The Vitamix is a god send. EricS can tell you how it whipped up his breakfast when visiting us in no time flat plus how easily it let me eat the exact same dinner my wife prepared even though I had to put it through a feeding tube.
With a doctor's note, you can get a medical discount on a refurbished Vitamix directly from the company.
It's pricey but I've had my refurbished one for over three years and it works like a brand new one (you still get a brand new, not used blender container). The blenderized diet forums all agree that it's the very best one.
Charm

I have just purchased a Vitamix. $1295 to buy here in NZ! But I figure it's time to get Kris off the artificial formula diet and on to a natural diet. Has to help the constipation too.
Tammy

Oh my god that's crazy expensive. I know it's a good product but wow - great on the diet change - there's a lot of crap in the formulas. I too have a moment here and there when I'll have a coughing fit, it's usually related to spastic foods (I call them that) rice, thin noodles, eggs, not the scrambled kind but rather omelets or hard boiled, because they break into small pieces, and then while I'm chewing or wrangling it all to swallow - because it takes a while - I have to breath and ultimately some of it will go the wrong way and I'll hack it up. Small bites lots of water, sauces help, and yes if it's particularly dry - like pizza (I never eat the crust)- I drink almond milk -

Tamvonk

Wow, the medical discount Vitamix is about $400 here in the USA.
It will help Kris. My advice is to join the two main blenderized diet groups: Yahoo Blenderized Diet group Yahoo BD group and Food for Tubies
Food for Tubies
also although he just died, here is an interesting BD blog from a guy who was on both of them You start with a tube
It's like the OCF forum except for blenderized diet and mostly mothers but almost zero cancer tubies
Charm

Thanks for the links Charm, need to check them out myself. I completely agree with getting a Vitamix...that thing is badass and in my humble opinion a necessity for those of us on a liquid diet, "love" it.

I need to pick one up, especially after visiting both Charm and Erik, I didn't realize how much my blenders sucked in comparison.

Personally I try to stay away from Chicken (white meat) and beef, other than hamburger. I have found that beef tends to swell up and actually become harder to swallow when you add liquid. However, if you do happen to get something stuck in your throat it is good to remember that this food is actually stuck in your esophagus and not in your trachea, therefore, you can still breath. It takes a bit of "mind disipline" to relax and gag the stuff up with out panicing.

WOW, great advice everybody.

My loving, very overprotective hubby has made it clear that I am not allowed to eat anything solid if I am home alone.... that is part of the "new" me house rule. I have had a few close calls myself, so now I just don't even chance it.

If you really, really crave chicken, stick to dark meat. It's amazing how much easier it is to swallow than white meat.

I also blend a scoop of ice cream in a glass of milk and use that to let food slide down more easily....especially helpful if you are trying to gain back some weight. It thickens the milk enough so that I can swallow an almost normal dinner.

It is sometimes hard to remember to cut everything into really small pieces and eat slow. this cancer crap surely teaches one to be patient doesn't it ?

Ingrid, Ted and Aly are on the same page there, she got pissed at me when I had a close call.

Love the dark meat idea! Miss you sister, tell Ted and Barney I said Hi!

both Aly and Ted are smart folks !! Miss you too buddy.