Snacks - savoury, salty & soft

[TamiTayorismyparentingguru]

Last year DH underwent some medical treatment that has left him with permanent issues with his mouth and throat. He has dry mouth and swallowing is often more difficult than it was pre-treatment due to scar tissue. His treatment also affected his taste buds and so for the last 18m food has held little joy and a lot of pain, discomfort and unpleasantness - in short: eating has become a chore.

Anyway - things have improved to an extent and he can now say he actually enjoys some foods again. In terms of taste; savoury foods are better than sweet, but most snacks which are suitable in terms of swallowing are sweet.

So - can anyone suggest any snacks which are savoury, preferably salty, and soft? He says he would love to snack on crisps/crackers/nuts like he used to, but it’s such an effort. He manages to snack on desserts etc if they are drowned in custard etc but he just wants to eat something savoury because then he actually might enjoy it, rather than just tolerate it.

Any ideas?

Would something like polenta be edible for him? That’s good with blue cheese melted in it and you can make it with lots of herby stock to keep things interesting.

I also love mashed potato (made with lots of milk so it’s really soft) with cheese melted into it, or for something more snacky I do that mixed with egg and flour and then fried as patties which are nice with ketchup.

My parents do a tuna mousse which could work if there was something he could eat it on.

Halved cherry tomatoes are lovely with balsamic vinegar? You could even grill them with a little mozzarella.

Pate? Would some of the canapé shells you can get ready made in the supermarket work? They are thin crisp pastry and sort of melt rather than chew/stick in the throat.
They could be stuffed with egg mayo, pate, feta.

YY to fried or griddled slices of halloumi.

But I also wanted to mention Provolone, an Italian full fat cheese (so might help get his calorie count up too). It melts beautifully, very smooth, you could pop a slice in a cup/bowl in the oven for five minutes and use as a dip. It's quite salty/tangy which he might like.
You could stir in things like finely diced olives, sun dried tomatoes, finely chopped anchovies and serve with a teaspoon?

Y’all are making me tear up - thank you so much for all your suggestions. It’s so hard to think of things when his taste buds have changed so much and so many things are just plain hard for him to eat - food has become such a chore and I really hope we can find some good snacks for him out of this lot - somethings he can enjoy and feel normal about. Thank you lovely people.

Mozerella sticks
Cream cheese stuffed chilli peppers

Often found in the frozen party snacks freezer.

These are delicious- they're very thin and they melt in the mouth.

thomasfudges.co.uk/our-biscuits/wafers/

I have problems with my teeth so i like these things too

I found cheese and pesto pinwheels at sainsburys that were nice

Italian tigelle bread with salami or stracchino and rucola

Vietnamese spring rolls, the fresh ones if you can find them.

Feta cheese

Salted liquorice?

I recently had some issues with my teeth so also needed very soft food. For my snacks I cooked small potatoes then sliced around 1 cm thick then added toppings as you would with toast - e.g. Humous, flavoured soft cheese etc

I saw some recipes somewhere where 1cm thick sweet potato rounds were made as toast in a toaster- again various toppings - soft cheese with smoked salmon

What about soups? You could try something like miso or even smooth cup o soups. Or even marmite mixed with hot water.

I feel for your husband, OP, and wish him well

Just recently, having a few problems, I've discovered the joy that is....battered onion rings,, lightly baked in the oven. So I can pretty well suck the batter off them, then the actual onion bit is easy to manage.
Added bonus is that wonderful onion smell in the kitchen, a sensory pleasure all of its own.

For me, I've just got mouth ulcers atm which will pass, so nothing like what your OH is going through atm. All my very best to him

Oh! I've just seen that someone's suggested soups? As well as sucking/eating onion rings, I've also discovered Morrison's packet mulligatawney soup? That mild curry hit is wonderful

Could he manage thin slices of chorizo and other Spanish sausage? It seems quite soft to me; does need a bit of chewing obviously.

Focaccia, polenta sticks and rice balls called "suppli" or "arancini"

Skips? They melt in your mouth.