What to fix for someone who can't chew?

[sparrowgrass]

A friend's mom has had cancer surgery that removed part of her tongue and jaw. She can't chew and has trouble swallowing.

She is tired of potatoes and gravy--any other suggestions? Right now, she is drinking some Ensure, eating ice cream, and pureed or mashed fruits and veggies. She needs high calorie, nutrient dense food.

 

[DramaQueen]

There are jillons of recipes for soups that can be pureed and swallowed without chewing, especially cream soups. They contain all the nutrients like veggies, broth, milk, etc. Soft boiled eggs that can be mashed with a fork, just plain creamed or buttered vegetables that can be run through a blender; ice cream, milk shakes; oatmeal, grits and cooked cereals for breakfast. Polenta with different gravies or sauces. These are all meals that she can "drink" or can be eaten with very little jaw movement.

You might want to google "recipes for soft food diet" and see what you get. Ensure or Boost should still stay on her diet since they are loaded with nutrients and meant for people on soft diets.

Your friend has my sympathy. That kind of surgery is so hard on people. Good luck.

 

[VeraBlue]

I'd be interested in giving you assistance, but I'm not sure what her capabilities are. She has teeth enough to chew, yes? Won't anything chewed and chewed and chewed enough eventually be the consistency of potatoes?

Foods such as beans, tofu, eggs, certain cheeses...

 

[Barbara]

Pick up some protein drinks to have on hand Boost or Ensure. Good for something quick. make sure you chill them first, they taste better.

 

[Robo410]

soft scrambled eggs with cheese, sloppy joe type bbq over potato makes a shepperds pie kind of thing, many soups-tomato, split pea, potato, (with brocolli pureed) red lentil, chicken n dumplings (noodle type), baked eggplant (skinned) tomato sauce and cheese, poached flounder or tilapia can be very soft.

 

[bethzaring]

milk shakes, baked custard, cottage cheese, apple sauce

has she had a swallowing evaluation completed? That would show what consistency foods she can best tolerate.

 

[sparrowgrass]

She lost part of her jaw, so there is no chewing. She has had a swallowing evaluation.

I guess what my friend is looking for is something new, because her mom is losing weight, enough weight so that the doctor is even thinking about reinstalling the stomach tube that she had immediately after surgery.

(Could be that the poor old lady is depressed, too. Me, when I am depressed, I eat, but Elsie stops eating.)

 

[VeraBlue]

Sounds like the hospital should recommend a dietician. Surviving cancer is a great relief, I'm sure, but quality of life has to be considered as part of the survival. A medical professional should evaluate her mental condition because depression is treatable. Then, another professional should make healthy food suggestions that are doable for the patient. Finally, a third professional should be working to retrain what is left of the swallowing muscles and tongue so she can improve her quality of life.

 

[quicksilver]

Oh, that poor woman. Without part of her tongue, you lose you tastebuds. What would make you want to eat?
The only things I could add are puddings, and yogurts.

Good luck, and God bless her.

​

 

[jpmcgrew]

Perhaps some pate, liverwurst or braunsweiger in small amounts on its own. If you really want to give her high fat super nutritious and delicious food, google recipes on straight up bone marrow. I kid you not it's some good stuff that you can incorporate into soups as well especially in a really strong beef broth add a few croutons or saltine crackers and let disolve into broth. Maybe some really soft cooked poached eggs mashed with a fork and some Hollandaise sauce. If she likes beer ( liquid bread) a bottle or two a day might be good. Smoothies or milk shakes mixed with a really good high protein powder like Tigers Milk or Spirutein. Bread pudding softened with milk, cream or 1/2 and 1/2. Really soft cooked oatmeal with cinnamon and apple sauce. What I think is she needs some good carbohydrates so maybe a decent soft wheat bread or saltine crackers dunked in milk or gravy soaked to get it really soft and mushy. Cheese souffle. Melted brie. Any canned or homemade smooth soup with crackers soaked enough to dissolve.

