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Nutrition

Texture-modified Diet

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A texture-modified diet is one in which the texture of the food has been changed to allow the food to be safely swallowed. There are different ranges of texture-modified diet, such as; smooth pureed diet, minced diet and soft diet. Selecting the right range of texture will depend on individual restrictions and swallowing abilities. You may move on to the next range of texture-modified foods as and when you are required to. It is advisable for you to consult a dietitian, if your medical condition requires you to be on a long term texture-modified diet.

You may need some of these kitchen equipments to achieve the desired consistency.
  • Food processor
  • Blender
  • Stick hand blender
  • Juicer
  • Mouli
  • Sieve

Smooth Pureed Diet

Pureed food is thick, smooth and moist with no lumps. It requires no chewing and should be one single consistency. It should not separate into a liquid and a solid. It can be prepared with a blender or food processor.


Food RecommendedFood to be avoided
Bread, cereals, rice, pasta, noodles
  • Smooth lump-free breakfast cereals, e.g. pureed oatmeal porridge , semolina, nestum cereals
  • Pureed pasta or noodles
  • Pureed rice porridge or congee
  • Cereals with lumps, or large pieces
  • All dry cereals
  • All bread
  • Crackers
Vegetables
  • Cooked, peeled pureed vegetables
  • Smooth, lump-free mashed potato
  • Lump mashed vegetables
  • All vegetable skins or pips, seeds (remove before blending)
Fruit
  • Cooked, peeled pureed fruits
  • Pureed fruit with visible lumps
  • All skins or pips, seeds (remove before blending)
Dairy
  • Yoghurt (lump-free) e.g. plain
  • Smooth milk-based sauces e.g. cheese sauce, custard pudding
  • Yoghurt with lumps, pips, pieces of fruit
  • All solid and semi solid cheese including cottage cheese
Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, legumes
  • Pureed meat, chicken, fish, remove all skin and fat before blending
  • Pureed legumes e.g. baked beans, lentils, chickpeas
  • Soft silken tofu
  • Steamed egg (lump-free)
  • Minced or partially pureed meats
  • Scrambled eggs
  • Sticky foods e.g. peanut butter, pate
Desserts
  • Dairy desserts e.g. custards, mousse, instant puddings, ice-cream
  • Desserts with fruit pieces, seeds, crumble, pastry or non-pureed garnishes
Extra
  • Soups that have been blended or strained to remove lumps
  • Smooth jams, condiments and sauces
  • Smooth savoury dips
  • Soups with lumps
  • Jams and condiments with seeds, pips, pulps or lumps

Notes on Preparation:

  • Do not puree a whole meal together, puree each item of the meal and serve separately
  • Puree and season to taste or add seasonings to enhance flavour
  • To save time prepare an extra servings of each pureed item and freeze in individual servings
  • Use liquids such as sour cream, gravy, cheese sauce, soups, cream, or fruit juice to add extra energy and taste when preparing pureed food
  • Commercially prepared baby foods (stage one or 6 months) are a good option when traveling
  • Puree meat raw and then again once cooked to reduce the gritty texture

Minced Diet

Food should be able to be easily minced or mashed with a fork. It may be presented as a thick puree with obvious lumps in it. Food should be moist and should easily form into a ball in the mouth.


Food RecommendedFood to be avoided
Bread, cereals, rice, pasta, noodles
  • Breakfast cereal with small moist lumps e.g. oatmeal porridge, wheat biscuits soaked in hot milk
  • Soft rice porridge with rice grain broken
  • Noodles e.g. egg, udon, etc may require blending or mashing
  • All breads, sandwiches, pastries, crackers and dry biscuits
  • Rice that does not hold together e.g. parboiled, long-grain, basmati
  • Crispy or dry pasta e.g. edges of a pasta bake or lasagna
Vegetables
  • Tender cooked vegetables that are easily mashed with a fork e.g. potato , sweet potato, pumpkin, yam
  • Pureed vegetables e.g. peas, corn, carrot etc
  • Raw vegetables e.g. salads
  • Large vegetable pieces or vegetables too hard to be mashed with a fork
  • Vegetable skins
  • Vegetables that have outer shells or require extensive chewing, e.g. peas, corn
Fruit
  • Mashed soft fresh fruits e.g. banana, mango, kiwifruit
  • Finely sliced or diced soft pieces of canned or cooked fruit e.g. pears, peaches
  • Pureed fruit
  • Large pieces of fruit or fruit that is too hard to be mashed with a fork
  • Dried fruit
  • Stringy fruit e.g. pineapple
Dairy
  • Yoghurt (may have small soft fruit pieces)
  • Very soft cheese with small lumps, e.g. cottage cheese, cream cheese, cheese spread
  • Yoghurt with pips or hard pieces of fruit
  • If eating soft cheeses e.g. camembert or brie, avoid the rind
  • Hard cheeses
Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, legumes
  • Minced, tender, meats with sauce or gravy
  • Casseroles or boil up dishes may be blended to reduce the size of larger food pieces
  • Blended or flaked / minced fish with sauce
  • Very soft and moist egg dishes, e.g. scrambled eggs, soft quiches
  • Well cooked legumes e.g. beans, lentils, partially mashed
  • Small pieces of soft tofu
  • Casserole or minced dishes with hard and chewy pieces, e.g. peas, onion
  • The crusty or pastry of quiches and pies
  • Meat with gristle
  • Nuts
Desserts
  • Smooth puddings e.g. mousse, custard, instant puddings
  • Dairy desserts e.g. custards, yogurt, ice-cream
  • Soft moist sponge cake desserts with lots of custard, cream or ice cream
  • Soft fruit-based desserts
  • Rice pudding or creamed rice
  • Desserts with large or hard fruit pieces, e.g. sultanas, seeds or coconut
  • Hard crumble e.g. apple crumble
  • Bread based puddings
Extra
  • Soup, may contain small soft lumps, e.g. pasta or noodles
  • Very soft, smooth chocolate, e.g. able to melt in the mouth
  • Jams and condiments without seeds or dried fruit
  • Soups with large pieces of meat or vegetables, corn, or rice
  • Lollies including fruit jellies, hard sweets, toffee and marshmallow
  • Any fast food that cannot be mashed with a fork e.g. sushi, pizza

