Foods to Avoid on a Pureed Diet

Patient/caregiver was educated foods that should be avoided on a pureed diet.

1. Avoid all whole fruits on pureed diet. Puree or mash the fruits completely into a smooth consistency. Make sure there is no pulp or any lumps or seeds or pieces of hard skin or string-like fibers in the pureed fruit before eating.
2. Avoid all whole bakery products on pureed diet. Bakery products, such as, bread and biscuits are difficult to be pureed. These foods can be made softened and thickened into a slurry, by dissolving some gelatin in a cup of water and pouring this mixture on the bakery product, allowing it to soften through the entire thickness. This softening and slurrying of bakery products can help with avoiding chewing and result in a safe swallow.
3. Avoid all plain dry uncooked/undercooked cereals on pureed diet. Cook the cereal to a smooth pudding like consistency using some milk. Make sure there are no lumps in the cooked cereal before eating, to avoid any risk for choking.
4. Avoid all whole or ground meat from all the meat sources, such as, beef, pork, poultry, and fish on pureed diet. Choose tender portions and lean cuts of the meat to puree versus tough, as tender and lean portions are easier to be pureed. Exercise caution to remove all the bones from the meat, as they cannot be pureed and increase risk for choking.
5. Strain all soups and broth, both of vegetables and meat, to remove any lumps or pulp from vegetables and pieces of bone from the meat on pureed diet. Sometimes soups and broth can be too thin for drinking for some individuals and may be thickened to appropriate consistency, as needed. Flour or corn starch or ready-made thickeners could be used to thicken the soup or broth to appropriate uniform smooth consistency before consumption.
6. Avoid all boiled & scrambled eggs and omelet on pureed diet. Puree the egg using some milk and cheese into a uniform pudding. Make sure there are no lumps of the egg and cheese before eating, to prevent risk for choking.
7. Avoid all raw and uncooked vegetables on pureed diet. Cook all your vegetables to a fork tender consistency and then puree the vegetables to a uniform consistency using a blender. Make sure there are no lumps or seeds or pulp from vegetables before eating.
8. Consider smooth puddings, custards, and yogurt for desserts. Make sure the dessert is uniformly smooth, with no chunks of fruit, before eating. Avoid plain cookies, cakes, and pastries for desserts, as it can difficult to swallow foods of this solid consistency. Try softening and thickening these foods into a slurry, by dissolving some gelatin in a cup of water and pouring this mixture on the dessert, allowing it to soften through the entire thickness and helping a safe swallow.