Samajor, did anyone explain to you the different levels of dysphagia, the term for a swallowing disorder? If not, ask one of the nurses or staff to have the speech pathologist visit with you and your father before he leaves the hospital and explain the issues more thoroughly, and give you a chart of the levels and corresponding acceptable and unacceptable foods.
A speech pathologist probably is already involved if a DX of dysphagia has been made. She/he can tell you exactly what level of dysphagia your father has, and the corresponding level of food.
When my father had to compromise his diet, we received handouts from the speech pathologist and later the home speech therapists. If I remember correctly there were 3 or 4 different levels.
Each level is slightly different, what might be allowed at one level is forbidden at another level.
That is the right way to determine what your father can eat.
This is a general description of dysphagia and conformance to its guidelines: https://www.saintlukeskc.org/health-library/dysphagia-diet#
And this is an example of the tolerable and intolerable foods: https://www.gastrobh.com/contents/patient-info/dietary-education/dysphagia-5-levels
There is almost nothing that can't be included in a pureed diet, my mom's nursing home even went so far as to offer a chicken caesar salad made with thickenrd pureed lettuce, pureed chicken and caesar dressing 😂 I think that sticking to familiar foods will probably be better received, there are lots of things that are already the right texture once you start to think about it -mashed potatoes, squash and turnip are common -creamed corn (if he doesn't need a smooth texture) -if he can handle soft textures well done mac & cheese -meats are the most difficult but most can be pureed with extra broth into a smooth gravy -egg custards, both sweet and savoury -yogurt -almost any fruit can be made like applesauce -oatmeal, cream of wheat, polenta etc - soups cant be blended and thickened if necessary -smoothies, there are so many recipes!
Ask for a nutritionist consult if you are the caregiver. They will also advise on thickening agents for liquids. Wishing you good luck. Do know that almost anything can go into the blender, with the exception of meats.
Alva I put meatloaf with ketchup , turkey with gravy, chicken with gravy, beef with gravy all in my mid size Ninja blender, and it worked like a charm to puree' my husbands foods when he first came home from the hospital after almost dying from aspiration pneumonia.
After almost dying from aspiration pneumonia, my husband could only eat pureed foods when he first came home from the hospital. I literally put anything and everything in my blender, from all kinds of meats usually with gravy, to all the different vegetables(cooked), to fruit, soups, and I gave him oatmeal for breakfast. Now if your father is on some kind of a special diet, then just make sure that you're sticking to what is on that. And if your father just needs foods that are "soft," there are even more options there as well, from scrambled eggs, to mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, cooked vegetables, soups, hotdogs, softer meats and gravy and simple sandwiches. It's not difficult to figure it out. Whatever he likes or can eat, just put it in blender. I wish you well in getting things figured out.
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A speech pathologist probably is already involved if a DX of dysphagia has been made. She/he can tell you exactly what level of dysphagia your father has, and the corresponding level of food.
When my father had to compromise his diet, we received handouts from the speech pathologist and later the home speech therapists. If I remember correctly there were 3 or 4 different levels.
Each level is slightly different, what might be allowed at one level is forbidden at another level.
That is the right way to determine what your father can eat.
This is a general description of dysphagia and conformance to its guidelines:
https://www.saintlukeskc.org/health-library/dysphagia-diet#
And this is an example of the tolerable and intolerable foods:
https://www.gastrobh.com/contents/patient-info/dietary-education/dysphagia-5-levels
There are also several threads here on the topic of dysphagia:
https://www.agingcare.com/search?term=dysphagia+diets
I think that sticking to familiar foods will probably be better received, there are lots of things that are already the right texture once you start to think about it
-mashed potatoes, squash and turnip are common
-creamed corn (if he doesn't need a smooth texture)
-if he can handle soft textures well done mac & cheese
-meats are the most difficult but most can be pureed with extra broth into a smooth gravy
-egg custards, both sweet and savoury
-yogurt
-almost any fruit can be made like applesauce
-oatmeal, cream of wheat, polenta etc
- soups cant be blended and thickened if necessary
-smoothies, there are so many recipes!
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Now if your father is on some kind of a special diet, then just make sure that you're sticking to what is on that.
And if your father just needs foods that are "soft," there are even more options there as well, from scrambled eggs, to mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, cooked vegetables, soups, hotdogs, softer meats and gravy and simple sandwiches.
It's not difficult to figure it out. Whatever he likes or can eat, just put it in blender. I wish you well in getting things figured out.