 

[Loprraine]

Sounds like the hospital should recommend a dietician.

That was my first thought. Homemade smoothies once a day can be a great source of all kinds of things for her. Good luck!

 

[bethzaring]

I guarantee you a Registered Dietitian is involved in this woman's care, as evidenced by the procurement of a swallowing eval and the placement of the feeding tube. An RD would have been involved pre and post operation. I feel we are dealing with a devastated daughter who is grappling with her critically ill mother. I assure you the RD is looking at the weight loss and is probably the person who is recommending the use of the feeding tube again.

I feel for this daughter and hope the best for her mother.

 

[sparrowgrass]

Beth is right--there have been consults with an RD.

The more I talk to my friend, the more I think Beth has hit the nail on the head. I think the weight loss is due more to depression than anything else. The lady has been offered an antidepressant, and stopped taking it after a week because she didn't like the way it made her feel.

My friend and her mother have always had a prickly relationship, and I really think a lot of this is just personality conflicts, compounded by illness. I feel bad for both of them.

I have passed on your ideas, but an awful lot so them are turned down right away--"oh, she wouldn't eat that".

 

[simplicity]

Sounds like the hospital should recommend a dietician. Surviving cancer is a great relief, I'm sure, but quality of life has to be considered as part of the survival. A medical professional should evaluate her mental condition because depression is treatable. Then, another professional should make healthy food suggestions that are doable for the patient. Finally, a third professional should be working to retrain what is left of the swallowing muscles and tongue so she can improve her quality of life.

VeraBlue is right. These are critical issues. We can offer suggestions, but we are a bunch of amatuers in this respect. At the very least the doctor should write a prescription for a dietician.

Further tests can track the ability of her muscles to swallow. This problem is sometimes seen in Parkinson's patients as well. They have developed a variety of methods to deal with it.

And yes, depression can be dealt with. Who among us would not be depressed under the circumstances?

Good luck!

 

[GotGarlic]

I have passed on your ideas, but an awful lot so them are turned down right away--"oh, she wouldn't eat that".

That's really a shame. The daughter should let her mother decide what she would or wouldn't eat.

Also, there are lots of anti-depressants available and they're not one-size fits all; if one doesn't work for her, she should return to the health-care provider who prescribed it and try another till she finds something that does.

 

[luvs]

smoothies of fruit & whippingcream, maybe. they're delish. maybe try mango/peach/strawberry/blueberry/.
i love that combination.

 

[In the Kitchen]

When someone has their tonsils removed, I used Jello to get things inside. Doesn't have to have something hard but soft and nutritious. When our mother would not want to eat gave yogurt and Ensure drinks. When my brother gets this attitude, I always remind him what the alternative is to not eating. Maybe lasts few days but after that he sure gets hungry. His is only mental thing but affects most of us.

Sorry to hear about this. Your concern for your friend is to be commended.

 

[redgriller]

You could do what bodybuilders do and make a protein shake. You can get a 2lb tub of flavored Whey protein at Wal-Mart for under 15 bucks. Each scoop has 26 grams of protein. In a blender, add whole milk, a banana, a scoop of whey, and maybe even some ice cream. I like the strawberry whey myself. The shake tastes great, is high in carbs (when you add the banana) and protein. It’s a great and fast way to get carbs for energy as well as protein for building and maintaining muscle.

 

[Aera]

I agree too on the protein shakes. With a blender you can add anything you want in there. Some flax oil with any fruits even juices you want. Along with a good protein powder. Also things like cottage cheese, ricotta cheeses are good and easy to eat.

I feel very bad for this woman and I cannot even imagine her depression. But she is a survivor, and I think it's also very important for someone to connect her online somehow with cancer survivors groups. People who are dealing with the same situations and issues. They would know a lot more then we do on the eating and even the doctors! These people are living with it. The support they offer each other is important and this will really help her deal with this emotionally. She must feel so alone right now

 

[shortchef]

Rice pudding, too, even if you have to put it in the blender. Make a rich one with cream. This is such a satisfying dish.