What to eat when you can not chew
Us older baby boomers did not have flouride in our water and tend to have much dental work unlike my sister, a younger boomer, who has never had a cavity!
My 93 year young Mom needs to have her food pureed because her lower denture nolonger has bone to secure it. Her new upper denture is snug as a rug.
I purchased a good quality food/meat grinder and ended up throwing it out.
I had no idea that my simple Cuisinart blender that crushes ice, can be used to prepare wonderful steak soups, pureed barbecue chicken, lovely brocolli dishes whose delicate green color remind us of spring and such delicate flavored soups as green bean. I combine the vegetables with the liquid they were cooked in and either whole milk for my Mom or Almond Milk for my husband who is allergic to all dairy products as he was as a child. I add butter to most foods for my Mom but no fat for my husband.
I have added food grade thickeners, potato, noodles or whatever we are having with our dinner to the blender for Mom's meal. When Mom asked for spaghetti soup, I pondered and thought it an interesting idea. I put about 1/2 cup of cooked spaghetti sauce in the blender, added a few noodles and snuck in a small piece of white meat of chicken (a bit smaller than a deck of cards) and thinned with chicken broth to the consistency per our hospital dietitian's instruction. My Mom enjoyed the soup very much.
Barbecued chicken is also easy to puree into a smooth food. Place about 1/4 - 1/2 cup barbecue sauce (cooked) into the blender with a small piece of cooked chicken.
I added 1/2 of a small cooked potato as a filler to smooth the puree as Mom wants everything to be as smooth as possible, otherwise food bits will get under her lower denture and hurt as she eats. I made my own barbecue sauce on this occasion but think almost any barbecue sauce would work as long as it is not too hot in flavor.
Thankgoodness for "Thick-it" to thicken drinks enabling swallowing for those with dysphasia and protein powder for added protein on days when we have not met our 50-60grams of protein per day as instructed. In our case, Mom is to have 50-60 grams of protein per day.
At 93 years, we are pleased she enjoys food and for the original suggestion of what
to add to Mom's foods, a huge thanks to Stacey == Stacey my Mom loves food again because of Y O U!
Thanks to Stacey's incredible team too!
Mom will certainly enjoy her grandson Andrew's 18th birthday this December 23,
thanks to wonderful, caring dietitians.
If you need additional details don't hesitate to email me at rosa@raskinfo.com
