Liquid and Soft Diet Recipes

There are a variety of options when you’re on a soft/liquid diet to keep you healthy, fed and full. The key is mixing them up and eating multiple meals per day. You can always make a batch ahead of time and then use it over the course of a couple days.

There are 4 main varieties of items for a liquid diet: Fruit Smoothies, Protein Shakes, Broths and Soups, and Starch Purees.

Tips and Ideas:

Items to have on hand:

Blender, storage containers, strainer or metal coffee filter.
Emergency Food Options for last minute or on-the-go
Instant breakfast, protein or nutritional shakes (like Ensure)
Fruit Smoothies, Milk shakes, yogurt, and puddings.
Baby Food

Avoid:

Seeds and skins – applies, pears, peaches, no dried fruits
Nuts (Use smooth peanut butter)
Crusts and breaded foods
Bacon, overcooked scrambled eggs.

Stay Healthy Tips:

Eat 5-6 meals a day.
Rinse your mouth after every meal to help keep it clean.
Think Fiber. As you adjust to a soft/liquid diet constipation can be a problem, as can some medications.
The best way to keep you nutrition, calories, and protein up is to vary your diet. So mix it up, try different things.
Vitamins and supplements can help you stay healthy.

Meat, Eggs and Cheese:

Meats: You can puree various meats or use strained baby food meats for soups and purees. A basic recipe is to blend a ½ cup of meat and ½ cup of liquid, like gravy, broth or milk (Add more if necessary) until it is smooth.
Eggs: Use pasteurized eggs or liquid egg products, or cook to a soft-custard to mix into your purees. Do not use raw unpasteurized eggs that can cause salmonella infection.
Cheese and Solid Fats: For liquid diets, solid fats and cheeses can be blended if they are first melted. Oil, salad dressing (no seeds) and cream can be added directly.

Soft/ Liquid Diet Enhancers:

Need Protein: Tofu, powdered milk, yogurt, eggs, whey.
Need Flavor: Lemon juice, almond or vanilla extract, cocoa powder, honey, syrup, oil, butter, seedless jelly, salad dressing
Need Calories: Butter, oil, mayo, nut butter, avocado
Need Vitamins: Look for liquid vitamins to easily add.
Ice: Add ice or freeze ingredients for a cold shake.