Easy to chew IDDSI Level 7

IDDSI is the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative.

Why is this food texture needed?

Easy to Chew food may be used if you have strong enough chewing ability to break down soft / tender foods into pieces without help. It is not suitable if you are at an increased risk of choking. This texture may be right for you if you usually choose to eat soft food, have weaker chewing muscles for hard / firm textures, but can chew soft and tender food without becoming tired. Your Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) might also recommend this texture if they are teaching you advanced chewing skills. If you are unsafe to eat without supervision this level should only be used under the strict recommendation and written guidance from your SLT.

What is regular and easy to chew food?

Dos

• Normal, everyday foods of soft and tender texture.
• Any method may be used to eat these foods (for example fingers, fork, spoon or chopsticks)
• Foods may be a range of sizes, there is no size limit or recommendation.
• You should be able to ‘bite off’ pieces of soft and tender food.
• Choose bite-sizes that are easy to chew and swallow.
• You should be able to chew pieces of soft and tender food, so they are safe to swallow without becoming tired.
• May include ‘mixed thin and thick texture’ food and liquids together unless otherwise advised by your Speech and Language Therapist.
• Foods should be able to be cut or broken apart with the side of a fork or spoon. A knife is not required to cut this food.

Don'ts

• Do not use foods that are hard and tough such as apples.
• Do not use foods that are chewy, fibrous or have stringy textures.
• Do not use foods that have outer shells such as tomatoes, peas or grapes.
• Avoid foods with pips / seeds, bones or gristle.

Food examples

Meat

• Cooked until tender.
• If you cannot serve this in a soft and tender form, serve as minced and moist.

Fish

• Soft enough to break apart easily with the side of a fork or spoon.

Fruit

• Cooked until soft enough to break apart into smaller pieces with the side of a fork or spoon (drain any excess liquid).
• Do not use the fibrous parts of fruit (for example, the white parts of an orange).
• Be careful when eating fruit with a high water content, where the juice separates from the solid in the mouth during chewing (for example, fruits like watermelon or other melons).

Vegetables

• Steamed or boiled until tender.
• Stir fried vegetables may be too firm and not suitable for this level.

Cereal

• Serve with texture softened.
• Drain excess liquid before serving, so there is no loose liquid, and thick and thin textures are not mixed.

Dessert

• No ice-cream or jelly if a person requires thickened drinks (because these can change to a thin liquid in the mouth).

Meal ideas

Foods to avoid

Hard or dry food to avoid

Nuts, raw vegetables (for example carrot, cauliflower, broccoli), dry cakes, bread, dry cereal.

Tough or fibrous foods to avoid

Steak, pineapple

Chewy foods to avoid

Lollies / candies / sweets, cheese chunks, marshmallows, chewing gum, sticky mashed potato, dried fruits, sticky foods

Crispy foods to avoid

Crackling, crisp bacon, cornflakes

Crunchy foods to avoid

Raw carrot, raw apple, popcorn

Sharp or spiky foods to avoid

Corn chips / crisps

Pips and seeds to avoid

Apple seeds, pumpkin seeds, white of orange

Bone or gristle to avoid

Chicken bones, fish bones, other bones, meat with gristle

Sticky or gummy foods to avoid

Edible gelatine, sticky rice cakes

Stringy foods to avoid

Beans, rhubarb

Useful resources

• The Caroline Walker Trust (opens in a new tab) for information and guidance to encourage eating well.

If you have any questions, please speak to your speech and language therapist directly or contact the Speech and Language Therapy Department on 01223 216200.

References / sources of evidence

© The International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative 2019 @ The IDDSI framework (opens in a new tab). Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.