Soft Diet

Foods may be naturally soft or may be cooked or cut to make sure they are soft enough. These foods can be chewed easily and require no mashing, mincing or blending. Hard, dry or crumbly foods should be avoided.


Food RecommendedFood to be avoided
Bread, cereals, rice, pasta, noodles
  • Breakfast cereals well soaked in milk
  • Soft pasta and noodles
  • Soft sandwiches with very moist fillings e.g. eggs mayonnaise
  • Rice, well cooked and sticky
  • Soft pastry, e.g. quiche with a pastry base
  • Dry or crusty breads, breads with hard seeds or grains, hard pastry, pizza
  • Sandwiches that are not thoroughly moist e.g. sandwiches with thick cuts of cold meat, salad
  • Coarse or hard breakfast cereals that do not moisten easily, e.g. toasted muesli, bran cereals
  • Cereals with nuts, seeds and dried fruit
  • Filo and puff pastry e.g. sausage rolls
Vegetables
  • Well cooked vegetables served in small pieces and soft enough to be mashed or broken up with a fork
  • Soft, canned or frozen cooked vegetables
  • All raw vegetables
  • Hard to chew or stringy vegetables e.g. sweet corn, broccoli stalks, asparagus, watercress
Fruit
  • Fresh fruit pieces that are naturally soft e.g. banana, papaya , melon
  • Stewed and canned fruits in small pieces e.g. pears, peaches , apricots
  • Pureed fruit
  • Fruit pieces that pose a choking risk e.g. whole grapes, cherries
  • Large pips
  • Dried fruit, seeds and fruit peel
  • Crunchy raw fruit e.g. apple
  • Stringy or fruits, e.g. pineapple, citrus fruit
Dairy
  • Yoghurt (may have soft fruit)
  • Soft cheeses e.g. Camembert, Brie, Ricotta, cheese spread
  • Yogurt with seeds, nuts, muesli or hard pieces of fruit
  • Hard cheeses e.g. cheddar
Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, legumes
  • Casseroles with small pieces of tender meat
  • Moist fish that easily broken up with the edge of a fork
  • Eggs
  • Well cooked legumes (the outer skin must be soft)
  • Small pieces of soft tofu
  • Dry, tough, chewy, or crispy meats e.g. bacon, crackling
  • Meat with gristle
  • Hard or chewy legumes e.g. lentils, beans, pulses
  • Nuts and seeds
Desserts
  • Soft puddings e.g. milk or sponge based, trifle, custard, mousse, bread and butter pudding
  • Moist cakes, custard sauce may be added
  • Soft fruit-based desserts without hard bases
  • Creamed rice
  • Ice cream
  • Jelly
  • Dry cakes and pastry
  • Cakes, pastry or desserts containing nuts, seeds, coconut, dried fruit, pinea pple e.g. apple crumble, fruit cake
Extra
  • Soup – creamy, thick or blended, may contain small soft lumps, e.g. pasta or noodles
  • Soft fruit jellies or non-chewy lollies
  • Soft, smooth, chocolate
  • Jams and condiments without seeds or dried fruit
  • Soups with large pieces of meat or vegetables, corn, or rice
  • Sticky or chewy foods e.g. toffee
  • Popcorn, chips, biscuits, crackers, nuts, edible seeds
  • Pizza
  • Whole fresh or dried herbs e.g. rosemary, basil