Welcome to
Real Food Blends!
Whether you’re new to tube-feeding or have been doing this for years, we hope that our meals help provide you not only with real food nutrition, but also a feeling of normalcy that many with feeding tubes don’t always have.
If you’re used to only using commercial formulas for tube-feeding, you’ll first notice that our meals are thicker than traditional formulas (this is intentional). The meals are ready to feed with a syringe for bolus feeding. Some Real Food Blends users choose to add 2-3 ounces of liquid to the meals in order to pump or gravity feed. (Think of this just like oral eaters having a glass of water or milk with their meals!)
Is real food right for you?
If you have a working digestive system, 14fr or larger G-Tube / PEG tube, and are over the age of 1, real food can – and should! – be considered. Always discuss any dietary changes to your enteral nutrition with your medical team, and we recommend making the transition slowly if you have been primarily using commercial formulas for any length of time.
Symptoms of formula intolerance include GERD/reflux (or needing medications to control these), vomiting/nausea, constipation, diarrhea, weight loss/lack of weight gain, and requiring overnight or continuous feeding (learn more about volume intolerance). There is a growing body of research showing that real food through the tube can help a lot of these symptoms.
Remember, just because you have a feeding tube doesn’t mean you have to have the same thing every day, for every meal – or that the benefits of vegetable, fruits, lean proteins and whole grains aren’t applicable to your body. Learn more about the importance of nutritional variety.
