soft food

[ChocoChris]

Hello all,

I am going to have surgery to remove one of my salivary glands in mid August and as the incision will be long and go along my lower jaw line, I am anticipating that the chewing action will entail some pain right afterwards and for a couple of weeks thus requiring me to assemble a list of food possibilities for the recovery time. In reviewing some foods possibilities, we've come up with hot cereals, puddings/custards, soft fruit or mashed fruit, jello, etc. but I was wondering if any of you had some creative ideas within this soft category. For instance, today we found that Fox and Obel has this wonderful bittersweet pudding that is practically the consistency of peanut butter -- almost too thick but yummy! I told my husband that it would be a cheery gift for me after surgery, however, it is also $9/lb !

Also, while desserts offer a range of soft possibilities, I should include some savories in my list such as dinner items, snacks...

So there's the challenge/request. I know that egullet folks are up to the task.. Anyone have some thoughts?

Thanks!

ChocoChris

Edited August 4, 2003 by ChocoChris (log)

[Jinmyo]

Chopped shrimp congee.

Shredded chicken congee.

Miso shiru.

Hiyayako-tofu.

Risottos of various kinds.

Vichyssoise.

[tommy]

bean thread noodle with lime juice/fish sauce. basically the thai dish yum woon sen, but without anything that you'd need to chew.

also, bean thread noodle in just about any curry preparation that you'd normally use meat or vegetable.

[fifi]

I went through something similar a few years ago. The real challenge was the savory food, especially since I am not big on sweets. I couldn't even chew noodles or rice. Swallowing them whole can be something of a challenge in that your swallowing reflexes might not be too good due to either the nature of the surgery or the pain medication. You need to be careful of choking. For a few days, I was basically in pate and mashed potato land, anything that I could just swallow, maybe pressing it against the roof of my mouth with my tongue. The blender got a work out. I just thought of everything as a pate or thick soup. For some reason, split pea soup was a favorite.

Edited August 4, 2003 by fifi (log)

[Jinmyo]

Brandade.

[elyse]

There was a thread about this a while ago. Anyone remember where it is? I'd be happy with tomato soup with cheese and some pasta every night! Peanut soup, chicken noodle/rice, you know... soups.

[JSD]

When I had my wisdom teeth out I lost a lot of weight. Which was good. However, the things I liked best were pasta with cheese on it, and really soft scrambled eggs.

[fifi]

There was a thread about this a while ago.  Anyone remember where it is?

I looked for it and didn't find it. But then, my search skills aren't the best.

[snowangel]

Creamy soups and eggs. When Heidi was so tactile defensive (oral motor wise) and would eat nothing that did not virtually dissolve in her mouth (and she does not have a sweet tooth) one of her favs was pancakes (no sugar added, made with bacon grease instead of butter) with a soft boiled egg on top of two pancakes. The yolkes helped make the pancakes really mushy, and it tasted wonderful. I also became pretty adept at making savory custards (no recipe, but by guess and by golly). When Diana had some teeth pulled, these ideas helped keep her well fed!

Congee is another good idea.

[pjs]

Here's a tip. As soon as you request or signal you are ready for food they will cut-off your morphine. After your first post-op hospital meal you'll be wishing you had that delivery button back in your hand.

PJ

[Foam Pants]

I think creamy, savory soups are the way to go. Maybe a spoon bread like indian pudding. Cheesy grits are very tasty. Do you think you would have to chew a cold salad made with very fine couscous? It might be a little hard going down, though, as it isn't as moist.

I think you are losing out on a fine opportunity to go beer and ice cream for a month.

[enthusiast]

Raymond Blanc has a delicious recipe for a red Pepper bavarois - essentially red pepper puree folded into cream and set with gelatine. very rich, very delicious. i can post more details if you're interested

[Jinmyo]

Raymond Blanc has a delicious recipe for a red Pepper bavarois - essentially red pepper puree folded into cream and set with gelatine. very rich, very delicious. i can post more details if you're interested

enthusiast, I am interested.

[sandra]

guacamole

mashed potato with bechamel and cheese-gratin

tomato mousse

salmon mousse

aspics, consommes

pates

mole with chicken-blitzed

veggie purees

[Toliver]

The blender got a work out.

I'm with fifi. When I had my wisdom teeth out, I put everything in the blender including lasagne. It drove me nuts after a while since it seemed like a constant diet of baby food and I wanted to chew something, anything so badly but couldn't. I can empathize with you and wish you a quick recovery.

[ChocoChris]

Thanks so much for the great suggestions! I knew that the people here would surpass the ordinary! I am interested in the details of the red Pepper bavarois. The beer and ice cream are good options too altho I don't know what meds I'll be on. This will be a great opportunity for some experimentation. if you get any more inspiring thoughts, please post them.

