Favorite foods for cHaLLeNgInG days...

[Liza Bee]

I would love to know what foods have been life savers for you on those challenging days when your teeth are sore, your inner cheeks are torn up, and tongue feels raw .

There was a wonderful restaurant located in Long Beach, Mississippi, overlooking the Gulf called Steve's Marina. Had a fabulous crab bisque. Of course, Katrina utterly destroyed it. Thankfully, Windance Country Club has hired their staff to run a new version of the restaurant "Steve's Marina the the Green" and I enjoyed a wonderful shrimp corn bisque there over a week ago.

But... I can't travel there all the time, so I made another wonderful discovery. There is a gourmet meals web site called Home Bistro that offers Lobster Bisque and Crab Bisque. I received the package yesterday and my, my, my... so delicious! They arrived in a styrofoam package from NY to MS, still frozen. So easy to do. Bread bowls come with them. You simply bake them for 13 minutes. The soups are in plastic packets and you boil them in water for 13 minutes. After cutting off the top of the bread bowl, you scrape out some of the soft bread, cut the corner off the soup and pour in (enough to pour in twice). I was able to dip some of the soft bread in the soup and eat it as well. Husband enjoyed finishing off the crusty bread.

Our Ruby Tuesday's on the beach was also destroyed but there is one further inland in D'Iberville. They make a mashed cauliflower side dish that I like better than mashed potatoes. I noticed after I received my soup that I could have ordered their gourmet mashed cauliflower. Next time I think I'll try that, too.

It's easy to get in a rut with food. Any other ideas?

Liza

[Liza Bee]

Soft diet foods that have been helpful:

Savory items: Creamed soups, grits, mashed potatoes, mashed cauliflower, Stouffer's spinach souffle (although you will pick spinach out of your teeth for a while).

Sweet: Smoothie King (with added protein & multi-vitamins), Bolthouse Farms Perfectly Protein Chai Tea, Edward's Key Lime Pie or Cheesecake, carrot souffle (I have a copycat recipe like Piccadilly's).

I find that smoothies and milk shakes are best eaten with a spoon during the bad times. Sucking with a straw can exacerbate torn-up inner cheeks.

[Betty Bat]

I haven't had too many really bad days (knock wood!), but one of my favorites right now is butternut squash soup. The recipe calls for curry powder but since I have sapphire brackets w ligs, I've been substituting my own mix of ginger, cinnamon and a little hot pepper for the curry powder. I also found that chicken soup with barley was very good for the days when I didn't feel like chewing very much.

Then, of course, there's ice cream.

[becky1]

I usually eat just the old Ramen Noodles they are quick and easy. And don't taste bad either.

[Liza Bee]

Betty, the Butternut Squash Soup sounds like something I would like. If you have time to share the recipe, that would be great. I always seem to have plenty of sweet items on hand...yogurt, ice cream, smoothies, juices...but I get bored with the same old savory items...grits, Campbell's soups.

Becky, I hadn't thought about Ramen Noodles because I had such a bad experience with rice, I thought all pasta would be problematic.

Liza

[Liza Bee]

One other soft item that I found I could eat: canned hot tamales. The soft corn tortilla mashed and dissolved easily. Great when craving something spicey.

[Avarik]

After a day of being on a cold-foods only diet, I was able to start eating some softer foods. I went out to an all you can eat sushi place and pigged out for an hour. At first, I thought I might have a hard time, but eating the sushi was actually very easy to do. Definatly reccomended when you are sore.

[Betty Bat]

Cream of Squash Soup

Creamy, lightly curried … if you don’t have butternut squash, the soup is just as delicious made with acorn squash. From Good Housekeeping, November 1992.

[Liza Bee]

Thanks Betty...recipe made me hungry just reading it. Not an intimidating recipe either. I could do that fairly easily. I think I could use my smoothie machine to make that. I really would like to purchase a food processor sometime. I could have used one several times these past few weeks.

Avarik, one day I will have to try sushi. I have passed up opportunities in the past because I could not get over the idea of raw fish. My oldest son is a student at UAB and has become very fond of sushi. We plan to spend a few days in Birmingham soon to get away from our sad, ugly city. Maybe, he can show me his favorite sushi place.

[ssfw]

Hi Liza Bee,

All of the ideas on the replies to your post sound great. My suggestion is to always have something on hand, maybe in the freezer, so that when you're having a 'bad braces' day than you can go home, make a quick meal, brush your teeth (of course) then go to sleep and hope that you will feel better tomorrow. This way you won't have to make something from scratch.

When do you get your braces and how long is your treatment?

Good luck and keep us posted.

ssfw

[Liza Bee]

Hi ssfw,
Your freezer suggestion is great. I recently purchased frozen Boston Market mashed potatoes which are very good but I'm thinking it would be much more economical to make a large homemade batch and freeze individual portions.

On Dec. 6, I got palatal expanders (upper & lower); then on Dec.16, I got braces. My orthodontist holds patents for Series 2000 appliances and has indicated to me that there's something new about the appliance in my mouth. He feels my treatment will go faster than usual although he has not given me a timetable for how long he expects this to take. My brackets are self-ligating which is also supposed to reduce treatment time.

