Post Op Recipes
So, if you don't already know, the biggest drag after jaw surgery is the diet. Well, maybe not the biggest.....I mean, you just had your face sawed into pieces like humpty dumpty and you're healing and in pain, but none the less, it's a pretty big drag to not be able to eat. It's especially a huge hit for me because not only do I love eating food, but I love cooking food. And not only do I love cooking food, but I'm kind of a nut about eating healthy and getting tons of nutrients, so I'm sure this diet will be especially difficult for me for more than one reason. If I can take my love for cooking and nutrition and put together some recipes, then that might be useful for me post op, and maybe useful to others if they get some inspiration from here. I'm also going to link to recipes that I find, and if anybody reading has any contributions, don't hesitate to send them my way!
Obviously not all of these recipes will be able to be eaten right after surgery (although most can be thrown in a blender easily if you can't chew yet), but as time goes on you should find something in here to help you from liquids, to soft chew, to when you can get back to full on chewing again. Depending on what you have done for surgery and if you'll be splinted vs. no splint or bands vs. wires will impact exactly what you can get in. There was a HUGE difference in what I could eat for both of my surgery recoveries. The first surgery I was old school wired shut and couldn't get anything in more than broth. My revision surgery had me tightly banded with a splint, and after 5 days post op, I was allowed to remove the bands to clean and eat. This made a world of difference, as taking the bands off allowed me to open up enough to get a syringe or squeeze bottle in to pump blended food in to my mouth. So, pretty much for revision recovery, whatever could fit in my blender could be put in to my stomach!
For me personally I didn't gnaw on steak even after cleared for full chew, so I am going to leave really chewy meats or anything chewy in general out of the recipe list and concentrate more on liquids and soft foods. As always, check with your surgeon regarding your diet. I don't want anybody sticking something in their mouth they shouldn't be putting there because they saw it here and thought it was a good idea. What was OK for me might not be OK for you, so def always run diet stuff by your surgeon.
You'll notice a lot of the recipes I have are international foods! I love ethnic cooking-- huge fan of Indian, Thai, Middle Eastern, Mexican, etc. And the good thing with them, is there are lots of easy to blend vegetarian options that will give you that pop of flavor and not be so bland. So, I'll try to add some Americana in the mix, but fair warning the skew will definitely be towards International style!
One of the things on the "to get" list for many jaw surgery patients is a good blender. Luckily, I already have one, but if you don't have one, I would invest in it. Not only is it going to help you during recovery, but it's just a great investment to have in the kitchen afterwards. I have a BlendTec Total Blender:
Obviously not all of these recipes will be able to be eaten right after surgery (although most can be thrown in a blender easily if you can't chew yet), but as time goes on you should find something in here to help you from liquids, to soft chew, to when you can get back to full on chewing again. Depending on what you have done for surgery and if you'll be splinted vs. no splint or bands vs. wires will impact exactly what you can get in. There was a HUGE difference in what I could eat for both of my surgery recoveries. The first surgery I was old school wired shut and couldn't get anything in more than broth. My revision surgery had me tightly banded with a splint, and after 5 days post op, I was allowed to remove the bands to clean and eat. This made a world of difference, as taking the bands off allowed me to open up enough to get a syringe or squeeze bottle in to pump blended food in to my mouth. So, pretty much for revision recovery, whatever could fit in my blender could be put in to my stomach!
For me personally I didn't gnaw on steak even after cleared for full chew, so I am going to leave really chewy meats or anything chewy in general out of the recipe list and concentrate more on liquids and soft foods. As always, check with your surgeon regarding your diet. I don't want anybody sticking something in their mouth they shouldn't be putting there because they saw it here and thought it was a good idea. What was OK for me might not be OK for you, so def always run diet stuff by your surgeon.
You'll notice a lot of the recipes I have are international foods! I love ethnic cooking-- huge fan of Indian, Thai, Middle Eastern, Mexican, etc. And the good thing with them, is there are lots of easy to blend vegetarian options that will give you that pop of flavor and not be so bland. So, I'll try to add some Americana in the mix, but fair warning the skew will definitely be towards International style!
One of the things on the "to get" list for many jaw surgery patients is a good blender. Luckily, I already have one, but if you don't have one, I would invest in it. Not only is it going to help you during recovery, but it's just a great investment to have in the kitchen afterwards. I have a BlendTec Total Blender:
If you click on the picture it will take you to the Costco website where it's available for purchase. They have one of the best deals going on it, but if you don't have a Costco membership, check out Bed Bath and Beyond with a 20% off coupon. It's an expensive blender, but extremely worth it in my opinion. I don't see myself ever owning another blender, and it's definitely going to earn it's keep after surgery, even more than it does now!
Another item I loved for meal prep was my juicer. I used to have a juicer that would spin the juice out of the fruit, but all that does is make your fruit/veggies see a bunch of oxidation and you lose nutrients and the juices go bad faster. I bit the bullet and got an Omega VRT360, and the thing is a beast! Check out the reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/Omega-VRT350-Dual-Stage-Vertical-Single/dp/B00434JINO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1460337548&sr=8-1&keywords=omega+vert+HD360
I also started a Pinterest board for jaw surgery recipes. Feel free to check that out as well: My Pinterest
Another item I loved for meal prep was my juicer. I used to have a juicer that would spin the juice out of the fruit, but all that does is make your fruit/veggies see a bunch of oxidation and you lose nutrients and the juices go bad faster. I bit the bullet and got an Omega VRT360, and the thing is a beast! Check out the reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/Omega-VRT350-Dual-Stage-Vertical-Single/dp/B00434JINO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1460337548&sr=8-1&keywords=omega+vert+HD360
I also started a Pinterest board for jaw surgery recipes. Feel free to check that out as well: My Pinterest
