Nourishing Diet Level 5 - Minced and Moist Part of: South Tyneside and Sunderland Healthcare Group
Introduction: If you are having problems swallowing, or you are unable to chew your food, you may find you need a pre-mashed diet. This booklet will help you choose foods of a suitable texture and help ensure that you obtain all the nourishment you need. Minced and Moist Diet Foods should be very soft, tender and moist, but not sticky and are best served with a smooth (nonpouring) very thick sauce, gravy or custard. Food should be mashed up with a fork before serving with the exception of pasta which should be mashed with a potato masher and plenty of sauce. Food should require very little chewing and should contain no mixed textures and no loose fluid. Pieces should be no larger than 4mm. Contact name:. Contact number:. How can I make my food softer? Adding sauces (thickened to the required consistency) e.g. gravy, stock, white/ cheese sauce, milk or cream. Mashing e.g. potatoes, vegetables or soft fruits. Mincing e.g. cooked meat or poultry. If meat cannot be minced finely (4mm) then it can be pureed. A Balanced Diet To ensure that you receive all of the nutrients you need it is important to eat a variety of foods each day. Try to eat something from each of the following food groups daily:- Protein foods - Finely minced meat or finely mashed fish without fat, bones, skin or gristle. Pieces approximately 2-4mm with no hard lumps served in a very thick smooth sauce or gravy. Starchy foods Weetabix soaked in milk, porridge, mashed potato or soft mashed chips with gravy. Fruit and vegetables Very soft, mashed boiled vegetables (carrots, parsnip, turnip, cauliflower, mushy peas, tinned plum tomatoes with no juice, courgette, beetroot), well stewed fruit with skins removed (apple, rhubarb), mashed tinned fruit (apricots, pears, peaches) or mashed banana. Milk and dairy foods milkshakes, thick yoghurts, fromage frais, cream cheese, butter, very thick milky puddings.
The following foods should be avoided to prevent choking: Sticky foods such as peanut butter, toffee, chocolate. Coarse, dry, hard foods such as nuts, seeds, coconut, dried fruit, celery, muesli and crisps. Crunchy or crumbly foods such as biscuits, toast, pie crusts and crumbles. Stringy fibrous foods such as pineapple, shells of beans, peas, sweet corn, lettuce and vegetable or fruit skins (broad beans, grapes, tomatoes.) Foods which contain lumps such as minestrone soup, stews, risotto, cereals that do not blend with milk e.g. muesli. Ideas for a Minced and Moist diet Breakfast Weetabix (soaked in milk.) Porridge/ Ready Brek. Yoghurt, crème fraiche or fromage-frais with stewed or mashed fruit. Poached or scrambled eggs well covered with tinned spaghetti or mashed baked beans and grated cheese. Milkshakes (thickened if advised by your speech and language therapist.) Very soft plain shop bought pancakes finely chopped with butter/ margarine and syrup/ jelly type jam or yoghurt/ cream/ evaporated milk and mashed or stewed fruit. Main meals Cottage or shepherd s pie with well cooked, mashed vegetables. Finely minced meat in a very thick smooth sauce or gravy and mashed or creamed potatoes and mashed vegetables. Chicken or fish supreme. Fish pie (with mashed potato topping) with mashed vegetables. Soft corned beef hash or skinless sausages, mashed potato and gravy. Ready prepared meals e.g. ravioli, macaroni cheese, spaghetti bolognese with plenty of sauce (avoid those with crispy toppings.) Jacket potatoes (without skin) with butter and houmous/ tuna mayo/ minced beef/egg mayo/grated cheese. Puddings and snacks Milk puddings (e.g. rice pudding, sago, semolina, custard.) Sponge puddings, soft chopped up pancakes or soft plain cake with cream/ custard or ice cream. Instant desserts, whips, blancmange. Very thick smooth yoghurt, fromage frais, mousse or fruit fool. Ice-cream*, sorbet, frozen yoghurt or banana split. Egg custard, crème caramel or sweet pie fillings. Mashed or stewed fruit with cream, custard, crème fraiche or yoghurt. *if you are on thickened fluids avoid ice-cream as it will melt in the mouth and become too thin.
How to enrich everyday food and drink Sometimes, following a soft diet means that you end up eating less than usual. It is very important that what you do eat is as nourishing as possible. Extra nourishment can be added to everyday foods try some of these simple ideas: Milk Cheese Fats Cream Sugar and preserves Add 3-4 heaped teaspoons of dried milk powder to each pint of full cream milk (aim to drink 1 pint per day). Keep this in the fridge and use in hot and cold drinks, on cereals and in desserts and sauces. Grate into soups or scrambled eggs, and on to potatoes, vegetables or mashed baked beans. Add butter and margarine to mashed potatoes and vegetables. Add to potatoes, porridge, cereal, milk puddings, milky drinks, sauces or soups. Add sugar, seedless jam, honey, syrup or lemon curd to drinks, cereals and desserts. Store cupboard foods If you have difficulty preparing meals or do not feel like cooking, you may find it useful to have some of the following products in your fridge, freezer or cupboard. They can easily be mashed to the correct texture: Tins Stew, minced beef, macaroni cheese, vegetables, spaghetti, pasta shapes, curry, bolognese, milk puddings and custard, soft fruit (not pineapple or grapefruit), boneless tinned fish. Frozen meals Hot-pots, fish pies, fish/ pasta in sauce, cottage pie, chicken supreme. Packets Instant mashed potato, instant dessert mixes, dried milk powder, UHT milk, pasta in sauce, boil in the bag meals. Helpful hints Ensure that all foods are well cooked. Remove skins, bones, seeds or pips (you can use a sieve to help with this.) Always serve with lots of thickened sauce or gravy. Allow plenty of time to eat your meals and take small sips of drinks if this helps.
Recipe Ideas Cauliflower Cheese 1lb (500g) cauliflower 1 ½ dessertspoons cornflour ¾ pint (400ml) milk 4oz (120g) grated cheese 1oz (30g) butter Salt and pepper, to taste Remove leaves from cauliflower and break into florets. Boil in water until soft. Mix the cornflour with a little of the milk in a large jug, to make a paste. Pour the remainder of the milk into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and pour onto the cornflour, stirring all the time. Return the milk and cornflour to the pan and simmer for 3-4 minutes until thickened (stir continuously.) Remove from heat and stir in cheese and butter. Drain water from cauliflower, mash with a fork and add cheese sauce. Divide into 4 servings and freeze the remaining portions when cooled. Chicken/ Fish Supreme Cooked chicken, minced, or piece of white fish 1 can condensed mushroom or chicken soup (with no lumps) Place chicken or fish in a casserole dish and pour over the condensed soup. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 375F/ 200C/ gas mark 5 for 30 minutes. Serve with creamed or mashed potato and vegetables or well-cooked pasta mashed with a potato masher.
Notes Notes
South Tyneside District Hospital Harton Lane South Shields Tyne & Wear NE34 0PL Tel: 0191 404 1000 For information about our Trust: www.stft.nhs.uk www.facebook.com/stnhsft/ @STFTrust We are committed to raising the standard of written information for patients, their carers, people who use the NHS and the general public. This information can be made available in another format or language on request. For further copies of this leaflet please contact on the telephone number above. Production date: Nov 2018 Author: Nutrition Code: 1118/530 Review date: April 2021