As you get old, you lose teeth and may suffer from dental disorders. During this time, you should consider a full range of soft foods for your daily meals. Soft foods help seniors prevent difficult chewing or swallowing. Doctors will advise you to find foods that do not have tough skin such as apples and dried fruits. But if you still want to add an apple to your diet, you can do so by making it a puree.
Soft foods are not a choice, but a critical way to help you eat healthy at old age. In addition, you can enjoy a meal without the frustration of chewing hard. And just because the food is soft, does not mean it tastes bland.
Soft foods can offer flavor, variety, spices, nutrients and taste. If you are trying to understand what soft foods consist of, a simple rule is to see if the food item can be easily mushed with a fork or processed without a lot of chewing. Soft foods can be chopped, mashed, pureed, ground and moist.
Here are ten recommended soft food ideas for elderly diets:
1. Soups
Soups are the best soft food meals for seniors. Commonly found in the menu plans for retirement homes, soups make all the ingredients soft and easy to digest. There are plenty of soup options. The simple ones include tomato, broccoli and carrot soups. Then there are the blended soups or soups that contain spices to make the meal a little delicious. The choices are endless.
There are plenty of soups to choose from; some favorites include potato-leek, minestrone and tomato with basil. You can even enjoy a vegetable soup with a mixture of soft-boiled vegetables and fresh herbs.
2. Yogurt
Yogurts are excellent soft food ideas for elderly diets, because they are smooth, creamy, light and filling. You can add fine chopped fruits or a little bit of jam for a sweet taste. There are flavored yogurts as well that include lemon, raspberry, vanilla and strawberry flavors. Avoid yogurts with granola or added ingredients that will require hard chewing.
3. Mashed Potato
Mash potatoes is a delicious meal that is easy to eat. You can enjoy a healthy meal as it is packed with fibre and nutrients. You can add a little cream for taste. When preparing, make sure your mash potatoes are not lumpy. You can also enjoy this meal using sweet potatoes if you are a sweet tooth.
4. Boiled Vegetables
Boiling vegetables make excellent soft nutritious foods for elderly. You can maintain the needed nutrients and vitamins as a small percentage of nutrients are maintained when boiled. To retain nutrients, decrease the amount of water you use when boiling the vegetables.
However, you do not want to have hard vegetables to eat, so test the vegetable softness to ensure they are edible. The vegetables are easy to chew and digest after they have been boiled. This is also a quick meal to prepare with little preparation.
5. Pudding
A pumpkin pudding can be a tasty dessert, or you can enjoy a nice steak and mushroom pudding. Ensure the meat is minced well when added to the pudding mix. You can also add a bit of extra gravy to make it a perfect dinner.
6. Scrambled Eggs
You are probably surprised but at the same time pleased to see this food item on the list, especially when soft foods seem to have a limited selection. Scrambled eggs are a source of protein. You can puree your scrambled eggs if you want to make them extra soft.
7. Banana
You can enjoy a quick snack any time of day by cutting a banana into small pieces. You can make a cinnamon-banana mash or puree the banana to make the meal extra soft and easy to digest. Just put the banana in the blender for the right mix and softness. A mashed banana is perfect as a breakfast or dessert dish.
8. Avocado
Avocado contains a variety of nutrients and is a good source of fibre. It can be made as a creamy sauce and added to most meals. You don’t have to cook it to make it soft. Just make sure the avocado is fully ripe before preparing and eating it.
9. Mangoes
Mangoes are one of the best soft food ideas for elderly people. A ripe mango is always soft and easy to eat. You can make it a puree that can be added to vanilla ice cream. The mango puree is a tasty snack that can be eaten at any time of the day.
10. Cottage Cheese
Cheese usually is hard and difficult to chew. Cottage cheese, on the other hand, is a low-calorie curd that offers some essential nutrients. It is fresh, creamy, soft as well as tasty with a mild flavor. You can make cottage cheese yourself or purchase it from any food store.
Cottage cheese is packed with high protein that is good for your muscles. You can even add a little cottage cheese to your scrambled eggs.
