Fork Soft Diet - Challenge: Lazy

September 11, 2024 1:35 PM

After some major dental work, I find myself on an extended period of fork-soft diet. I've also lost a concerning amount of weight and am struggling to regain it. I'm a month into this and I'm bored of the textures and the few foods I can find that fit my restrictions. Recipes? Restaurant suggestions? Protein shake recommendations? I'll take any advice and suggestions I can get.

So I've been told that if I can cut it with a fork, I can eat it. For some reason, this has led to a lot of mushy, and I am sick and tired of mushy. I am also not allowed to bite into things (burgers, tacos, pizza have all been explicitly forbidden.)

As a Texan, I am officially sick of tex-mex and could go another decade without seeing an enchilada and rice and beans. I am lazy and I live alone. I hate cooking. I survive just fine on HEB's meal simple stuff normally, but there's very little there that fit my restrictions. Stouffer's lasagna is ok, but again, I'm kinda tired of it.

Boost nutritional drinks have been a staple since the dental work was done, but I probably shouldn't be getting 2/3 of my calories from liquids at this point? Sometimes they're all my low-appetite can handle.

I've also lost a concerning amount of weight since the dental work and am struggling to regain. I know I'm lacking in the protein department, and the blood sugar swings are not great for my mental health.

While I am lazy and generally avoid much cooking, I do own (and will use) a blender and a slow cooker, and am generally happy to mix stuff together, throw in oven/microwave/stove and set a timer.

posted by MuChao to Food & Drink (22 answers total)

I would think there are a lot of other Stouffer's frozen meals that would work. Especially any of the pasta ones. My personal favorite is Escalloped Chicken & Noodles and it is totally mushy and would pass the fork soft test. I mean, it's kind of mushy, but at least it might be a different taste.

Frozen dumplings and peirogis would be good too.

I assume you've done all the soup you can handle?

How about breakfast foods? An omelet might work - I like to do mine with steamed broccoli and sautéed mushrooms. It's cooking but not that much cooking.

Can you eat pulled pork? What about one of those bowls with pulled pork on top of mac and cheese?

If you're an Instagram kind of person, getting on there and looking at recipes might help you figure some stuff out too. You can save the posts to a private collection and even group them however you want.
posted by dawkins_7 at 1:45 PM on September 11

I don't know exactly what fork-soft means, so forgive me I'm off base. But:

-Spaghetti and meatballs (boil water, add noodles, heat up some frozen meatballs in a jar of sauce if you don't want to make them yourself)
-Really any pasta dish you want
-Chicken (grilled or baked if soft enough, otherwise, shredded slow-cooker chicken of your choice)
-shredded pork or beef in the slow cooker
-peanut or sesame noodles
-soups
-mediterranean platter (think hummus, olives, chicken, stuffed grape leaves, baba ganoush, etc. eat it with pita and a fork and knife if the chewiness isn't an issue)
-egg dishes. Chilaquiles as long as you make sure the chips are not crispy. Omelets. Egg salad on top of greens.

Also, if biting into something is an issue but the food itself isn't, go ahead and eat your burgers and pizza with a knife and fork!
posted by papayaninja at 1:47 PM on September 11

Owyn protein drinks have around 20g protein and only like 2g of sugar. They’re delicious. blending in a bit of frozen banana, cherries and yogurt might help you.
posted by meowmeowdream at 1:48 PM on September 11

Steamed eggs. Steamed fish fillets are also fork-cuttable, to my mind, and can be seasoned in many different ways. A basic dal (can definitely be made in the slow cooker, although red lentils cook really fast) or saag paneer, which any half-decent Indian restaurant will have, and also comes in frozen form in most supermarkets, would also be different tastes! Lassi could be a variation from your usual smoothies.
posted by pollytropos at 1:57 PM on September 11 [1 favorite]

I'd go for messing around with flavor profiles using spices, sauces, herbs, what have you. Drop tex-mex, switch to Indian/Korean/whatever. Also that link is to another question about soft foods - you might find something useful there.

For calories: cream, ice cream, cheese, coconut milk, etc.

