A mechanical soft diet or edentulous diet is a diet that involves only foods that are physically soft, with the goal of reducing or eliminating the need to chew the food. It is recommended for people who have difficulty chewing food, including people with some types of dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), the loss of many or all teeth, surgery involving the jaw, mouth or gastrointestinal tract, and pain from recently adjusted dental braces.
A mechanical soft diet can include many or most foods if they are mashed, puréed, chopped very small, combined with sauce or gravy, or softened in liquid.
In some situations, there are additional restrictions. For example, patients who need to avoid acid reflux, such as those recovering from esophageal surgery for achalasia, are also instructed to stay away from foods that can aggravate reflux, which include ketchup and other tomato products, citrus fruits, chocolate, mint, spicy foods, alcohol, and caffeine. Foods such as tomatoes and blackberries may be restricted because they contain small seeds.
A puréed diet is commonly used for people who have difficulty swallowing, and provides a uniformly smooth consistency.
Most of the foods on this diet can be both puréed and thinned with liquids to be incorporated into a full-liquid diet.
Baked potatoes, skinless, mashed with sour cream or cream cheese
Breakfast cereal (Cheerios, Cornflakes, Corn Pops, Corn Chex, Rice Krispies), softened in milk
Cooked hot cereals such as oatmeal, porridge, Cream of Wheat, grits, Cream of Rice, Farina, or Weetabix
Couscous
Lasagne with extra sauce
Macaroni & cheese, cooked soft
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Mashed sweet potatoes
Muffins, pancakes, or waffles, softened with syrup or butter
Pasta cooked soft
Polenta
Potato salad, mashed
Quinoa
Rice cooked soft with sauce or gravy
Rice gruel or congee
Risotto
Baked beans
Canned tuna or canned chicken
Chicken salad or tuna salad
Chili
Cottage cheese
Eggs, scrambled
Eggs, beaten and steamed
Enchilada pie
Fish cooked soft
Meat in soups, stews, or curries
Meatloaf, meatballs, cottage pie, and other soft dishes with ground meat
Nut butter such as peanut butter, almond butter, or cashew butter
Refried beans with melted cheese, sour cream, salsa, or guacamole
Sloppy joe
Tofu
Yogurt
Ricotta
Fruits and vegetables
Applesauce
Avocados
Bananas, mashed if needed
Creamed corn
Creamed spinach
Fruit juices
watermelon
Peeled pears or peaches, very ripe or canned
Soup with soft-cooked vegetables
Vegetable juices such as tomato juice or carrot juice
Vegetables cooked soft, mashed, or pureed in the blender
Cake softened with milk or ice cream
Cheesecake
Cream pies
Custard
Fruit smoothies with milk, yogurt, soy milk, or crushed ice
Gelatin desserts such as Jell-O
Milkshakes and health shakes
Mousse
Pudding
Pumpkin pie, key lime pie, and other soft pies
Smooth frozen desserts such as frozen yogurt, ice cream, Italian ice, popsicles, and sherbet
Whipped cream or whipped topping
