Pureéd Hell?

[201]

My ninety-one year-old grandfather was recently hospitalized for fluid in the lungs and pneumonia. Among other things, the doctors performed a swallowing test and came to the conclusion that he's been aspirating while eating and drinking. The doctor's orders are now that he is pretty much only allowed food in pureéd form and all of his liquids need to be thickened to nectar-consistency.

He was always the meat and potatoes sort, so it's a pretty drastic change for him to be on this diet. He can stray somewhat from the pureé, but that's what we're shooting for. Almost all of his meals will be prepared by his live-in health aid who's a pretty competent cook, but not used to preparing food in this fashion. I figured I would ask here if anyone has suggestions for what to serve him, because my family isn't exactly creative when it comes to food.

[rozrapp]

It's obvious that the most difficult aspect of this situation will be that your grandfather will have to accustom himself to a different style of eating. But if he can adjust to that, there are lots of different things that can be prepared and served to him in pureed form. A blender and a food processor are both essential in this kind of situation.

While he will probably have to forego the meat part of his former diet, he certainly does not have to give up potatoes. They can, of course, be prepared mashed very smoothly with additions such as s&p, milk, cream, butter -- if he is permitted these -- to make them tasty. There's also pureed leek and potato soup, which can be served hot in cold weather and chilled as vichyssoise in warm weather.

In fact, pureed soups will probably become a mainstay of his diet, and many other vegetables can be used. One of my favorite recipes is the winter squash soup in James Peterson's Splendid Soups. I also make my own combination of winter root vegetables -- chopped onions, sweet potatoes, carrots, turnips & parsnips -- cooked until soft and then pureed with a little cream and butter. Asparagus make an excellent soup, either hot or chilled. And when tomatoes are in season, they make a delicious soup on their own and can also be incorporated with other vegetables -- onions, peppers, cucumbers -- and spices to make a pureed gazpacho. Also in summer, chilled, pureed borscht is wonderful.

Fruits can easily remain part of this new diet. I make smoothies with all kinds of combinations, depending on the season. The basic formulation I use is fruit + yogurt (or sometimes ice cream) + milk (either soy or skim).

And, for dessert, there are, of course, puddings, custards and ice cream.

Hope this helps.

[tommy]

i'm with rozrapp re pureed veggies. last night i made pureed butternut squash. boil cubed squash, and throw it in a blender or food processor with a bit of butter and milk (or just stock or broth), s/p, some grated ginger, a bit of nutmeg, and you're all set. the consistency can be similar to a really thick soup, which might be appropriate here.

this works with a lot of vegetables, other squashes especially.

Edited March 23, 2003 by tommy (log)

[elyse]

Is there a problem with his eating meat? I understood that he just had to eat pureed foods, not change his diet. If this is the case, why not make stews and soups? If he doesn't have any dietary restrictions, you can puree almost anything he is used to eating.

If I had to change to pureed food, I'd be far more willing to eat if the taste was familliar rather than bland nasty spooge like most pureed foods. Make the changes slowly in this regard.

[IrishCream]

You might want to consider savory custards also. Eggs are a good source of protein. Things like crustless cheese quiche, simple souflees, etc. Some of the overnight egg stratas turn out basically pureed even though they contain bread. I hope he makes a speedy recovery.

[Brad S]

I'm a regional executive chef for Marriott SLS.

I deal with I.L (independent living)A.L (assisted living) and nursing. Many of the residence in nursing need special diets,one of then of course is a pureed diet. If you grandfather does not have special dietary needs,he will do fine with purees of just about anything.

Meats.poultry,seafoods,,veggies,legumes,fruits etc.

Puddings and custards are good,you can even puree corn beef and kraut.

Although this may seem a bit foreign to some,it is comman practice in senior living.

It is importnat however that your doctor knows how you proceed.

[rozrapp]

Is there a problem with his eating meat?  I understood that he just had to eat pureed foods, not change his diet.  If this is the case, why not make stews and soups?  If he doesn't have any dietary restrictions, you can puree almost anything he is used to eating.

If I had to change to pureed food, I'd be far more willing to eat if the taste was familliar rather than bland nasty spooge like most pureed foods.  Make the changes slowly in this regard.

Elyse, Although 201 doesn't explain it, the reason the doctors taking care of his grandfather did a swallowing test was to ascertain if difficulty swallowing was allowing food to aspirate into his lungs, thereby causing his pneumonia. (I am not a physician, but I know about this because I had a family member who had a swallowing problem and extreme care had to be taken that no food got into the lungs.) Thus, the necessity to puree the foods. And making the transition gradually is definitely not an option here. Stewed meat might be soft enough for someone with a chewing problem, but it would still be dangerous in this situation.

If you are saying that all pureed foods taste nasty, I strongly disagree. As I indicated in my previous post, lots of foods can be wonderful in a pureed state, and they certainly don't have to be bland. I think we do agree that soup is one such item. But, again, it can't have small pieces or chunks of anything in it that might aspirate into the lungs.

[elyse]

You misread my post.

[rozrapp]

You misread my post.

If that is the case, I apologize.

[elyse]

S'ok.

[fifi]

I have been through this a couple of times with family members. The one tip that I have in addition to the other excellent suggestions so far that I got from a wonderful lady in the hospice... Keeping the flavors separate really helps. In other words, don't throw the potatoes and meat and peas in the blender together. She advised pureeing the meat (roast for example) with some pan juices and broth to the consistency needed. Strain it if necessary. Do the potatoes, the peas, etc. separately. Her opinion was that the main thing missing with the pureed diets was the distinctive flavors of the foods we are accustomed to having as separate entities on our plate. Otherwise, everything is just "soup". Soup is not a bad thing but just not all the time.

[201]

Thank you for all the suggestions. My grandfather loves mashed potatoes and butternut squash, so those will like become staples. He's actually not supposed to have ice cream because it melts and becomes too thin in the mouth, so we'll have to concentrate on puddings and custards.

Any ideas on breads and grains???

[Suzanne F]

If he likes Chinese food: CONGEE!!!!!!! aka jook, aka rice porridge. 1 cup of rice (preferably short grain) rinsed and simmered for one to two hours in 8 cups of water or stock. For him, I'd use stock (chicken, turkey, vegetable, mushroom) so that it tastes more like "food." Season with soy sauce when done. If he can't even have shredded ginger or scallions, add them in big pieces during the cooking and fish them out before serving. You could probably add some tofu while it's cooking, that would kind of dissolve and increase the protein component.