Soft Foods?

[slbride2003]

DS is having his tonsils and adenoids removed on Tuesday. The doctor has said soft foods only for at least a week and suggested Mac and cheese and mashed potatoes; 2 things my crazy picky kid won’t eat. Outside of ice cream and plain noodles, any suggestions as to what I can feed him? He won’t drink smoothies.

[countthestars]

- Eggs
- Soup
- Meatballs
- Yogurt

What does he eat?

[bsp36]

Pudding
Yogurt
Applesauce
Cottage Cheese
Pancakes???

[wanderingback]

What does he normally eat?

For example typical breakfast foods could be - oatmeal, cream of wheat, yogurt, apple sauce, scrambled eggs, pancakes etc

[Patsy Baloney]

Canned pastas - spaghettios, chef boyardee type things

so he’s super picky? We ran into this with my cleft kid, and I spent a lot of time mashing/blending foods that he liked into textures he was allowed while he healed. It’s not the most appetizing, but it might help you limp past the soft food phase.

[slbride2003]

He is super picky but it’s generally doable. He eats pasta, meatballs, any kind of plain meat/chicken and broccoli.
He will eat yogurt, so that’s a good call.
He won’t eat eggs or any kind of soup.

[slbride2003]

I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of pancakes, but he will eat those. Maybe I can sneak in some protein powder.

Thanks all!

[countthestars]

If you can get him to drink chocolate milk, my kids really like the Orgain protein shakes!

[mommin]

DS had his wisdom teeth out in February and I had a pretty good list for him. Not quite the same as tonsils, but hopefully some of the items are helpful.
Salty-
Mac & cheese
Mashed potatoes & gravy
Small pieces of grilled cheese
Bean burritos
Quesadillas
Lipton noodle soup
Cambell’s soups
Steamed potstickers
Mini chicken wontons (Costco)

Sweet-
Chocolate or vanilla pudding
Jello (they might not want you to use red flavors)
Fairlife chocolate shakes
Pb & J or Pb & Nutella
Oatmeal (maple brown sugar or apple cinnamon)
Pancakes or Kodiak cakes
French toast
Banana with Pb
Ice cream

He stuck with a Fairlife shack each day and would add other stuff if he was hungry. Anything like sandwiches, pancakes, potstickers, etc. we cut in to small pieces so he could swallow without chewing much. You won’t have to worry about the chewing too much but small pieces might help him swallow without accidentally swallowing too much.

[sadlebred]

Protein smoothies?

[isabel]

If he's normally picky, is he going to be bothered by the limited diet? I would just focus on the things you know he likes - pasta, yogurt, ice cream. If he'll eat jello and pudding, I'd add those to the mix.

I wouldn't stress too much about his diet for a week.

Cottage cheese pancakes are pretty good and would give you an additional hit of protein.

Other ideas - applesauce, oatmeal, bananas, avocado, ditto your idea for protein milk-based drinks, refried beans

[basilosaurus]

One thing I didn't see mentioned is meatloaf. It goes well with mashed potato, too. I made both for my picky friend getting wisdom teeth out. I don't know much about tonsil removal diets, but this is exactly what she wanted, and she didn't even know that until I delivered.

Does he have comfort foods? Can you make soft versions of those? I've found with myself and others in my care just the flavor of a loved dish does so much for a healing mindset

[VillainV]

My kid barely ate anything for a few days after his tonsillectomy. I think he had very thin milkshakes (I maybe added some protein powder?) and popsicles. We may have also done some kind of meal replacement shake like pediasure? The most important part is to keep them hydrated, but they won’t want to drink.

[starburst604]

I have a similarly picky kid and we’d be really stuck if she needed her tonsils out! She would be surviving on popsicles and ice cream, tbh. Hydration is the most important thing, so Pedialyte/Gatorade if he’ll drink it and lots of rest. That’s great that he likes yogurt too.

[expectantsteelerfan]

I'll just add that when I add protein powder to things for my kids, I also add a little splash of vanilla because it hides the taste of the protein powder well (in things like pancakes, smoothies, etc.). Good luck!

[shauni27]

Mar 31, 2024 21:21:14 GMT -5 slbride2003 said:

I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of pancakes, but he will eat those. Maybe I can sneak in some protein powder.

Thanks all!

buy Kodiak pancakes. They have tons of protein in them! That is what we use and my very picky son loves them.

We would be screwed if we had to do this. S would eat noodles, popsicles and chocolate milk for a week.

[1confused1]

My kid lost about 10 pounds after that surgery because he didn’t want to eat. Gatorade and popsicles were on regular rotation. I cut the popsicles into smaller pieces for him to be able to just melt in his mouth.

Good luck!!

[fn2187]

Açaí bowl with sliced bananas on top

[macmars45]

Mar 31, 2024 21:21:14 GMT -5 slbride2003 said:

I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of pancakes, but he will eat those. Maybe I can sneak in some protein powder.

Thanks all!

You could buy kodiak pancake mix. That already has extra protein in it.

