Additional Needs

Feeding Your Child, “Real”, Food On a Pureed Diet

Posted by Jodi Shenal on 24th October 2016 Additional Needs, Advice & Support, Food, Disabilities

Share this article

When your little one has multiple disabilities and lacks the ability to chew, seriously unique challenges are posed.

In fact, before we found our Ninja Blending System, mealtimes were completely stress-filled and would send me into a tailspin.

LUMPS…they were the dreaded culprit that almost always led to vomiting; thus ruining her entire eating experience.  Food aversions always followed and we’d have to mark off another food that our daughter would not tolerate.

“What is she going to eat?”  “How can she survive on only yogurt and applesauce?” and “How will she ever gain weight?” were questions I would beat myself up with on a daily basis.

Sure, store bought baby food was an option, but while convenient, it severely lacked taste, excitement and most importantly, calories.

They were virtually just bland vegetables and water.

Healthy, yes.  Substantial enough for a five year old, no.  We have always supplemented her diet with Pediasure, but we wanted her to take in plenty of REAL food as well.

When a child has growth restrictions, and an inability to chew, you really have to get creative.

Thanks to our awesome Ninja, I am able to transform everything from homemade lasagna to roast beef and potatoes into a lump-free meal that my daughter can enjoy.

Pasta with chicken and asparagus blend well with some water and a little olive oil for added calories.

Chicken and rice with mushrooms become a perfectly blended puree with the right amount of heavy cream added.

She LOVES to eat, and it brings me great joy providing healthy, calorie packed meals for her…her way.

We have a letter from her pediatrician on file at her school, requesting that the cafeteria puree her meals.  Sometimes, they get it right, and she is able to eat what her classmates are having for lunch.

Other times, to save her from having to endure a pureed hotdog (yuck!), I will prepare her lunch for school. Sweet potatoes with chicken, heavy cream, cinnamon and a dash of vanilla is one of her favorites.

Low muscle tone and poor coordination may have delayed her chewing ability, or possibly even permanently prevented it.

However, I don’t let that stand in her way.

I am grateful that she has the opportunity to relish wonderful things like spaghetti and meatballs.  I even sneakily hide squash and carrots in the sauce for extra nutritional punch, as the mother of a typical toddler would.

My daughter is a very special little girl, with a vast array of very special needs.  Food is an area that we can easily work around.

It does my heart good seeing her enjoy real food, even though she is on a pureed diet.