth Pureed Food
Food mills are an extremely helpful gadget for making purees. And, you might not have ever heard of them.
Food processors and blenders basically pulverize the food into oblivion. While that may be desirable sometimes, other times you may crave a really thick texture thats reminiscent of real food.
So, what is a food mill?
A food mill is essentially a grinder and a strainer built into one. You simply put the softened food in the top and then crank the handle. This forces the food through the grinder disks and while straining it at the same time. You end up with a nice, smooth puree on one side and all the seeds and skins on the other.
Because food mills do the work of two different kitchen tools, using a food mill saves you time time. And, I think, you end up with a better puree if you are looking for an ultra-smooth, velvety texture.
Pros for Using a Food Mill for Purees
- Creates a perfect puree texture while sifting out any unwanted elements.
- It doesnt use electricity and is very self-explanatory to use.
Cons of Using a Food Mill for Purees
- Manual operation may be difficult for some people to manage.
- They require assembly and disassembly every time they are used or cleaned
Keep A Flexible Meal Plan But Follow The Pure Diet
Sometimes, you wont feel like having the planned puréed chicken for dinner, and thats okay. In times like this, its okay to change up the meal and try something else that you feel like having.
Sometimes, youll be too busy or exhausted to prepare, cook, and purée food thats meant to be your meal. Its okay if you dont feel like following the meal plan to the T, too. The solution for this situation is to choose a different recipe that requires less work or buy pre-made purée food instead.
Changing it up as you go is fine as long as you dont prepare anything that you cant have on a purée diet. The most important is to stick to your purée diet.
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Pureed Foods For Older Adults
If you think about pureed foods, you may think of individual jars or packs of baby food.
But heres the truth people of all ages rely on a pureed diet whether short- or long-term to get the necessary calories and nutrition when chewing or swallowing regular foods becomes a problem.
However, compared with their younger counterparts, older adults are more likely to experience chewing or swallowing problems .
Common causes of chewing or swallowing problems in older adults include:
- mouth or throat cancer
Depending on the cause and severity of the chewing or swallowing problem, older adults could require a pureed diet long-term.
Other times, chewing or swallowing may improve with therapy or through treatment of the underlying cause, allowing for the introduction of softer, more regular foods over time.
Some older adults may also need thickened liquids in addition to a pureed diet to promote safe and efficient swallowing.
About Pured And Mechanical Soft Diets
Foods in puréed and mechanical soft diets are smoother and easier to swallow than regular foods. They need very little or no chewing at all to swallow.
You may have to follow a puréed or mechanical soft diet if you:
- Have trouble chewing or swallowing
- Had mouth surgery
- Have trouble moving or have lost feeling in parts of your mouth, such as your lips or tongue
If youre on a puréed diet, you will eat foods that you dont need to chew, such as mashed potatoes and pudding. You can also blend or strain other foods to make them smoother. Liquids, such as broth, milk, juice, or water may be added to foods to make them easier to swallow.
If youre on a mechanical soft diet, you will eat foods that require less chewing than on a regular diet. You can eat foods with different textures and thicknesses, including chopped, ground, and puréed foods.
For more information about what to eat on a puréed or mechanical diet, read the Puréed or Mechanical Soft Diet Guidelines section of this resource.
If youre eating less than usual or losing weight, call your dietitian.
If you dont know which diet is right for you, or have any questions, talk with your doctor or speech or swallowing specialist. You can also speak with a dietitian in the Department of Food and Nutrition by calling .
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Tackle Gourmet Puree Recipes
Beating boredom on a pureed diet can be a challenge. If you anticipate needing to be on one for more than a couple of weeks, branching out from smoothies and mashed potatoes may keep you from “cheating” on your health plan. You’ll find a wealth of gourmet puree recipes from both health-focused and fine dining resources.
The American Council on Exercise, for example, has no shortage of nutrient-rich gourmet puree recipes. These not only introduce unusual flavors just when you need them most, but they combine more nutrients in a single dish.
Instead of potatoes, experiment with root veggie options, such as roasted winter squash blended into smoothness with healthy canola oil. Or try combinations like parsnips with pears or celeriac, or vegetarian protein options like a legume spread of split peas tossed into a food processor with cooked onions, olive oil and lemon juice.
