If you’ve just been diagnosed with dysphagia, know that your life is not over. Even if you have severe dysphagia, there are things that you can do to still enjoy great food and enjoy your life overall. You will have to be ready to make some changes, but once you get into your rhythm and have all the tools that you need, you should start getting used to your new life. Let’s take a look at a few tips that will help you deal with dysphagia better.
Look for a Good Thickener Brand
You want to look for a thickener brand that offers a wide variety of options and great-tasting products. You want a brand that offers products in a wide variety of formats so you can have some with you at work, in your gym bag or in your car. The brand should offer a good variety of ready-made products as well. If you want to start your search, you should check out what the Simply Thick LLC company has to offer.
Learn Dysphagia Friendly Recipes
You need to start learning which types of recipes are safe for people with dysphagia and which ones can be easily adapted. Sauce-heavy dishes usually taste great when pureed or mashed, so learn how to love them. Stews in particular have their very own charm when pureed, and you might be surprised by how much you love them.You should also try to extend your palate and learn how to appreciate other cuisines. This will help keep things interesting and give you a wider range of dishes to try.
Prepare Food in Batches
One of the benefits of purees and pureed foods is that they will maintain their taste and consistency when frozen and reheated, and they are very easy to store. Invest in a large stock pot and a chest freezer if you don’t have them already. You could also take it a step further and invest in a heavy-duty immersion blender to quickly turn stews into purees. You will then be able to divide meals into individual portions and store them in bags or containers. This way, you’ll always have something quick and easy on hand when needed.
Embrace Your Sweet Tooth
Desserts tend to be more dysphagia-friendly in general and often don’t need to be modified or supplemented for them to be safe, so if you want to make your meals more interesting, cap them off with a nice dessert. Some examples of great desserts for dysphagic people include chocolate mousse, cheesecake, and crème brûlée, just to name a few.
Be very careful with things like ice cream, however. While it may seem dysphagia-friendly at first glance, it turns to liquid before you swallow it, so it counts as a liquid. So, you may have to look at things like creams and pudding instead.
These tips should help you live as normal a life as possible with dysphagia. If you want to learn more, you should join a few groups with other dysphagic people and ask for ideas.
