Food & Recipes

Go shopping before your surgery and try to make several kinds of food beforehand so you don't have to worry about cooking when you aren't feeling well. The best things to eat right after surgery are fluids or mostly fluid things that you can slurp easily. Most people are told not to use a straw. If your lower lip is numb you'll also have trouble drinking out of a glass or can. Put everything in bowls, even water, and eat it with a spoon, like soup. Most things should be room temperature, even water. If you eat something and it stings, it's either too cold or too acidic (see foods to avoid, below). Work up to solid foods as soon as you can. If you had to fast before your surgery, eat and drink often after your surgery to replenish your body fluids, probably every other time you change your gauze. Cut everything up and take small bites!

Suggested foods:

• yoghurt
• popsicles (get the slim ones so you don't have to open your mouth too wide)
• milkshakes (Boost, Slim-Fast, Nestle's ... see recipes below if you want to make your own)
• any soup without large chunks of food--make sure you like it room-temperature!
• eggs
• milk
• bread, tortillas, pita bread
• macaroni and cheese
• Jell-O (get some seltzer water, too, if you want to try it "sparkling," although you won't be able to taste the difference the first day!)
• teas: peppermint, green (see Tips).
• cottage cheese

Foods to avoid. These are foods that are too hard, acidic, or get caught too easily. But trust yourself when you take a bite out of anything; if you can't chew it, you'll know.

• Citris fruit (oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit)
• Tomatoes & tomato juice
• chips
• French or other hard-crusted bread
• spicy foods
• candies like licorice, caramel, jelly beans; basically any candy that gets softer and chewier. Getting it out if it gets stuck behind your teeth is a pain!
• small, stringy foods that get caught easily: sprouts, celery, pineapple

Milkshakes

1. Take 1 cup of ice cream and put in blender
2. Mix in 1 cup of milk
3. Add a cup of any of your favorite ingredients: blueberries, strawberries, even pumpkin preserves!
4. Blend well and serve immediately.

Vegetables

1. Take one cup of plain yoghurt (nonfat or lowfat is OK)
2. Blend in one cup of frozen spinach
3. Salt and pepper to taste.

Egg & Tortilla

1. Take a tortilla (those flavored ones are really tasty!) and fold it several times. Cut into small pieces (smaller than bite size)
2. Take 2 or 3 eggs and break them in a fry pan
3. Scramble the eggs as you would normally, mixing in the tortilla bits until it looks well mixed
4. If you like, add some cheese for flavor. I mixed in some cottage cheese afterward, which added a nice texture and taste
5. Serve immediately. This also is tasty cold (which you may prefer after your surgery).

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