My mother thinks almost all food is too hard to chew. What can I do?

Let her have what she wants/will tolerate - keep trying new foods/liquids. Boost or Ensure, homemade protein smoothies, tapioca pudding, plain ice cream, smooth pureed vegetable soups, clear juice, Vitamin waters, bananas, hard or soft boiled eggs or even smooth baby food - some baby food comes in tubes now. Garbanzo beans are soft and full of protein, heat up some no salt g-beans in low sodium chicken broth, or puree it - healthy. Thin mashed potatoes or cauliflower, there are lot of ways to be creative, but she's gotta like it.

My parent finds corn chowder too chunky, but can down a package of soft but full bodied oatmeal cookies in just a few days. Their appetites are much smaller, so, quantity over quality if necessary.

Buy a blender and puree all her food. My wife has very few teeth and has no problems with pureed food. I use a lot of Health Choice microwave meals. I heat the meal and dump the entire meal, meat, vegetables and dessert into a small table top Ninja Blender for about 20 seconds. Wife always eats with no complaints and enjoys.

Soup.

Does your Mom wear dentures or a partial plate? If so she may need some Fixodent (regular or free... not the powder) to help keep her dentures tight. This way she can eat. When I don't use Fixodent, my teeth will not allow me to eat corn on the cob or anything that would be difficult to eat. I did not realize how much this affected my dad until I got dentures of my own.

If this is not the case, my Dad's doctor said go to braums and get a milkshake and have the break a raw egg in it (this was back in the 80's) It was the one thing that he could drink and really liked it. I finally learned to use it as a reward. If he ate some of the soft veggies (ie: mashed potatoes, carrots etc), then he could have the shake. He would clean them up and then reach for the shake. I took them to him at lease three times a day with doctor approval.

Hope this helps.

As onlychild82 says, Let her have what she wants. 

And I agree with Isthisrealyreal:  Feed her whatever she'll eat.

My husband enjoyed milk shakes. A scoop of ice cream, a packet of Carnation instant breakfast powder and often a fruit, and enough milk to give it a milk-shake texture. Some combinations he liked:

Chocolate ice cream, chocolate powder, a banana, peanut butter, milk.

Strawberry ice cream, vanilla powder, fresh or frozen strawberries, milk, a little whipped cream on top.

Peach or vanilla ice cream, vanilla powder, fresh or canned peaches, a dash of cinnamon, milk.

Raspberry sherbet and buttermilk. (Don't knock it until you've tried it!)

My mother only drinks Glucerna nutritional drink. She drinks about 8 bottles a day. No solid food, no juices, no fruits, no nothing, only Glucerna. She just doesn't want any food.  Her physical health is actually much better than before. She no longer uses the walker or wheelchair, and she can climb one flight of stairs unassisted. I was shocked.

My grandma had a fractured jaw from osteoporosis and it wasn't caught for like 18 months, we thought she just wanted junk food, ice cream, jello, etc. Yea, I guess so when it was so painful to chew any texture.

I do believe there comes a time that quality trumps quantity. Feed her whatever she'll eat.

Oh yeah, I try to keep all meals easy. I guess I am under the impression that too much offered is better than not enough. Another "you don't know from day to day."

My mil doesn't eat a whole lot but if you put something sweet or junk food in front of her, she will tear it up. So along with her oatmeal in the morning, I usually will give her a fruit cup, nutrigrain bar, etc. I have stopped asking if she wants oatmeal, etc. and ask her if she wants to have breakfast or if she wants to start her day. (She doesn't sleep at night, so as they say 2 birds ).

She has no teeth to speak of either. She doesn't put the upper teeth in, as they don't fit, and to be honest, I don't think they have for a long time. I feel bad about the teeth thing, but feel that her family, her own kids, should take care of this.

Even soft food is too much, sometimes. But I never know from day to day.

cook your vegetables til soft.
carrots, potatoes with butter sour cream, peas,

banana, apple sauce,

yogurt, cottage cheese

oatmeal
if they wont eat and only want sweets then I guess ok

but I would try real food first. I worry about my moms teeth.
ive had to take her to the dentist a lot lately.
even get a tooth pulled and get a crown on a broken tooth
and I take her often to get them cleaned

she doesn't brush as well as she used to

not fun taking old person with dementia to dentist :(

My Mom has no teeth . So its hard for her to eat. I give her pretty much all teh sweets she likes .( sugar isnt an issue) and cut the other foods in small pieces. Sandwiches get cut into 4 not two. You taste buds fad when you get older too . Except for a couple . If she doesnt have dietary needs you might try to do more of those . I try to give her small things most of the day. Egg in the morning. Fruit cup mid morning etc etc. and boost. She loves chocolate boost and smoothies .So we try to hide some veggies in the smoothies

I can only speak for myself, but I used to try and manage everything about my Mom's diet (low fat, and no sugar). I have learned to kind of, "go with flow." Let her have what she wants. Now she will barely finish a hard boiled egg. I long for the days when she would eat a 10 piece chicken nugget meal from McDonald's.