Patient education: Soft diet (The Basics)

Why do I need a soft diet? — A soft diet can give you the nutrition you need while eating foods that are easier to chew and swallow. Some of these foods are low in fiber.

Doctors might recommend a soft diet if you:

●Are having radiation therapy on the head, neck, or belly

●Had surgery on the mouth, throat, stomach, or intestines

●Are too sick or weak to eat normal meals

●Have problems with your teeth

●Have trouble chewing or swallowing regular food

What foods and drinks can I have on a soft diet? — You can eat foods that are easy to chew and swallow. They are soft, tender, and easy to mash with a fork. Some foods are naturally soft. Others are soft after they have been cooked, chopped, or mashed.

Examples include:

●Grains – Soft, cooked pasta and cereals. Soft, moist grains like well-cooked rice, farrow, and barley. Soft breads, crackers, and pancakes.

●Fruits – Applesauce, fresh or canned fruits without skins or seeds, bananas, melons, peaches, plums, well-cooked fruits, fruit juices.

●Vegetables – Mashed, baked, steamed, and boiled vegetables. Canned vegetables, vegetable juices.

●Dairy – Milk and milk products like yogurt (without granola, nuts, or raw fruit), cottage cheese, smooth ice cream, sherbet, sour cream, cream cheese, and thinly sliced cheese.

●Meats and proteins – Meats that are moist, tender, and well cooked like fish, ground meats, and soft chicken without the skin. Eggs, smooth nut butters, baked or refried beans, tofu.

●Other foods – Cream soups, pureed soup, broth, gravy, sauces, smoothies, milkshakes, pudding, custard, gelatin, condiments, commercially available oral nutrition supplements.

What foods and drinks should I avoid on a soft diet? — Avoid foods that are hard to chew or swallow. Examples include:

●Grains to avoid – Chewy and dry bread, crispy crackers, coarse and dry cereal.

●Fruits to avoid – Raw fruit, dried fruit, fruit snacks like fruit leather.

●Vegetables to avoid – Raw vegetables, stringy vegetables like celery, cooked corn or peas, fried vegetables.

●Dairy to avoid – Yogurt with granola, nuts, or coconut. Ice cream with chunks, strong and hard cheeses.

●Meats and proteins to avoid – Tough, dry meat/jerky. Fried meat, cold cuts, bacon, sausage, chunky nut or seed butter, nuts or seeds.

●Other foods to avoid – Snack foods like chips or popcorn, peanut brittle, candy with dried fruit, chewy and sticky candy like caramel, jelly or jam with seeds.

What else should I know? — Some tips for cooking while eating a soft diet:

●Use a blender or food processor to mash foods if needed.

●Steam foods to keep the nutrients. If boiling potatoes, peel after cooking.

●Bite-sized pieces are easier to swallow. Pieces should be smaller than 1 inch.

●Foods should be moist. Add gravy, sauce, vegetable juice, fruit juice, broth, milk, or water to moisten foods.

●Reheat foods carefully to prevent them from forming a tough crust.