Foods To Eat With A Tonsillectomy

A tonsillectomy is the removal of your tonsils, which reside in the back of your throat. Your doctor may recommend this surgical procedure if you have recurrent infections or if you have trouble breathing, MayoClinic.com reports. Your recovery time will last for at least one week, and you will need to modify your diet as your throat goes through the healing process. Soft foods that are easy to chew and swallow will make up your post-surgery diet for several days.

Applesauce and Fruit Purees

Applesauce is a soft food that is easy for you to swallow and is less likely to aggravate your throat than chunkier food textures. Start with a small bowl of applesauce several times a day; this will help you get plenty of nutrients without causing stress to the surgical site. Other fruit purees can be eaten as well. Purchase already pureed fruits, such as peaches, pears, bananas or berries or puree your own by adding a small amount of water to fresh or frozen fruits and mixing in the blender until smooth.

Gelatin, Pudding, Ice Cream

Flavored gelatin is a well-tolerated and soft food following a tonsillectomy, Adele Pillitteri reports in her book, "Maternal and Child Health Nursing." Gelatin is useful in providing the calories you need to make a full recovery and is unlikely to irritate the healing wound in your throat if you choose the right flavors. Choose bland flavors of gelatin, such as cherry or berry, Pillitteri recommends, because orange, lemon or lime flavors often contain additional acid for flavoring and may irritate the lining of your throat. Eat a small bowl of gelatin several times a day or alternate gelatin with pureed fruit or applesauce. Pudding and ice cream have the same soothing effects that gelatin has on the throat.

Soup

Broth-based soups are well tolerated for most tonsillectomy patients, because they often soothe the tender surgical site and rarely cause additional irritation. The day after the surgery, plain broth should be offered, reports Pillitteri, and then soft ingredients can be added for the remainder of the healing process. Cooked vegetables, such as potatoes or carrots, can increase the nutrition of the soup without causing additional damage to the back of the throat. Noodle soups are another option, because the pasta is often cooked until it is very soft.