swollen throat - what to eat?

[qwertyu]

I was diagnosed with mononucleosis a few days ago. Fortunately, I have access to a full kitchen and a family who is more than willing to help cook for me

Unfortunately, my throat is really swollen, preventing me from opening my mouth fully and swallowing completely. Also, I have found many acidic foods to irritate my throat, but dairy is more than fine. Warm foods are especially soothing. I am still hungry and have no stomach issues, but this means many of my favorite foods are simply too painful to eat. I know this is only going to last a month or so, but that's a record long time for me to go without my morning Kashi fix!

As of now, I've been mostly consuming oatmeal and pasta. Any other suggestions? Thanks in advance!

[Pantagruelia]

Congee, is always my first choice. Nourishing, easy to digest, not acidic and super tasty.

Get well soon!

[Bratdawg]

When I get a sore throat I like to eat mashed potatoes & gravy, pudding, ice cream, bananas.

[KaimukiMan]

when a friend of mine had a badly swolen throat someone found her some multi-vitamins in powder rather than pill form. since she couldnt eat lots of things to get the necessary nutrients,and swallowing pills was no fun, it was great. Wish I had info on where to find that.

[Kajikit]

I don't know about a powdered multivitamin, but Centrum makes a chewable one... if you can't chew you could crush it up and mix it with some applesauce or something.

As for food,. when I have a sore throat I crave custard, rice pudding, pudding in general, and icecream - it slides down easily and tastes good. If you're making your own custard or rice pudding, add extra eggs for more protein.
Smooth and creamy mashed potato is good too... so is butternut squash soup.

[HLing]

when i have a swollen and sore throat, I find myself liking the slight bitterness of Broccoli Rabe. It's strangely soothing. Probably the body craves for good reasons. It's great with Italian sausages for pasta.

Hope you feel better soon!

[luvs2munchabunch]

Hi--get better soon. One thing that works for me when my throat is acting up--yeah, high cal, low nutrition, but can be very soothing--a sherbert (or sorbet) freeze with ginger ale. And of course, you can sub or add-in fruit juices/purees. Just blend it up and sip it down. Also, a straw might help with any beverage or soup since it will place the substance farther back in the throat so you won't have to manipulate your jaw as much.

[chef chicklet]

Suffering with tonsillitis for years and into my twenties I can really sympathize with you. I'd rather have a baby than have a tonsillectomy ever again.
Treat your throat kindly, and go easy even though you're starving. Salt seems to heal it but sometimes if its really irriated, hurts to eat it.

Brothy soups like a chicken soup, a little tomato sauce for color with baby pastina
Egg drop soup with fresh ginger coins (removed)
Nothing with chuncks of veggies or meat
Beef bouillion
pureed veggie soups nothing with acid as already mentioned.
Creamy mushroom but puree the mushrooms
Beans soups, even if pureed still might be a problem with the skins of the beans getting caught.
No bread! If you're really swollen, you will have difficulty moving even that down.

[jujuthomas]

do you have a trader joe's? They have a line of pureed veggie soups that are nice, butternut squash, ginger carrot, sweet potato bisque, roasted red pepper tomato, many of them have soy milk in them, so they have some protein as well.

[Bite Me]

can you find out from your dr if an antihistimine would help reduce the swelling? or should you gargle with warm salt water? I'm not sure what causes the swelling with mono so I would want to get to the root of that so that you can eat more normally. feel better soon! lots of healling vibes on the way. i would think soup -- not too hot. vegetable juices. ice cream? not really sure....

[Emme]

I had mono last year, so I'm so sorry to hear!!! My energy was ridiculously hard to recover, though luckily my sore throat didn't last long...

Rice pudding and gooey bread pudding
Eggs with Cheddar and Ricotta cheese
Blintzes
Creamy Tomato Soup as I think the dairy will cut the acidity
Fluffernutter :)
Butternut Squash Puree
spaghetti w/ parmesan and butter
guacamole
hummus
baba ghanoush
quesadillas or just rice and beans as suggested by mojo
Lentils or lentil stew or lentils and rice
Couscous salads
Chili without ground meats (the texture is scrape-y on the throat)
Mac'n'cheese heavy on sauce light on pasta
Souffles-spinach or broccoli or cheese or chocolate...
Panna cotta
Veggie Pate or Terrine... I make a tri-layered terrine of a broccoli layer, cauliflower then carrot...
Stuffing
Matzah balls
Pancakes
Eggplant Rollatini stuffed with ricotta cheese and basil and garlic, topped with alfredo or stuffed with sundried tomato if you can tolerate it
Cheesecake

[ArikaDawn]

On the creamy tomato soup rec., if you do not want to make it from scratch, I would recommend Pacific Foods Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato. It is all organic, and is very very good. My grandmother, who has sensitivity to acidic foods and dysphagia, recently started eating this and adores it for its flavor, ease of swallowing, and wholesomeness. Something else that is basic, but can really be jazzed up is unsweetened applesauce. You buy it unsweetened so it is a rather wholesome product and then you can add whatever flavors to it you want. I am pretty basic typicaly ading things such as cloves and cinnamon, but you could really get creative and I imagine it would be very easy to eat. Also, only about 50 cals to the half cup typically.

[mojoeater]

Cheesy grits and eggs (actually, all egg dishes are easy eating).
Soups both cold and hot.
Fruit smoothies.
Beans and rice.

[diva360]

You might consider getting a juicer to make sure you are getting enough vitamins. Apple juice could be a good base. You could try carrots with that and some leafy greens. I haven't made juice at home so I'm not sure of the proportions.

[Sam Fujisaka]

Chicken soup! As well as...

1. A liter of water per hour
2. Sleep until the cows come home
3. Miso soup
4. Fish broth
5. Creamed anything soup
6. Egg drop soup of any kind
7. What pg and ipse recommended upthread.

[maria lorraine]

Well, the obvious: cold things. Fruit popsicles, ice cream, cold milk, yogurt, smoothies.
And then the un-obvious: hot things. Will make your throat feel cooler afterwards: hot tea, hot lemon and honey, hot water. It's true, try it.
Loads of lysine, the amino acid. Research lysine and EBV or HSV-6. It can kick it quick, but you have a take a lot, A LOT.
Throat lozenges like Sucrets with a little anesthesia in them.
Vitamins A and C, especially. Also minerals.
Carrots, other vegetables, for your eyes especially -- mononucleosis hits them pretty hard.
Watch for signs of swollen spleen -- no vigorous exercise!
Get a complete blood count and liver function test.
Polenta, pasta, stewed meat braises, sushi, etc, are all good. Keep eating -- you don't want to get further weakened.
Tons of fluids -- keep an eye on your temperature.
More than you asked for!!

[ipsedixit]

Pudding

Ripe bananas

Twinkies

Mochi

Mashed potatoes

PB&J with Wonder Bread

[purple goddess]

ice cream
pea and ham hock soup.
yoghurt
smoothies
pureed fruit.