Two of my kids have completed treatment and look terrific. They are in his picture gallery on his web site (www.gulfcoastorthodontics.com). I suspect that youth has the advantage of adjusting better or at least that seems to be the case with me. My kids were quickly eating normal foods after their braces were placed. I am still struggling to eat and have become a little food-obsessed lately trying to think of new soft things to eat.

[ssfw]

Hi Liza Bee,

Glad you liked my idea about freezing some food.

You should ask your ortho about the time frame on your expanders and ortho treatment.

How did you adjust to having the upper and lower expanders placed at the same time? When did your speech and eating return to normal? I'm getting the upper expander first then upper braces in about 3 months and I'm more concerned about my speech then being able to eat.

In regards to your problem of being able to eat - try making some meat in the way that you enjoy it best and cut/shred it into small pieces. I think once you are able to eat something like this, you will then get more brave the next time. I think part of it is not wanting to feel any aches while chewing and hopefully after awhile your mouth/teeth will get use to being used while eating and not ache as much - not sure if this will work but this is how I'm dealing with the slight ache I have while eating with spacers in my teeth.

Keep us posted on your progress.

Hi ssfw,
Your freezer suggestion is great. I recently purchased frozen Boston Market mashed potatoes which are very good but I'm thinking it would be much more economical to make a large homemade batch and freeze individual portions.

On Dec. 6, I got palatal expanders (upper & lower); then on Dec.16, I got braces. My orthodontist holds patents for Series 2000 appliances and has indicated to me that there's something new about the appliance in my mouth. He feels my treatment will go faster than usual although he has not given me a timetable for how long he expects this to take. My brackets are self-ligating which is also supposed to reduce treatment time.

Two of my kids have completed treatment and look terrific. They are in his picture gallery on his web site (www.gulfcoastorthodontics.com). I suspect that youth has the advantage of adjusting better or at least that seems to be the case with me. My kids were quickly eating normal foods after their braces were placed. I am still struggling to eat and have become a little food-obsessed lately trying to think of new soft things to eat.

[Liza Bee]

ssfw wrote: How did you adjust to having the upper and lower expanders placed at the same time? When did your speech and eating return to normal?

This has definitely been shock to my system. My palate is like a drop ceiling and my tongue is greiving the loss of the roof of my mouth. My first big issue after the placement of these appliances was the constant saliva I was producing. After a couple of days, that calmed down and gradually became no problem at all.

My kids adjusted quickly to life in braces. Their speech seemed normal after a week or so, and they returned to normal foods in under 2 weeks.

I wish I could say the same about myself. My speech is understandable, but without being able to touch my tongue to my real palate, I almost sound like I have a lisp. Words that have "s" in them come out awkwardly.

I have not figured out how to chew food. It hurts for one thing, but I can't seem to get my molars to meet well enough to break apart food. My attempts usually result in me giving up and swallowing chunks of food My experienced kids tell me I need to eat through the pain and I'll gradually get the hang of it. I am a little surprised that it's taking me so long to adjust. I have cut it into small pieces but, like you said, maybe I need to shred it.

I am highly motivated by VANITY so I'm sure I will get through this.

And, hey, I've lost 5 lbs. and look good in jeans . So life is good.

Liza

[ssfw]

Hi Liza,

Thanks for the info about speech and eating adjustment to the expander. Keep up with trying to eat different foods. I think this is how I got through it with the ache I had while chewing with spacers the last few days - I just continued to eat but was more gentle. I'm sure that I will eat less sweets once the bands are on and hoping this will help in losing some weight also. I do know I will crave for sweets every now and then and I think the best place to eat sweets is at home so that I can either rinse well or brush my teeth after I eat it.

Thanks again.

ssfw

ssfw wrote: How did you adjust to having the upper and lower expanders placed at the same time? When did your speech and eating return to normal?

This has definitely been shock to my system. My palate is like a drop ceiling and my tongue is greiving the loss of the roof of my mouth. My first big issue after the placement of these appliances was the constant saliva I was producing. After a couple of days, that calmed down and gradually became no problem at all.

My kids adjusted quickly to life in braces. Their speech seemed normal after a week or so, and they returned to normal foods in under 2 weeks.

I wish I could say the same about myself. My speech is understandable, but without being able to touch my tongue to my real palate, I almost sound like I have a lisp. Words that have "s" in them come out awkwardly.

I have not figured out how to chew food. It hurts for one thing, but I can't seem to get my molars to meet well enough to break apart food. My attempts usually result in me giving up and swallowing chunks of food My experienced kids tell me I need to eat through the pain and I'll gradually get the hang of it. I am a little surprised that it's taking me so long to adjust. I have cut it into small pieces but, like you said, maybe I need to shred it.

I am highly motivated by VANITY so I'm sure I will get through this.

And, hey, I've lost 5 lbs. and look good in jeans . So life is good.

Liza

[Liza Bee]

Speaking of sweets, another soft food I enjoy is Edward's Oreo Pie

Since I don't want to eat an entire pie, I'm glad Edward's pies can be purchased in boxes of 2 individual servings. I can take out a little boxed triangle, thaw in fridge for 2 hours, and enjoy.

But sweet soft items are in large supply. My biggest challenge is finding satisfying foods for meals.