Do the foods have to be 100% pureed, or could they include eggs and dairy products? Is the goal to have very soft, easily eaten foods? My first thought was timbales -- a custard like dish that often contains pureed vegetables. Someone on this forum regularly makes timbales, so I hope she joins in the discussion

The link below is to just give you an idea.

Here is a link that might be useful: Basic timbale custrd recipe with variations

No, but when my coworker's daughter had jaw surgery, they bought a magic bullet or another heavy duty blender and pureed away. If it's for an elderly adult, invest in "thick-it".
Arabella Miller might be able to help you with succinct recipes, she's a dietician at a major university hospital.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pureed foods

If It's for an adult, Then don't just dump the plate in a mixer - I think the secret to keeping it nice is to keep things seperate. Example : puree up some cauliflower with a little goat's cheese and serve that with a pureed bolognese sauce. Followed by a pureed fruit, topped with whipped egg white and browned lightly with a blowtorch.

I agree with islay. It can make a big difference.

Also, if you can afford it, get a high power blender. It can give you better control of texture.

A high power blender can blend with such power that it actually heat up the puree for you to serve right away.

dcarch

As to the good tasting part, when my son was a babe, I just pureed what we ate. No need to change that part. And I mean everything we ate, including meats, pastas, you name it. I am interested in how one makes it look better.

Sopa de Aguacate (Avocado Soup)

Ingredients
3 fully ripe Hass avocados
6 cups of your best rich chicken broth
salt to taste

Directions
1. Remove pulp from the avocados.
2. Use a blender to puree the avocados with the broth.
3. Heat the mixture to just short of boiling, season and serve.

Don't be fooled by the simplicity of this recipe. It is very good. The better the chicken broth, the better it tastes.

Jim

This post was edited by jimster on Tue, Apr 9, 13 at 11:17

Due to some severe dental problems in the last couple of years, I have had a more personal experience with puréed foods than I would have liked.

I also agree with Islay. Popping beef stew in the blender, no matter how good the beef stew was, tasted like what I imagined pet food to taste like. I would rather have just some of the pureed beef cubes and sauce served in an indentation in plain mashed potatoes or whipped cooked brown rice so I can have a better idea of what I'm eating.

For me, broth + vegetable or meat + herbs or spices = palatability

For example, I would cook a bag of frozen peas and a little chopped celery and onion in chicken broth to cover, add fresh mint and puréed with a stick blender to make a "cream" soup. The Chinese restaurant spoons are a real aid with eating runny puréed mixtures. Leeks and potatoes with tarragon were another combo I liked or puréed carrots with honey and a drizzle of dark rum.

I often make timbales out of chopped or ground leftover meat or vegetables but they do require chewing. For a puréed diet, I would recommend "puffs". Beat an egg until frothy, add enough puréed food to fill two custard cups and mix together thoroughly. Either fill ungreased baking dishes and put in the oven to bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes or bake in ungreased cups in a hot water bath for the same time and temp until they test done in the center. Below is a butternut squash puff with nutmeg on top.

You can also add only a beaten egg yolk, whip the egg whites and then fold them into the mixture.

As far as appearance and easy eating, puréed food on flat plates was awful. Now is the time to bring out the pretty dessert dishes or other dishes with sides to make for easier scooping up of the contents. One night, DH made me puréed shrimp with a bit of cocktail sauce on top served in a martini glass. Easy to eat and pretty too.

Toddler divided plates are useful for a nice presentation of purées because you can serve small portions of three distinct colors and flavors of foods.

Don't forget about stuffed baked potatoes or sweet potatoes. They can act as an anchor to a plateful of puréed food. I always kept a jar of mushroom broth in the fridge fow when I needed extra liquid for pureeing.

Good luck, Westelle.

I had to eat a pureed or semi-soft diet for about 18 months back around 2008/09. So, depending on how long this diet lasts - I can say that one gets used to it and it doesn't seem so bad.

Don't forget about familiar things like yogurts topped with pureed fruit, butternut/acorn squash pureed with a bit of butter and lots of black pepper (or you can go the sweeter route and add a teaspoon of maple syrup or brown sugar instead of the pepper), custards, Indian Pudding pureed tastes as good as regular and doesn't even look that much different, seafood & chicken worked better for me than red meats. Veggies pureed and molded in layers were attractive to me also...things like carrots then a layer of potatoes topped with a layer of green beans/broccoli/peas. Pureed bean soups with a bit of ham were a standby because I practically gave up red meat during that timeframe so I used other foods as my protein source. Like that Indian Pudding I mentioned with pureed bean soup and you're set for protein.

/tricia

Do you have a Vitamix or Blendtec, or a way to try one at a friend's place? I did not believe until I tried it for myself what a huge difference in the silkiness of purees was produced by these machines.

One other thing I learned was that since the textures of the purees are similar, you will find yourself focused MUCH more on the seasonings (since texture fades into the background). I found that less seasoning was more palatable for purees than for chunked food.

As others have said, too, the color is very important. You can roast a tray full of broccoli, onions, and mushrooms, and the puree will still give you a nice green color. But beware adding red peppers or tomatoes which will turn your product to a brown color, not very appetizing. Just as easy to roast and puree the tomatoes and red peppers separately.

If you puree them while still hot and soft, it will take almost no liquid to blend, and you end up with a very thick puree, more like a firm mousse than a soup.

Thank you one and all! I knew I could count on you to have good suggestions, and I will check out the links.

Shambo, right now we need soft, easily eaten/chewed foods with not a lot of debris.

Westelle, this recipe is from our friend Sol and it's good and filling with the ricotta:

Broccoli Puree -- Sol

1-1/2 lbs. broccoli, cut into florets
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon creme fraiche or sour cream
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Salt & Pepper to taste

Cook the broccoli in a covered steamer over boiling water for 5-7 minutes, or until tender. Transfer the broccoli to a food processor. Add all the remaining ingredients and puree. You might want to taste and adjust the seasonings at this point. Serve immediately.

Note: I added 2 tablespoons of creme fraiche. You could also substitute chile oil for the red pepper flakes. Btw, this is a recipe from the book 'Seriously Simple.' (Sol's notes.)

Good luck, I had some dental surgery last year and it was interesting finding things to eat that I didn't get tired of.

Annie