My 93-year-old father has a swallowing issue right now. We went to have him evaluated by a speech therapist yesterday. The speech therapist recommended that he have all his foods puréed. So everything he would eat would be put into a blender and he would drink it. He chose not to do this but he has teeth. Maybe this will help your mom. Best of luck.
Just to clarify - a pureed diet shouldn't mean liquefying everything, the food should be more like the consistency of mashed potatoes: smooth and moist. And there is no need to stir everything together into a grey paste either (which was something that I saw the aids do at my mom's nursing home and it drove me bonkers!!), each part of the meal can and should be pureed separately.
My mom lost all of her teeth, and half her tongue is actually a chunk of thigh muscle, due to cancer years ago. I puree all her food, the key is to pick things that arent gross pureed. Example: dont puree a chicken breast. Rip it up into some soup or applesauce. Look into summer soups too, like cucumber or beet. I will even sometimes puree a can of soup if I I dont want to cook. If your elderly person doesn't have sugar issues, any meal replacement will do. We use ensure sometimes. It helps keep my mom hydrated as well. If there's something they really like, try to figure a way to make it. A pureed pork chop over mashed potatoes with gravy with a side of mashed peas makes my mom burp like a linebacker! *pro tip: split one meal into two smaller ones about a half hour apart. I found that stopped almost all of the swallowing air/gas pains/dramatic gasping/digestion problems. Usually she'll burp, use the bathroom or both or even- on a good day- drink some water between servings.
*pro tip: split one meal into two smaller ones about a half hour apart. I found that stopped almost all of the swallowing air/gas pains/dramatic gasping/digestion problems. Usually she'll burp, use the bathroom or both or even- on a good day- drink some water between servings.