Wednesday, November 7, 2012

What to Eat When You are Missing Teeth

This would have to do with my recent wisdom teeth removal.  Yes, it finally happened to me.  I was actually convinced that I wouldn't have to get them removed as I only had the top two and they were even and not screwing up my mouth or anything.  But then, it happened.  I ate a Lara bar and felt terrible shooting pain in the wisdom tooth area.  Turns out one of them had a cavity and I just couldn't reach that part with my toothbrush.  Alas.  My dreams of keeping extra teeth were foiled.  And so out they came. 

I'll admit I was absolutely terrified, since the numbing shots have not worked in the past.  I was convinced I'd have to sit through it all, feeling it ALL.  Not excited.  I told myself that people did this in the past before numbing was an option.  Pain is temporary.  Remove yourself from your body.  Accept and breathe.  Fortunately, the doctor hit me with a higher dose and it was all good!  The worst part was the fear.  I subsisted off of some Vegan chocolate pudding my roomy made me (she's awesome) and passed out at about 5PM.  My boss told me I needed to take off work, so I did.  I thanked her for her wisdom.

I didn't want to live off of sweet puddings for the next couple of days so I made this:

This was the result of not having much in the apartment and needing to be creative.  What came about was so good that I'm actually going to feature it in my upcoming workshop.  So simple!

2 Medium Red Bliss Potaoes
1 Tbs Coconut Oil
1/2 Head of Napa Cabbage
2-3 Cloves of Garlic
1/3 Cup Raw Cashews (soaked for 3 hours or overnight preferable if not using high power blender)

Boil the potatoes until cooked through, a knife slides in and out easily.  Chop and saute the cabbage in the oil until slightly caramelized, adding the garlic 3/4 of the way through so they have time to brown slightly.  Put all ingredients into the blender and blend until very smooth adding boiling water as necessary to thin and salting to taste.  Top with a pinch of Pink Himalayan Sea Salt and Smoked Paprika.  I happened to buy the Smoked Paprika that day as a treat to myself. So happy I did.

What do you guys do when you can't chew your food?  Any suggestions for the post-op girl here?

1 comment:

Bethany said...

Gahhhh I'm so worried that I'm going to need to get my wisdom teeth removed soon. Every dentist appointment is a struggle because I'm sure each time is going to "the one" where they're like, "Welp, looks like it's time to get rid of these!" Having never had a cavity or any sort of surgery, the thought of wisdom tooth extraction terrifies me. I only have one that's even come in at all, but lately it's been bugging me a lot more than usual...it's only a matter of time :( Booooooooo.