My wife and I are getting sick of eating the same old things, and are looking for TN-friendly food. You know the kind - just like normal yummy food, but with no chewing required.
(We oven-roasted a whole cauliflower with a couple of onions a while back and whizzed it all up with a bit of blue cheese and milk for the required sloppy texture.)
Any suggestions?
Hi there, have a look at this discussion.
Thanks, Bellalarke. Nice list of healthy goodies. We'll slowly work our way through the list! -Bilateral
Does it need to be blended or just soft?
If I am having a good day I can eat risotto and I just make sure that the veggies I include are very small and soft like mushrooms. Sometimes I grate cauliflower or broccoli into the risotto and and throw some baby spinach or something green in towards the end of the cooking.
Hugs Trish
Hi Trish,
Grating the broccoli and cauliflower sounds good - texture and flavour seem to rely on each other, we've discovered!
At the moment, even a simple bowl of rolled oats / porridge with lots of milk is becoming a challenge.
We're trying to work out if it's simply swallowing that is the problem. But chewing anything comes with an enormous penalty, and is simply avoided - most everything's been pureed for the last 3 months.
Even stewed / casseroled mushrooms are on the 'too hard' list for now...
Best wishes, Bilateral
I can related, sometimes chewing is impossible for me too, as well as anything too liquidy because i can't move my mouth the required way to swallow it (or keep it in my mouth! )
However, I am a cook supervisor at a long term care facility, so i'm used to having to puree just about anything...
When i'm having a really bad bout of TN pain, i simply fix what i like, then just puree it with a little chicken broth or warm milk. That way, i get to eat whatever i really like, but without too much pain.
Un-pureed things i like (and can eat) are stuff like
oatmeal made with chicken or beef broth (i know, sounds awful, but it a nice change of pace from the sweet kind)
plain tuna fish..i can just take small bites and simply swallow it with no chewing
rice cooked with various liquids (chicken or beef broth, juice from canned veggies etc)
cottage cheese
mandarin oranges...i can just squish them against the room of my mouth and swallow.
yogurt...flavored but NO fruit pieces. Helps with the sweet-tooth!
refried beans
any soft veggie that i can mash up (green beans and peas mostly)
mashed potatoes with chicken/beef broth or other more interesting seasonings like garlic and rosemary
I know it's so hard to eat this way. You get so tired of the same things. For almost two years (before diagnosis) i lived on cottage cheese and mashed potatoes, before i got angry and decided i was not going to live like that and started pureeing every thing and experimenting with flavors.
I really hope you find something that works for you...i see everyday how important food is to the emotional well being of people as well as know it myself.
Great, now i'm hungry! LOL
~Mistee
I do a lot of juicing my fruits are one orange, apple, 2 carrots, 3 sticks of cellery it’s really good that’s what I have for breakfast and I take my vitamins with it.
I invested in a breville juicer a year or more ago…and started juicing my veges & fruits.
Lots of recipes online, very filling and incredibly delicious ( I hate most cooked veges so this is great for me)
I use kale, spinach, an apple or pear, carrots, beets, ginger, strawberries etc
No pulp.
It’s work to prep the veges and fruit as well as to clean the juicer but its worth it.
Mimi
Hi bilateral,
Mmm, sorry the risotto is not an option, I can’t always do it but it does break up the monotony.
I keep a mix of options next to my blender to remind me to vary my smoothies and soups. So next to my blender I keep sunflower seeds, pumpin seeds, activated nuts, quinoa flakes, raw cacao powder, raw almonds, raw walnuts, chia seeds, soya grits, maca powder, sesame seeds, hemp seeds, dates, nutmeg, flax seeds (I keep these in the fridge).
If I needed extra calories I would also use coconut milk.
Also throwing in a handful of cooked legumes works quite well.
If I know I’m going to be busy I cut up a lot of fruit over the weekend and leave it in the fridge ready to go and I do the same with all the green leaves, making sure they are washed and ready to just grab a handful as needed. I often do this on a Sunday afternoon. The biggest issue I have is that once fruit is cut my family tend to eat s lot more than if they had to cut it themselves.
I try to vary my smoothies as much as possible but some of the things I use are frozen berries, any fruits that are in season, cucumber, fresh ginger, avocado, celery, spinach, rocket, kale, cos lettuce, watercress, alfalfa sprouts, mung bean sprouts, bok choy, pak choy, sometimes I throw in some seaweed but I’m not really a big fan of that. Lol
Frozen bananas bulk up a smoothie, you can peel them and keep them in the freezer.
I did try cabbage once but it was yucky. Lol
I have also found a protein powder that is completely natural and vegan but I’m not sure if it is available outside Australia. It’s called 180 nutrition. I use it when I’m in a hurry or in a lot of pain and can’t be bothered getting motivated.
I usually make one smoothie first thing in the morning and make enough for 2 and keep the other one in the fridge for later.
A favourite soup I love is to slow roast some tomatoes with a little tamari sprinkled over the top, some roasted onion and garlic and then blitz them up with a little fresh basil.
I do lots of curried soups and also make a Thai soup using red or green curry paste. Sometimes I make my own curry paste if I feel very motivated.
Oops sorry didn’t mean to write such a long post.
Hugs
Trish
Thanks for the wonderful suggestions.
Somehow, we had completely overlooked the idea of making smoothies, even thought they're so delicious!
And buying a juicer seems like money well spent, too, Angela and Mimi.
And, Trish, it's very easy to end up with a long post when talking about food!
Somehow Gourmet TN sounds more inviting than regular TN, especially when there's so many vitamins and good things involved!
I think I'll try a couple of new aisles at the supermarket, and see what ends up in my basket...
I've always loved soup but it does get old now. I have a special interest in finding TN friendly foods as well since I have a bunch of big kids to feed as well. I need to cook. I enjoy it as well. I love the site Tastykitchen.com. Lots of good recipes. You should be able to find some easy chewing recipes there. Good luck.
http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/soups/tomato-dill-soup/
Here's a yummy tomato soup recipe of mine. I have lots of ideas. Hopefully I can get back to share some more.
Bon Apetit!