Eventually, you may encounter foods that don’t break down very easily for a pureed diet. Dry starches like cookies, cornbread and sandwich bread tend to either turn into crumbs or mush, depending on how much liquid you put into the mix. So why bother?
The time may come when you simply want cake on your birthday or just don’t have much else in the house to work with. In this case, making a special “slurry” can come to the rescue, according to the University of Virginia Health System.
Eating At Home With Family And Friends

Most foods can be changed to meet your needs. For example, a portion of soup can be put aside, then strained or blended.
Many main dishes, such as noodles, stews, and casseroles, can be put into a blender with some liquid. You can use milk, gravy, tomato sauce, broth, juice, or water. Add liquid until the food is the right consistency.
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Get A Food Processor Or Blender
If youll be on a purée diet for a long while, its a good idea to invest in a high-quality and durable blender or food processor first. Its more practical to have one of these appliances in your kitchen so you can make your meals at home. Another advantage of having home-prepped meals is that you get to choose what you want to consume based on what youre in the mood for or the flavors you want to taste.
Is Your Pureed Food Ready And Safe To Eat
Creating pureed food may seem easy and it is! Using a blender, such as those mentioned above, will help speed up the preparation process and youll be on to eating your pureed concoctions in no time.
However easy it is to puree foods, it is also equally important to make sure that they are safe to eat. With all pureed food:
- You should be able to eat it with a spoon and NOT be able to suck it through a straw
- It should hold its shape on the spoon and not fall quickly from the spoon
- It should not be sticky
- It should not separate out into a liquid and solid form
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Tips For Adding Protein To Your Pure Diet
Here are some tips that you can do to increase the protein you consume in your puréed diet:
- Replaced regular milk with fortified to double the protein you get. You can use fortified milk in milkshakes, hot cereals, hot chocolate, innate puddings, or mashed potatoes.
- Use plain Greek yogurt when you make smoothies, cream sauces, or other food items where youd typically add sour cream.
- Add cooked puréed eggs to your soups, broths, and cooked vegetables.
- Add protein powder like whey protein in liquids in shakes.
- Prepare your soups, vegetables, and starches with cheese. You can also add cottage cheese to smoothies, canned fruits, and purées.
Tuscan Tomato And White Bean Soup
This Tuscan tomato and white bean soup is a comforting meal thats just what you need on a rainy day. It is primarily made from white beans, tomato paste, and tomatoes to create a rich and creamy base. Cooked in vegetable broth, its seasoned with onion, garlic, and a rosemary sprig for an aromatic and herbaceous flavor.
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Weston Stainless Steel Food Mill
For an entry-level, cheaper food mill, the Weston food mill is a decent product.
It does have all the standard features like 3 sizes of milling discs, a stainless steel bowl, and it is easy to clean.
However, there is a basic problem with this food mill that has to do with stability.
Stability, like I talked about before, is important when using a food mill. Otherwise, you could end up with a huge mess.
This food mill, unfortunately, sits loosely on top of the bowl while being used. Another option is to hold it firmly with one hand over the top of the bowl. Neither of these methods is as secure as the tripod feet of the OXO or the notched feet of the Alisa model. This means that the food mill is going to move around a lot when being used.
How To Puree Meats
Protein is an important part of our diet. But, pureed meats have a tendency to be dry and unappealing. Here are a few tips for making pureed meats that are moist and look a bit more appetizing.
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Can You Lose Weight On The Diet
Beyond the clinical uses of a pureed diet, some people choose to eat pureed foods in hopes of losing weight.
The idea of eating pureed foods for weight loss likely originated from the baby food diet, which involves replacing your meals with several jars of baby food.
With one can or pouch of baby food containing anywhere between 50 to 140 calories, its no wonder why replacing a regular meal with baby food would result in weight loss.
The other thought is that because pureed foods are generally known for being unappealing, youll eat fewer calories on a pureed diet as a result.
To this point, several studies have linked reduced a pureed diet to reduced mealtime pleasure, poor appetite, and decreased food intake among older adults .
Still, eating a pureed diet for weight loss is unrealistic and unsustainable.
Instead, stick with a diet that you can stick with long-term and that helps you develop healthy habits like eating more fruits and vegetables or eliminating or reducing your intake of added sugars.