For what it's worth, sometimes if there's going to be a period of time where I'm going to be eating food that isn't quite what I'd like or doesn't have enough variety I can convince myself that that's just how it's going to be and it's not worth thinking about. Instead of spending psychological energy thinking about what I'd rather be eating or how something isn't ideal, I manage to turn eating into an automatic thing I do for a few minutes and then go do something else. I'm not sure how I do it, but I know being able to expect an end point to the situation helps.
posted by trig at 2:02 PM on September 11

I've also lost a concerning amount of weight

There are a lot of aspects to healthy eating, but the most important is getting enough calories. That's your job now; once you've gained enough weight, you can worry eating healthier in a broader sense.* If you want to cook at home, I'd start with a base of soft rice or pasta, then add what you want: eggs, cheese, fish, ground meat. Make sure you add oil or fat.

Consider mixing in fast food. Most McDonalds food and similar is quite soft and easy to chew.

*Assuming you don't have specific health issues or have been advised otherwise by a healthcare provider.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 2:10 PM on September 11

Last time I had tooth pain, I went to a local grocery store's hot bar and had steamed salmon and buttery mashed potatoes. It was good balance of protein and carbs with enough flavor to keep me from being bored. Make sure the salmon isn't too overdone and comes apart easily with your fork. Baked potato soup and Beer cheese soup might provide some variety. Carrots, sweet potatoes, and cauliflower all steam up to be mushy but a great vehicle for butter with a little salt. Add in breadcrumbs and bake for 5 minutes. You might enjoy the subtle crunch they give.

Pudding and yogurt can help with protein. Tapioca pudding is easy to eat. So is fruity yogurt as long as there are no seeds. You can add whipped cream to either one. Maybe vanilla pudding with bananas?
posted by soelo at 2:16 PM on September 11 [1 favorite]

Spaghetti (any pasta, or rice, or mashed potatoes, or even large bits of boiled potato if you crave texture), fried ground beef broken up fine, and any of the spaghetti sauces, plus veg if your choosing (frozen peas and corn are lazy options that can be swallowed without chewing). Finely minced onion and more garlic are never bad additions, ditto oregano, thyme, sage, if you want to get a jar of herbs. It will slow cook after the initial fry if you're not in the mood to stand over a pan.

Lasagnes are common ready meals and I eat them with only a fork, but ymmv.

Jacket potatoes, leaving behind the jacket. They might freeze for loaded potato skins when you're ready for that, I guess. I find they taste different to mash. If you have an oven the only cooking is waiting, and you can top them with whatever.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 2:37 PM on September 11

If you can eat peanut butter, you can make the bog standard peanut butter cookies, which is

1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg

Mix, form into balls, press on a baking sheet, bake at 325 for 12-15 minutes.

These are extremely high in fat, protein and calories and are nutritionally complete. If you're "starving" then eating one will not taste like a sweet treat, it will taste like food, because it is food.

They're crisp but if will melt in your mouth quickly so you don't actually have to chew them much if at all.

If you don't want to cook anything, just mix

1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
tablespoon of chocolate syrup (optional)

And eat that with a spoon (don't eat raw eggs).

This recipe, more or less, plus a multivitamin, is "PlumpyNut" which is what they give malnourished kids to keep their caloric intake up.
posted by seanmpuckett at 2:42 PM on September 11

Things like risotto and even fried rice would fall under my definition of fork soft. As would many potato dishes - mashed, gratin, boiled.
posted by koahiatamadl at 3:19 PM on September 11 [2 favorites]

Chef John's recipe for goulash is really great. It is a lot of work -but- I bet you could get a pretty good result by just throwing all those ingredients into a slow cooker and letting it cook a few hours until everything is really soft. You can get stew beef already cut into cubes to make it even easier. Personally I add an additional 2 tbsp of smoked paprika for extra amaZINGness.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 3:34 PM on September 11

Trader Joe’s should have suitable frozen / shelf stable meals.
posted by oceano at 3:56 PM on September 11

Breakfast: eggs or oatmeal

Lunch/dinner:

Baked breaded fish + mashed potato

Hand blended soups. Lentil or bean based = best, blended meat is kind of gross

Bean casseroles. “Lentil bake” (search for recipe) is nice imo

Snacks:

Greek yogurt

Avocados on their own

Still sensitive a month out though? Maybe call the dentist?
posted by cotton dress sock at 4:10 PM on September 11

I had oral surgery about two weeks ago and I'm right there with you. One thing that I've enjoyed: Tom Kha soup from a Thai restaurant. I strained out all of the chunks, then just put the tofu back in the broth and ate it. That worked well.

