Diet after tonsil and adenoid surgery (1621)

What are an initial diet and a soft diet?

These are diets your child will follow after surgery. These foods are easier to swallow.  

Initial foods. These are the first foods your child can eat or drink after surgery. Do not offer soda (carbonated drinks) and foods made of citrus or tomato. These foods can cause the throat to hurt. It does not matter if a food is warm or cold. Cool foods often feel better to a child’s sore throat.

Juice - Offer apple, white grape juice, and peach, pear or apricot nectar. No tomato, lemonade, orange, lime or grapefruit juices.
Fruit - Strained or pureed fruit, such as applesauce or baby food fruit is okay. 
Milk - Milk, chocolate milk, shakes, instant breakfast, and yogurt drinks.
Soup - Any strained soup (without chunks of food) is fine. 
Cereal - Cooked cereals such as cream of wheat or oatmeal are fine.
Desserts - Choose ice cream, pudding, Jell-O®, custard, sherbet or yogurt for desserts. 

Soft diet. Once your child feels better, try some of the foods below. Serve these foods for up to two weeks before your child goes back to a normal diet. Crunchy or fried foods may hurt the back of your child’s throat.

Fruit - Choose from canned fruit and soft fresh fruit such as melon and bananas. Stay away from citrus fruits and juices such as lemon, orange, lime and grapefruit.
Breads, rice and potatoes - Choose fine grain breads without seeds or nuts, plain muffins, biscuits, pancakes, French toast, waffles rolls, white rice, white potatoes or sweet potatoes that are baked or mashed without the skin.
Meats and proteins - Eggs, cheese, ground or finely chopped meat, chicken and fish. 
Vegetables - Offer soft, cooked vegetables.
Soups and pastas - Soup, casseroles or macaroni and cheese or spaghetti.
Desserts - Cakes, cream pie and plain chocolate candy without nuts. Avoid desserts that are citrus flavored (lemon, orange, grapefruit or lime).