Texture modified diet - soft - dental
This document is part of the ACI Diet Specifications for Adult Inpatients. It is not to be used for patient education.
Aim
To provide a diet of softer-textured foods that can be easily chewed, requiring minimal biting.
Characteristics
Foods in this category may be naturally softer, or cooked to alter texture. Food should be moist, easily crumbled or served with a sauce or gravy to increase moisture content.
Indications
- poor dentition or no dentures
- painful mouth, gums or tongue (e.g. mouth ulcers, or following surgery of the mouth).
This diet may be ordered for geriatric patients who are unable to manage a full diet but do not need minced or pureed food.
Nutritional adequacy
Nutritionally adequate.
Precautions
All foods to be naturally soft, slightly firm but not tough or stringy, and without gristle or bone. Not designed for patients with Dysphagia (see Soft - Dysphagia).
Paediatrics
Suitable for use in paediatrics (for children aged 5 years old or more) when combined with an age-appropriate diet. Not suitable for children under 5 years of age (refer to Paediatric Diet Specifications).
Specific menu planning guidelines
| Allowed | Not allowed | |
|---|---|---|
| Hot main dishes | Soft dishes (e.g. casseroles, macaroni cheese, lasagne, crepes, quiche with crumbly base, cottage pie) Tender sliced roast meats Well-cooked legumes (e.g. baked beans) Poached, crumbed or fried fish, fish cakes, tuna / salmon mornay | Meat with gristle Dishes with hard pastry or a hard base (e.g. pizza) Dishes with crisp topping |
| Sauces, gravies | All others | Sauces with hard pieces e.g. peppercorn sauce |
| Starchy vegetables / pasta / rice | All cooked starchy vegetables, pasta, noodles and rice | Crispy or crunchy vegetables |
| Vegetables | Cooked vegetables Raw tomato, tinned beetroot or asparagus | Raw crisp or crunchy vegetables |
| Soups | All | - |
| Sandwiches | Soft sandwiches with allowed ingredients Use moist fillings (e.g. diced or shaved chicken or ham, tender sliced roast meats, salmon, tuna, egg with mayonnaise) | Sandwiches with hard fillings or raw crispy or crunchy vegetables Bread with seeds or grains |
| Salads, dressings | Salads using allowed ingredients | - |
| Breads, cereals | Sliced bread and toast (white or wholemeal) Fruit bread Rolled oats, semolina, cold breakfast cereals moistened with milk Pancakes Unprocessed bran | Breads and bread rolls with seeds and grains Hard cereals that do not soften easily (e.g. toasted muesli) Cereals with dried fruit or seeds |
| Spreads | All | - |
| Hot breakfast choices | All eggs and omelettes, baked beans, canned spaghetti, creamed corn, sausages, mushrooms | All others (e.g. bacon |
| Fruit | Canned or stewed fruit Soft fresh fruit e.g. bananas, pawpaw, oranges, mandarins Chopped soaked prunes Grapes | Other hard or unripe fresh fruit (e.g. apple) Dried fruit |
| Yoghurt | All yoghurt without dried fruit, hard nuts or seeds Yoghurt-like desserts (e.g. Frûche®) | - |
| Desserts | All milk-based soft desserts Cakes Ice-cream, jelly Jellied fruit | Any desserts or cakes with hard pastry, dried fruit or nuts |
| Milk and cheese | All others | Cheese with dried fruit or nuts |
| Beverages | All | - |
| Biscuits | Easily crumbled biscuits and crackers e.g. shortbread, cream biscuits | Hard biscuits and crackers (e.g. Anzac biscuits, Ginger Nut) Biscuits and crackers with dried fruit, nuts or seeds |
| Miscellaneous | Liquid or pudding nutritional supplements Chocolate Salt, pepper, cream, sugar and sweetener | Nuts, seeds |
References
- Dietitians Association of Australia. Nutrition manual. 9th ed. Canberra: DAA; 2014.
- Dietitians Association of Australia and The Speech Pathology Association of Australia Ltd. Texture-modified foods and thickened fluids as used for individuals with dysphagia: Australian standardised labels and definition. Nutrition & Dietetics 2007;64 Suppl 2:S53-76.