[sent]

Mar 31, 2024 21:20:16 GMT -5 slbride2003 said:

He is super picky but it’s generally doable. He eats pasta, meatballs, any kind of plain meat/chicken and broccoli.
He will eat yogurt, so that’s a good call.
He won’t eat eggs or any kind of soup.

I would make everything very soft. The pasta is easy enough to make soft. The chicken and the broccoli should be very soft and even mashed down some. I saw you mentioned pancakes, same, mash it up a little. I missed how old your DS is to be able to trust if he will chew his food enough to really crush it down to a paste before swallowing. 

I am always lecturing my patients on eating soft foods but that's because their teeth hurt after braces and they don't want to chew. They can swallow but it's not pleasant to swallow if you don't chew your food enough. I think the concern in your DS's situation is that the food has to be soft so that if he doesn't chew it that much, it won't destroy healing of the tissues as the food goes down the throat. I would be worried that youngish kids like age 2 - 6 might not chew things like chicken and broccoli enough so I'd want to make them extra mushy. 

[VillainV]

Apr 2, 2024 1:18:12 GMT -5 sent said:

Mar 31, 2024 21:20:16 GMT -5 slbride2003 said:

He is super picky but it’s generally doable. He eats pasta, meatballs, any kind of plain meat/chicken and broccoli.
He will eat yogurt, so that’s a good call.
He won’t eat eggs or any kind of soup.

I would make everything very soft. The pasta is easy enough to make soft. The chicken and the broccoli should be very soft and even mashed down some. I saw you mentioned pancakes, same, mash it up a little. I missed how old your DS is to be able to trust if he will chew his food enough to really crush it down to a paste before swallowing. 

I am always lecturing my patients on eating soft foods but that's because their teeth hurt after braces and they don't want to chew. They can swallow but it's not pleasant to swallow if you don't chew your food enough. I think the concern in your DS's situation is that the food has to be soft so that if he doesn't chew it that much, it won't destroy healing of the tissues as the food goes down the throat. I would be worried that youngish kids like age 2 - 6 might not chew things like chicken and broccoli enough so I'd want to make them extra mushy. 

Same suggestion from me. Pancakes might be best if lightly soaked in liquid (milk? thin pancake syrup) so they’re VERY soft.

[basilosaurus]

Apr 2, 2024 4:29:04 GMT -5 VillainV said:

Apr 2, 2024 1:18:12 GMT -5 sent said:

I would make everything very soft. The pasta is easy enough to make soft. The chicken and the broccoli should be very soft and even mashed down some. I saw you mentioned pancakes, same, mash it up a little. I missed how old your DS is to be able to trust if he will chew his food enough to really crush it down to a paste before swallowing. 

I am always lecturing my patients on eating soft foods but that's because their teeth hurt after braces and they don't want to chew. They can swallow but it's not pleasant to swallow if you don't chew your food enough. I think the concern in your DS's situation is that the food has to be soft so that if he doesn't chew it that much, it won't destroy healing of the tissues as the food goes down the throat. I would be worried that youngish kids like age 2 - 6 might not chew things like chicken and broccoli enough so I'd want to make them extra mushy. 

Same suggestion from me. Pancakes might be best if lightly soaked in liquid (milk? thin pancake syrup) so they’re VERY soft.

This made me think of overnight brunch casseroles like creme brulee french toast or egg casserole. It could be a real treat even for a picky eater.

[slbride2003]

Apr 2, 2024 1:18:12 GMT -5 sent said:

Mar 31, 2024 21:20:16 GMT -5 slbride2003 said:

He is super picky but it’s generally doable. He eats pasta, meatballs, any kind of plain meat/chicken and broccoli.
He will eat yogurt, so that’s a good call.
He won’t eat eggs or any kind of soup.

I would make everything very soft. The pasta is easy enough to make soft. The chicken and the broccoli should be very soft and even mashed down some. I saw you mentioned pancakes, same, mash it up a little. I missed how old your DS is to be able to trust if he will chew his food enough to really crush it down to a paste before swallowing. 

I am always lecturing my patients on eating soft foods but that's because their teeth hurt after braces and they don't want to chew. They can swallow but it's not pleasant to swallow if you don't chew your food enough. I think the concern in your DS's situation is that the food has to be soft so that if he doesn't chew it that much, it won't destroy healing of the tissues as the food goes down the throat. I would be worried that youngish kids like age 2 - 6 might not chew things like chicken and broccoli enough so I'd want to make them extra mushy. 

Thank you for this. He’s 11 so knows to chew but yes, the concern is the stitches at the back of his throat.
We will likely stick to ice cream and pastina for the first few days. He also likes pudding so I will make some this afternoon. The poor kid is pretty miserable. We are on our way home and he just wants to go to sleep.

[sparkythelawyer]

smoothies, ice cream, yogurt, gelato, jello, pureed soups? loosely scrambled eggs? pudding, popsicles, pudding pops, yogurt pops, etc.