Soft food ideas

My niece is a nutritionist and I asked her for some recipes.  Here are two that are extremely healthy.  Her website is cinnamonhealth.com.  She posts some recipes there as well. 

Yogurt

Look for plain full fat greek yogurt (Yes, full fat!) Plain yogurt has no sugar, so you can better manage the sugar content and sweetness by adding your own healthy toppings. Add 1 tspn cinnamon, a teaspoon of honey and cut up your own mashed strawberries, blueberries or mashed bananas.

Protein Smoothie

Smoothies can be a good blend of carbs, protein and fat to refuel your body.

Ingredients

1 scoop chocolate protein powder (I like Plant Fusion, a dairy free protein powder from Whole Foods Market or Amazon.com)

1 small banana

1 cup washed spinach

1 tablespoon chia seeds

1 tablespoon ground flax seed

8 oz almond milk (or other dairy free milk of your choice)

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

Directions

Blend all ingredients in Vitammix or Nutribullet for 30 seconds.  Top with teaspoon of cinnamon (optional). 

Green Smoothie

Ingredients

     1 avocado

     1 – 2 pieces of low-glycemic fruit: green apple, pear, berries and cantaloupe

     1 cucumber

     A fistful of kale or romaine or spinach

     Coconut water (or purified water)

     Stevia, to taste, and/or a sprinkle of cinnamon or some cacao (optional)

Directions

Blend ingredients in a high-powered blender.

Chia Pudding

Chia pudding is a healthy breakfast option or really an anytime snack. It pairs great with cinnamon and is a tasty way to work these super foods into your diet. Chia seeds pack an impressive 11 grams of fiber in just two tablespoons, and are full of protein, helping you feel full. Also great for people who want to lose weight.

Ingredients:

     2.5 cups unsweetened almond milk

     1/2 cup chia seeds

     2 tablespoons of organic honey

     1 teaspoon vanilla extract

     1 teaspoon cinnamon

SUGGESTED TOPPINGS:

     Fresh fruit – mashed banana, mashed blueberries

     Coconut flakes

     Small seeds – chia seeds, ground flax seeds

Directions:

1  Whisk the almond milk, chia seeds, and sweetener together in a large bowl. Let sit for 5-10

minutes and then whisk again (this just helps prevent clumping).

2  Cover and chill in the fridge for 2.5-3 hours, or overnight. It helps to stir the mixture every so often

during this time, but don't worry if you can't.

3  Stir well before serving. Portion into bowl(s) and add your desired toppings. Leftovers will keep in

an air-tight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.

jackflash22 said:

I make lots of soup. I love

I make lots of soup. I love chicken soup with five veggies plus garlic and herbs. I take the chicken out ...only use cheap drumsticks....that gets put into little containers and frozen for the dog. I then blitz it which makes it thick with the veg add water and cream to the correct consistency. I make enough to freeze. If I make any dinners I usually cook in extra liquid so the people who can eat have the chicken and veg or pork and veg I blitz the veg and gravy. I sometimes put just a little pasta in. I drink plenty of coffee in the day...by the pint...and boost it with whey powder. For sweet it's yoghurt smoothies with canned fruit and sometimes 2 raw eggs which you don't taste but they make it Creamy like an egg nog.i use canned fruit because it's cheaper has syrup and makes better shakes. I also use canned soup with cream. I don't know whether it's enough calories but I keep my weight 8 st 2pounds. Before radiotherapy I was nearly 11 stone but my weight has never come back but I'm healthy. Caramel and rice puddings very milky.

Thanks for all the tips everyone. As a caregiver, food has become an ongoing and often frustrating challenge for both of us. I need to feed hubby high calorie meals in small portions. I can't eat what he does, obviously, but would like to be able to come up with things we can both eat with some minor additions for him.... The other day I made beef stew in the crockpot, but when serving his portion, I could add powdered milk or cream. We eat oatmeal with flaxmeal meal or chopped walnuts and bananas, then I add protein powder and whole or fortified milk to his. 

Tonita, thanks for the website and all your recipes! I've found there is a HUGE difference between dieticians at the cancer clinic and actual nutritionists. The dieticians don't seem to be able to think beyond short term measures and the tube, while the nutritionists use real food and a healthy diet that is sustainable.

Hubby is tired of smoothies, so I've moved on to soups and stews using the crockpot for "dump meals" with quick and easy ingredients like mixed veggies that come pre-chopped and canned broth for stews. 

For soft foods don't forget about fish - salmon is always good and easy to prepare. For Easter I went to the Deli and bought pickled herring, potato salad, humus, snack sized veggies, rice pudding, hard boiled eggs, cheese, crackers, and we had a Smorgasborg. It was perfect! I let hubby serve himself so there was no pressure for him to eat a big meal and no pressure for me to cook a big meal.

Some friends of ours brought us some venison salami, which will be perfect for hubby to snack on at work.

Things like meatloaf, pasta, rice, noodles - as long as there is lots of sauce - seem to go down well. Hubby used to like baked beans, but not so much anymore. 

I keep trying new things all the time.  I'm not eating as well as I was before, but I have to eat what I can.  Now my favorite is cream of asparagus soup with a buttered onion roll.  I break the roll into small pieces and drop it into the soup.  It goes down great and I can actually taste it.  I just tried macaroni and cheese with ground beef and beets.  Quite the concotion but it's tasty.  Cream of wheat is great for getting my pills down and I have that for breakfast with an egg.

I really miss the great salads with chicken and all the other foods I love, but baby steps I guess.