Take care!

[enthusiast]

Red pepper mouse (enough for 8-10)

Sweat half an onion in some olive oil, add two chopped/skinned/seeded tomatoes and 5 finely chopped/seeded red peppers. Season. Cook for 8-10 mins on a medium heat with the lid on.

Spoon out 100ml of juice, strain and reserve for making a jelly.

Cook for a further 20 minutes without the lid, until all the moisture has evaporated. Add 4 soaked gelatine leaves and stir until dissolved. Cool a little. Puree and sieve.

Reduce by half 100ml of white wine vinegar. Add to puree. Salt and cayenne pepper. Cool to room temp.

Whip 400ml of cream until firm. Fold lightly into puree. Adjust seasoning.

Pour into a pastry ring placed on a flat plate/dish. Fridge – for 4 hours at least.

For decoration: make a jelly with the juice and a leaf of gelatine. Skin another red pepper. Cut into julienne strips. Throw strips on mousse (presentation is everything) and pour on the nearly set jelly. Fridge.

Raymond Blanc suggests serving this with a raw tomato coulis. He also has a teaspoon of raspberry vinegar in with the white wine vinegar – which I guess dates the recipe somewhere in the early eighties.

[cayoqt]

a friend here is making me roasted red peppers and mac 'n cheese for dinner as i suck on gauze after having one wisdom tooth extracted. she might make crepes for me later.

[Savour Chef]

4 Wisdom teeth out at once. A few months ago. Truly the worst (culinary) time of my life. Had, and still have, some holes in where they used to be, so was VERY careful about what I was eating so as not to infect any areas.

Once you're off your meds, get some Guinness down you. Great source of iron, which you'll need.

I think the hardest part was truly the lack of variety on savory foods. There were tons of sweet possibilities. I think I lost it at one point after day 9, and actually fat-strained freshly cooked brisket juice and drank it straight. It was heaven.

Nonetheless, here's what I consumed:

*Apricot/peach baby food

*Shakes and juices of ALL kinds (cantaloupe was my fave) amongst various undrinkable 'protein' shakes (ugh!!!)

*Cups and cups of fresh, homemade chicken broth

*Vichyssoise

*Roasted butternut squash soup

*Creme brulee

*Mashed potatoes with lots of cream and cheese

*Mashed potatoes mixed in with an insane amount of gravy

*French onion soup (strained the onions and left out the gruyere)

*Wild mushroom soup

*Marrow (I kid you not - cooked up osso bucco and left the meat for the others but I got to savor the best part!)

*Puddings

*Haagen Dazs (chocolate, vanilla, coffee)

*Steamed, pureed carrots with balsamic reduction stirred in

*Stracciatella (Italian egg-drop soup)

*Good quality Greek yogurt

I'm sure there's more, but that's most of it. Good luck!!!

[elyse]

Ich, gauze. *shiver*

[tissue]

chawan mushi

[pjs]

Choco C:

I just remembered words of wisdom given to me from a hospital nutritionist--one of the few good ones.

Carnation Instant Breakfast. Yes it's still around.

PJ

[mixmaster b]

I had some very delicious soups in Italy that might fit the bill:

Pappa al Pomodoro, which was a mess of tomato soup with lots of crustless white bread mixed in, very soft. There were liberal amounts of olive oil and salt involved, and a bit of basil. (Gazpacho would be good, too, especially the kind with pureed bread.)

Ribolitta, which was a similar mess of very cooked pasta and white beans, also with lots of olive oil.

Also, they seemed to really cook the veggies, so they were very soft. This worked particularly well with zuchinni. (Maybe that would be a good bridge for when you start to feel better.)

For herbs, you could do herb oils and drizzle them over more boring items.

I hope you have a speedy recovery!

[ChocoChris]

Hi All,

I thought that a follow up report would be in order. I'm on my third day past surgery and second day home. So far cream of wheat, grits with parmesan, and thai soups have served me well. Even the thinnest of rice noodles is hard to chew and bread has to be soaked well to be consumable. I had a nice tomato bisque from Whole Foods that worked out. Hubby made the thai soup but its so frustrated without the noodles which I love. As noted above, sweets are so much easier...puddings, ice cream, chocolate syrup...

Thing is, these foods don't seem to last very long so I am eating (sipping?!) more smaller meals throughout the day.

Thanks for the great advice!

Chris

[jsolomon]

Great to hear that you're doing well!

EDIT: Edited because I didn't look at date-stamps, so this reply is more appropriate

Edited August 22, 2003 by jsolomon (log)