Hate to ask but puréed foods for elderly

(((hugs)))

It's a hard position to be in.


What do his doctors recommend? Does he have to meet a protein requirement or anything?

Can you just puree foods that you know he likes the taste of?

Can he eat sweets, like pudding or mousse?

Baby food

Great variety with mains, veggies, fruits and desserts.

And the graduates taste good and can be pureed further

With my dad the small quantities made it easy.

I am sorry for what you are going through. The most important thing I learned from hospice is that they stop eating because they are dying, not that they are dying because they stop eating. Makes the caregiver feel not so helpless. My dad went almost three weeks after he lost his swallow and could have nothing. It is tough to watch and know you are powerless to fix it. I wish you and your family well.

I remember looking after my grandad when he had throat cancer and I used to just put the meat/lots of gravy in the blender and then blend down to a more loose consistency the vegetables to make a blended meat and blended vegetables side. He was a very traditional eater and this worked well for him.

Anything he wants. I guess what I mean is he talking? Are there certain foods he will eat more of? I wouldn't worry about nutrition and just give him anything he will eat. If he only wants applesauce then applesauce it is.

ETA: I didn't read the replies. Bluetulip beat me to the response I was thinking of.

Similar to fruity suet, for my mom we would add lots of gravy to meat in the blender to make it flavorful. Sweet potatoes are good. And peas. Less exciting: green beans or broccoli. Adding grated Parmesan cheese also improves the taste.

Does he seem warm? If so, small bites of ice cream or even ice chips.
is he chilly and more comfortable with lots of blankets? If so, he might enjoy small amounts of soup, blended if it's chunky. My mom's favorites were the things she had always loved. 

Hugs to you. Tough stuff. 

My great aunt is 93, and my parents might get to this stage with her. I'll have to remember her favorite ice cream!

I am so sorry to hear about your dad

My sister ate pureed green stuff. I think it was spinach and banana and other vegetables. (Your dad sans the banana of course). What about avocado and ...?

Having worked in hospital dietary for 12 years, we did puree every day for the patients that needed it.
Does he have dysphagia as well (problem swallowing)?
We actually stocked cans of pureed meat, Heinz made them I think. They didn't taste too bad, especially with gravy on them.
Macaroni and cheese.
Mashed potatoes with or without gravy, pudding, pureed fruit, ice cream or sherbet or Italian ice.
If there is dysphagia, you can thicken the puree or liquids with either a thickening agent in the case of fruit, etc. or with instant potato flakes.
We even thickened coffee, milk and tea for our patients.
I am sorry about your dad. You are kind to think of him and what would be good to his palate.
Hugs.

I'm so sorry you are having to go through this, it is not easy at all. I will echo what Blue Tulip said and find his favorite ice cream or pudding and feed him that. The Saturday before my FIL passed he called us and asked if we could bring ice cream with on our way out to visit. We obliged and that was the best day he had had in several months. None of us have any regrets that the last thing he ate was some of his favorite ice cream.

*Hugs* this is not an easy road to be on.

If you do give him baby food, I'd taste test it first- there's not a lot out there that actually tastes as good as it smells.

My Grandma was living on ice cream that last several weeks of her life- she had almost no appetite, and that was the only thing she wanted (I inherited her sweet tooth!).

No further suggestions. Just wanted to say I'm sorry. Hang in there.

I'm so sorry. Prayers for your father and for you.