Blending/Pureeing food

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Amandagall5

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Lost a loved one
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My husband does not have a feeding tube and will not be getting one. Although I cut his food up and he has a semi soft diet anyway, he coughs as he eats now, and takes a really long time to finish anything. I think I need to start making things more soup like for him but wondered what other Cals have done. Do you just make a regular meal and put everything in the blender (example steak, potatoes, veg) and feed it with a spoon? Or do you make certain things that are easier to blend?
Sorry to sound so clueless!
Amanda
 
Hi Amanda. Not sure if this will help you, but I make my husband supplemental smoothies with my Ninja. I use Boost Plus, Whole Milk, Whey Protein Powder and ice. Sometimes I toss ice cream or yogurt in there for additional calories, but just with the fiirst 4 ingredients, it's over 740 calories. We have not yet gotten to the point where Michael cannot eat any solids, but I do make him softer foods, like pasta, rice, veggie soups and the like.

I'm not sure how you would be able to puree something like steak. Perhaps you can substitute tofu, beans, eggs or other proteins for him.
 
My husband had his jaw wired shut for 6 weeks. He threw whole meals in the blender and drank them with a straw.

I have a tube. We blend all my meals. If your Ninja is strung enough to create a smooth mixture it will be easier. I taste some of my blends. Steak with a bit of water is still steàk tasting.

Remind to add calories by adding in good things such as avacado.

Max does a good job of getting calories.
 
You will want to check with the ALS dietician to see if you need to thicken things. We did try puréeing meals but for him, it was still a struggle to swallow them,. For the last year, my hubby could only have thickened liquids- smoothies using yogurt, boost plus, whey powder, ice cream, fresh fruit, fish oil, but eventually, he had so much difficulty swallowing that he consumed only thickened Boost Plus. Like your hubby, even that was so time consuming! Would take him an hour to consume 1 boost plus. The thickened liquid prevents aspirating to some degree- although as time goes on, aspiration will undoubtedly occur, unfortunately. We CALS try hard to be creative and satisfy the PALS yearning for real food - but it is a no win situation with this disease. Good luck. (My hubby also chose no tube- until it was too late. They are in charge, and have to call the shots, but it is so hard to watch this, knowing the tube would make this journey easier.)
 
For breakfast he usually has boost, yogurt and sometimes some scrambled eggs. At lunch he wants a sandwich and some boost. For dinner we usually have something like pasta or rice. So breakfast and dinner I can make smoother but not sure about the sandwich. He may have to have a protein shake with the boost, or some kind of soup. He's very resistant to change so I don't think he will take too well to this transition.
 
I blend everything for my pals and have for years. What ever I am eating he is eating--except blended! we stay away from bread,pastas and rice as they get very thick and sticky and don't go down very well. mashed potatoes work ok as long as they are not too thick. Transitioning is tough on the pals but aspiration is a real concern if he is already coughing when eating. I started out with some easy on the eyes items--chicken salad, spaghetti sauce, taco meat, soups doesn't look too bad. also don't have to completely liquefy yet so that is easier to get use to. start adding in items to add calories like cream sauces and gravy, olive oil, real butter and whole milk. my husband likes his sauces added on top of the puree not in it so it has a more distinct flavor.
 
Amanda, if he can only take so much change at a time, I'd stop serving rice (and corn, if he eats that), for safety's sake.
 
One of my new favorites and it is high in protein and calories is to throw 4 eggs, 3 tablespoons of peanut butter, 2 cups of milk (or less for thicker) a frozen banana, a half teaspoon of vanilla extract, and a teaspoon of cinnamon into a blender and blend. It taste great is extremely filling and gives me everything a growing boy needs.
 
ewww raw eggs. I could never handle the thought of those! I would worry about salmonella.
 
>ewww raw eggs. I could never handle the thought of those!

Ditto that!
 
Hi Amanda. My husband has also been very resistant to change along the way. Strength to you. Sometimes it does feel like the impossible hurdle when thinking about what the next meal is going to be. Soups work well for my husband as long as they are not too liquid or too chunky. Split peas, lentils and dahl are excellent sources of protein and roughage and they also blend well into a nice thick soup/stew. I cook them with plenty of vegetables, stock and different herbs and spices to make sure they are tasty and don't all taste the same. Cauliflower mash also goes down well, a tasty option is to steam or cook the cauliflower then add cheese and cooked bacon and blend it. A favourite of my hubby's in summer is gaspacho (thanks to Max for the tip!). Now that it's colder thick split pea and ham soup is excellent. To get away from the soup I sometimes make mashed potato (not to smooth or sticky) and pork sausages - after they are cooked I peel the skin off and mash them then put a bit of mash and a bit of sausage on the spoon at the same time. Hope at least one of these tips works for you :)
 
Don't know why all my posts are going for moderation all of a sudden. Hopefully you will see it soon!?
 
poppies, stupidly the word "ex cell ent" triggers moderation. (when written without the spaces inside it)

go figure hey!
 
Ah! Thanks Tillie, I wondered what I did wrong. I had a good laugh though because Big Mark posted a picture of a bare butt that got through but my soup story didn't :)
 
Big Mark posted a picture of a bare butt that got through but my soup story didn't :)

yea, no rhyme or reason in some ways hey!
 
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