Foods to Eat While Following
a Soft Food Diet

• Vegetables: soft cooked carrots, well-cooked green beans, chopped cooked spinach, cooked zucchini without seeds, well-cooked broccoli florets, mashed cauliflower, etc.
• Fruits: cooked, peeled apples or applesauce, bananas, avocado, peeled ripe peaches, cooked pears, puréed fruits, etc.
• Eggs: cooked whole eggs or egg whites, egg salad
• Dairy products: cottage cheese, yogurt, soft cheeses, pudding, frozen yogurt, ice cream
• Grains and starches: mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, cooked cereals like cream of wheat, moistened pancakes, soft well-cooked noodles, refried or pureed beans
• Meat, poultry, and fish: finely chopped or ground moistened poultry, soft tuna or chicken salad (without chopped raw vegetables or fruit like celery, pickles, or apples), baked or broiled fish, soft meatballs, soft tofu
• Soups: puréed or broth-based soups with soft-cooked vegetables
• Miscellaneous: gravies, sauces, smooth nut butters, unseeded jellies and jams, jello
• Drinks: protein shakes and smoothies

• Vegetables: raw vegetables, deep-fried vegetables, vegetables with seeds or rinds
• Fruits: fresh fruits (with some exceptions like avocados and bananas), fruits with peels and seeds, dried fruits
• Dairy products: hard cheeses, cheeses with nuts or dried fruit in them, yogurt with added ingredients, such as chocolate or nuts
• Grains and starches: hard crackers, chewy or crusty breads, tortillas, high fiber breads and grains, such as seeded breads and shredded wheat, French fries, popcorn
• Meat, poultry, and fish: tough cuts of meat, fried fish or poultry, whole cuts of meat or poultry, high fat processed meats, such as bacon, shellfish, soups or stews with tough chunks of meat
• Fats: nuts, seeds, coconut flakes, crunchy nut butters
• Miscellaneous: seeded jams or jellies, chewy candies
• NO BREAD!!!

A soft food is a food that requires minimal chewing and absolutely no tearing. If you are questioning whether or not a food is considered soft, the answer is likely no. All food should be bite size in order to avoid the need to tear the food with your front teeth.

Please feel free to call the office at 703-436-4633 for further guidance.