5 Blenderized Diet Must-Haves (2024)

Many feeding tube users and parents of feeding tube users have discovered the numerous benefits of a blenderized real food diet. Thinking of starting a blenderized diet? Already taken the plunge? You’ll want these five must-have items.

1. 1. 1. A Good Blender. Most people who use a blenderized diet prefer a BlendTec or a Vitamix and find that straining the blends isn’t necessary with these blenders like it can be with other brands. I personally have used a BlendTec for 6 years now and LOVE IT. Follow the instructions for what order in which to add food, make sure there’s enough liquid to get a good vortex, and run it twice on soup. Boom. These blenders are pricey; check with the manufacturers about the availability of refurbished machines.
         
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      2. Nice syringes. Regular rubber-plunger syringes stop working after a VERY short period of time. Many blenderized diet people prefer syringes with an O-ring instead, such as the Miracle Syringe. Oddly enough, these syringes are often sold by stores that cater to squirrel rehabbers. O-Ring syringes are also sometimes available through DME suppliers, so be sure to ask before you pay out of pocket. Miracle Syringes are Catheter-tip, but you can also get adapter tips to make them into a slip tip if you prefer to feed directly into the button, without using an extension. If you use EnFit, NeoMed makes O-Ring EnFit syringes that you can get through your DME or online medical supply stores. Why bother with getting an O-Ring syringe? They last forever and glide like an Olympic ice skater. I bought a handful of syringes in 2013. I still use them. They still work like a dream.
         
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      3. Extensions. Some people feed their blenderized diet directly into the buttom using a slip tip syringe. Some people prefer to feed through the more typical Y-Port extension. But many tube feeders prefer one of the two single-port (or bolus port) extensions – the right-angle bolus extension or the straight bolus extension. I personally prefer the right angle bolus extension for pump feeding (no med port to pop open) and the straight bolus extension for syringe feeding (requires less pressure, in my opinion). Get a few of each from your DME and see what you like.
         
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      4. Storage for your blends. There are many different ways to accomplish a blended diet. Some people prefer to blend by the meal, so they cook breakfast and blend it up, then cook lunch and blend that up, make a snack later, then dinner. If that’s you, you have no storage needs. Others prefer to blend either one time for the whole day, for once for a couple of days, or once for a week or two. If that’s you, you need a good way to store your blends. You have so many options. Our family blends every 2 weeks, and I freeze blends in glass jars (leave plenty of headspace, don’t crowd the jars in the freezer, and don’t screw the lids on until frozen). Other families prefer to use any variety of plastic containers. Some use breastmilk bags. A relatively newer product on the market that is a favorite with many blending families is Squeasy Gear.
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      5. A way to keep your food safe on the go. Formula is much easier in this regard. It’s shelf-stable. But actual food isn’t – particularly not when blended up. Many feeding tube users find they prefer to carry their feeds already drawn up into syringes for feeding on the go, rather than carry a single syringe and a jar or bottle full of food. Refilling syringes can get messy and usually requires more of an interruption to your day, whereas bringing prefilled syringes reduces the hassle factor quite a bit. If you find you prefer toting prefilled syringes, our Syringe Tote is for you. I’m so excited about this newer addition to my line of feeding tube accessories! It’s double-insulated, has two large compartments inside, and one small compartment, and it’ll hold 5-6 60 mL full syringes plus an ice pack and small accessories like a 20 mL syringe, Gtube cushions, a few predrawn liquid medications, etc.
         
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