Trouble Swallowing Ideas

[tripete]

my Dysphagia has gotten extremely bad. water and other plain liquids cause me to choke constantly (saliva swallowing is even a problem). Most food is now pureed.

I am looking for alternative beverages that dont require thick it (I am tired of it). I have found that putting 3 large tablespoons of cream cheese or banannas in Ensure works. I have not found a way to do coffee yet (Ice or Hot).

Any Ideas you can help with?

 

[GregK]

you don't have a tube ... :-(

 

[lgelb]

Cornstarch?

Would you be able to do a pureed smoothie with coffee ice cream [Häagen-Dazs is my fave] a raw egg, banana, maybe some shaved ice, etc. for body? Maybe mix in some vanilla pudding at the end for the right texture?

 

[KateEmerson]

Have you ever tried kefir ( a fermented liquid yogurt) ? I love it. It has some tartness but comes in many flavors, I especially like the whole milk with cream style. It's also has probiotics and is great for your digestion.

 

[ShiftKicker]

Thickeners suggested to me by the SLP- and which could be used for an iced coffee quite nicely

Cornstarch, as Laurie suggests, was top of the list for hot liquids. A bit too grainy for cold mixing. But mixed in hot, then cooled?

rice flour

agar

Potato starch

Straight unflavoured gelatine made up (requires a soak in cold water to rehydrate, then added to heated liquid and then cooled again to thicken)

Smooth tofu- has the consistency of thick yoghurt or set pudding



I also recommend you look up all the products that are out there for "molecular gastronomy", "culinary alchemy" and "food gelling agents". There are some places that supply thickeners for a whole variety of different liquids that may be of help. There are gourmet food suppliers that provide relatively inexpensive bulk thickeners/gellers that chefs use for avant-garde dishes like beer gel or coffee bubbles.

 

[wishmobbing]

For coffee I was thinking along Laurie's idea in making it an ice cream shake extravaganza.

A drink that's a sweet meal in itself is Indian lassi. Yogurt and canned mango pulp, maybe a little cardamom, in your case no need to water it down a bit.

I'm not to firm in the field of soft foods, my boyfriend detests thickeners, too. One thing I tried was a banana, avocado smoothie, with some lemon juice and fat greek yogurt added it was pretty good and not so sweet. Ended up drinking most of it myself as I liked it better.

Has anyone tried using mashed potatoes to thicken and enrich soups or the like? I could image it giving more taste to anything savory while basically doing the same as putting corn starch into everything.

 

[Chincoteaguer]

Pete;

My wife has stopped using thick-it but still likes her Coca-Cola. She suggested making a coke float.

It worked.

The ice cream makes a great difference in her swallowing. No choking from the float but she is very slow and deliberate when she SIPS it.

Coffee floats might work too.

She dips biscotti in her coffee at breakfast. Doesn't drink it.

 

[KimT]

I like Laurie's idea of coffee ice cream with additional coffee added.

Using coconut yogurt with some berries in the Vitamix will let you avoid milk which can be constipating.

There is also non-dairy coconut ice cream and almond ice cream.

 

[lgelb]

Berries may not be in the cards for someone with dysphagia, Kim. But ice cream substitutes avoid dairy, as you say. The rice milk alternatives can be good. It did not dawn on me that the field opens up quite a bit if you add your own brewed coffee to whatever dairy or substitute you select.

Wish, mashed potatoes that are made thin and completely smooth and then blended in could work in soup. I wouldn't just throw in flakes or bits because they would cause differences in texture, the enemy of uneasy swallowing.

 

[wishmobbing]

Flakes?! Pffff, I'm a kitchen snob. Only the finest floury potatoes beaten flurry with nutmeg, a spot of mustard and A LOT of butter.

 

[MarieLaure]

How about geek or Bulgarian yogurt ?

 

[MarieLaure]

I meant Greek

 

[wishmobbing]

Is geek yoghurt the one with/in glasses?

 

[MarieLaure]

It’s the one with chips

 

[tripete]

thank you for great ideas. i do not have PEG and dont want one. my wife and i are fighting as "naturally" as possible. the exception being now Adavant to depress air hunger. yes we tried other meds but the side effects were to much.

Last night we turned my moms old time vanilla pudding recipe into coffee pudding, it was wonderful this morning (it needs a few tweeks) to have a coffee "like" beverage again. i can post if anybody wants.