Adding energy and protein to a soft diet

There are ways to add energy (calories) and protein to a soft diet.

A soft diet

You might find it hard to eat all the protein and calories that you need if you need a soft diet.

A soft diet means you have to add water or other liquid to food to soften it. This adds volume but can reduce the nutritional value and flavour of the food. But there are ways of increasing calories in a soft diet.

Getting dietary advice

Speak to your healthcare team if your swallowing problems are making eating and drinking hard. Your doctor may refer you to a speech and language therapist.  

The therapist checks that your swallowing is safe. Also, that food or drink is not going down the wrong way. They might suggest that you stick to eating soft foods. Or they might tell you about the types of textures that are better for you.

Everyone is different. One person may be able to eat certain foods that cause problems for another. Some people may not be able to manage high fibre foods such as vegetables and grains. People vary in the type of textures of different foods they like.

You might need some specific advice from a dietitian too. Ask your doctor or nurse to refer you to a dietitian at your local hospital. They might suggest that you try liquid supplements to boost your diet.

Tips for boosting energy and protein in a soft diet

You can increase your calorie intake and improve your strength and energy levels by trying the following tips:

• Use whole milk and not skimmed or semi skimmed.
• For dairy free diets use soya products instead of other alternatives
• Boost the protein content of whole milk by adding a couple of tablespoons of dried milk powder or vegan powder to a pint. Use this like ordinary milk for drinking and cooking.
• Porridge is a very nutritious breakfast. Make it with whole or fortified milk, and add syrup or sugar and cream.
• Mash potatoes and soft vegetables with milk. Add some grated cheese and egg or mash with hummus and olive oil.
• Make up instant soups with milk instead of water, and top with grated cheese or cream.
• Add minced meat, lentils, beans, noodles or pasta shapes to soups.
• Add cheese and a little cream to an omelette.
• Scramble tofu as an alternative to scrambled egg.
• Blend silken tofu into sauces and soups.
• Dip cooked, soft vegetables in dips such as guacamole, hummus or sour cream.
• Add extra egg to custard or milk puddings
• Make coffee, hot chocolate or Horlicks with whole milk or soya milk. Enrich it with a spoonful of cream or soya cream.
• Make milkshakes with build up drinks, ice cream, yoghurt and fresh fruit. Banana blended with a chocolate build up drink works well.

The Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust have a video called 'Fortifying food and drinks: Tips to boost the energy and protein when you eat and drink with cancer'.