I've also had Thai curry, specifically Mussaman-style curry. The vegetables are soft enough to cut with a fork and the rice wasn't a problem. I ordered mine with chicken and was careful to only chew the chicken on the side of my mouth that wasn't traumatized.

And yesterday I had a pot pie from KFC - again being careful to only chew on the correct side of my mouth. The crust is flaky and buttery, not firm, and the veggies and meat are soft.
posted by tacodave at 4:13 PM on September 11 [1 favorite]

I'm in a similar boat.

Walmart has some pretty good soups near their deli. I like the lobster bisque. I had the cauliflower parm last night and currently eating the shrimp and corn chowder.

I recently made this bbq lentil dish leaving off the topping and it was really good.
posted by kathrynm at 4:59 PM on September 11

If you don't have a local Indian carryout place, see if your grocery store has Tasty Bites. Great Indian flavors, incredibly easy. Add some microwaveable rice.
posted by hydropsyche at 5:20 PM on September 11 [2 favorites]

Boxed mac & cheese but make it Cabot's Serously Sharp brand, use whole milk, and add the butter. More butter than it suggests.
posted by evilmomlady at 5:21 PM on September 11

5 Minute Microwave Silken Tofu. This is the simplest style with just a soy chili sauce (if you don't have specific Korean stuff, soy + sriracha will work fine), but you can use ground meat to create a more substantial one, something like this all purpose miso meat sauce or this pork and shiitake sauce. These types of ground meat sauces do not require precision of ingredients. You can use fresh mushrooms or leave mushrooms out entirely; you can use miso or ground bean sauce or doenjang or anything salty. You just have to brown the meat, season it how you like, include enough liquid to make it soft and saucy, let it simmer for 5-10 minutes, and dump it over steamed tofu.

The tofu does need to be silken or at least soft, and you should not taste a "raw bean" sort of flavor when you eat the tofu. This kind of steamed tofu should not have much flavor of its own. It should just be there to be soft and smooth and soak up whatever delicious sauce you made. With rice, this can be incredibly filling.
posted by automatic cabinet at 5:46 PM on September 11

Costco also stocks one variety of the tasty bites (as a bulk pack). It has kidney beans in but they are pretty soft. It's not particularly spicy.

This opens up the whole world of Indian dal, much of which is mushy but all of which has good flavour.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 3:04 PM on September 12

If you wouldn't hate cooking, I would have recommended Indian currys, especially dals. https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/. There a lot of tasty options with lentils and such.
Maybe you have Indian restaurants in your area? This would give you access to a whole new range of different and exciting falvours.
Edit: Dang! What the froggie person said.
posted by mmkhd at 7:23 AM on September 13

Since the Indian route was already suggested by somebody else, I have to add something traditionally German that might fit the bill: Grünkohl! Germans cook their kale shredded and until it's mushy. You can cut the sausages small enough to be forkable. Serve with good hot mustard.
It's not for everyone but it can be very tasty. You can cook it in a single pot and leave it for hours. Reheating makes it even better.

Looks not mushy enough and the potatoes have to be integrated into the mush.

Again, potatoes on the side? Not where I come from, but it sure looks mushy!

A third recipe to experiment with.
posted by mmkhd at 7:34 AM on September 13

Oh and as for protein shakes, I use Premire and have for years. It's the brand my bariatric program recommended and I've stuck with it. There are only 3 flavors of the powder, but a crap ton of the ready to drink ones.
posted by kathrynm at 11:31 AM on September 14