Low carb no chew diet?

[Robalina75]

I was in an accident recently and fractured my aveolar process (the bone that holds my top teeth in place). The doctor told me that for the next few weeks I need to be on a no chew diet, but I don't want to stop doing low carb because the weight is finally starting to come off and my goal weight is finally within reach! Does anybody have any low carb suggestions for a person on a no chew diet?

I appreciate any and all suggestions!

[Dottie]

All I can think of is pureeing your foods or at least making them so finely ground they're easy to swallow?
And ouch -that sounds painful

[IWILLDOIT1978]

Would you be able to eat soft scrambled eggs at all? Or maybe some Atkins shakes?

[tiva]

Poor you! That sounds horrible.

I'd probably make smoothies and shakes from heavy cream and protein powder (plus cocoa powder and stevia to make them drinkable). Coconut milk might be a good ingredient too.

Vegetables purees are lovely as well--spinach, pumpkin, cauliflower, brocolli can all be combined into great purees. Add butter, cream, salt, herbs to taste.

[Robalina75]

I'm actually buying a blender this afternoon so I can start to purée my food, but I'm very nervous about how it's going to taste. I do really like the veggie purée with butter/cream/salt idea!

[reddarin]

Sounds like you need a food proccesor of some sort.

Does anyone else remember that What's Happening episode with the liquid baloney?

Were the doc's suggestions all high carb?

[Robalina75]

Yup... He wanted me to eat lots of oatmeal and cream soups.

[reddarin]

Well that is horrible but at least you know what he thinks is about the right consistency for the food you should be eating.

[Dottie]

Scrambled eggs will be a good friend these few weeks.
You can bake or pan fry soft fish, too (tilapia, swai, even salmon) that might help the texture thing.
You can steam things like cauliflower and broccoli until they're very soft and don't require any real pressure to chew?

[GME]

Lots of good ideas here already. The first thing I thought of was full fat Greek yogurt and smoothies.

[nolcjunk]

Homemade chicken soup with vegetables is great in these situations-lots of nutrition for healing and easy to eat. Keep cooking on a low heat until everything is super mushy and rip the chicken into small pieces. And, the broth alone is great to sip.

Hope you heal quickly!

[Robalina75]

Thank you all for your great suggestions!

[synger]

Definitely protein smoothies and yogurts.

Cheese - small curd cottage cheese can be eaten without chewing, so can soft cheese like brie. Even cheddar if it's room temp or even warmed a little. I've hiked with a hunk of cheddar in my pack for lunch, and it is warm and crumbly without refrigeration but doesn't go bad. It just melts on your tongue.

Easy creamed veggie soups: Microwave a cup of veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, pumpkin, carrots (not necessarily all at the same time) in a cup or so of good broth. Use an immersion blender to puree. Add spices to taste (curried carrot is really nice, as is spinach with nutmeg) Add cream or cream cheese to thicken and add texture and satiation. You might even be able to add some canned meat (because it has been cooked at high temp for the canning, it is very "soft" in texture) like chicken or tuna. I often can meat, and it is amazingly, falling-apart tender.

As mentioned, canned (potted) meats are usually very soft, and can be easily mashed with mayo or sour cream to make a luscious main course. Tuna, chicken, kippered (smoked) fish, even deviled ham is pretty soft. Hard cooked eggs can be made into egg salad; just be sure to mash the egg pieces very small. Any "spreads" or "dips" you like can be eaten off the spoon instead of with veggies. Cheese dips, bean dips (if your plan allows you bean carbs), sour cream dips. Yum!

Nut butters are soft, and can be eaten right off the spoon if you like. Or mix with coconut oil to make "fat bombs"; just don't freeze them. Eat them by the spoon while still room temp. One of my faves is peanut butter and butter, mixed with a bit of sweetener.

Custard doesn't have to be terribly sweet if you make it yourself. It's basically eggs and cream, baked. You can make a lovely pumpkin custard with a bit of artificial sweetener.

On the custard and egg idea, crustless quiches are very soft so long as you don't add ingredients you'd need to chew, like bacon. So are cheese or broccoli/cheese souffles. Also soft-cooked eggs or wet scrambled eggs. These might not be good for the first few weeks, but maybe you can work up to them.

I figure if your doc is saying you can eat oatmeal, you should be able to eat these things, too.

[synger]

More thoughts: faux mashed potatoes with cauliflower. Again, if you can eat something the texture of oatmeal, you should be able to do mashed cauli.

[Strawberry]

When I had my wisdom teeth pulled, I had to deal with something similar.

At first I did pretty good with smoothies and shakes, greek yogurt with pureed strawberries or raspberries (stick fresh or frozen/half-thawed berries into blender with a squeeze of lemon juice and sweetner of choice). Cream of whatever soup (mushroom, tomato, roasted red pepper, cauliflower) Check Linda Sues website for fake-out split pea soup made with green beans. Egg drop soup. Broccoli cheese soup. Pureed cauliflower (ie. fake mash potatoes).

Towards the end of the week I was going crazy for some PROTEIN!!! I ended up pureeing egg salad and chicken salad into a super smooth puree like hummus. It looks weird, but it still tasted good. I also endedup pureeing beef stew into a thick goop - again looks weird, but the taste was there.

Basically, you can puree just about anything (other than salad!). It looks strange, but it will taste ok.
I would encourage you to do this, because I found out that even "soft" foods like a regular egg salad require some chewing to really get the egg whites into a swallow-able state. And you dont want to "tempt" yourself into accidentally chewing.

[rose1]

egg creams

[trishthedish]

You've had lots of great suggestions above. Here are a few more to consider.

Savory
Ricotta with SF tomato sauce
SF tomato sauce with chili seasoning and sour cream
Chicken broth with a whipped egg drizzled in and topped with grated parmesan cheese

Sweet
Linda Sue's Pumpkin Bake (Google it)
Jello
Ricotta with SF syrup flavorings
HWC with Splenda or sf syrup
Nut butters

[Macc0021]

Sounds very painful!! I had gum surgery not too long ago and had the same 'no-chew' restrictions. I lived on low carb protein shakes.... not ideal. And SOUP. I tried lots of new soups, yogurt, pudding, jello, and ice cream recipes. Take care of yourself!

[okapi]

You have received a lot of good suggestions. I just wanted to ask if the doctor recommended not to use a straw too? Sucking through a straw (especially something thick like a smoothie) can put a lot of pressure on the roof of the mouth which might not be great. If I were you I'd try to stick with drinking things out of regular cups or eating with a spoon.

Good luck and hope you heal fast!!

[Robalina75]

Thank you all for your amazing ideas! I plan to try most of them!

Okapi, he didn't mention whether or not I could use a straw, but I hope it's ok because I've been using one! Maybe I should stop for now, though, just in case.

[okapi]

Originally Posted by Robalina75

Thank you all for your amazing ideas! I plan to try most of them!

Okapi, he didn't mention whether or not I could use a straw, but I hope it's ok because I've been using one! Maybe I should stop for now, though, just in case.

If it doesn't hurt when you use the straw it is probably OK, but using a straw does change the pressure levels in the mouth. You can get "milkshake straws" too that have a larger diameter so they don't require you to suck as hard to pull the liquid up. Personally, I would probably try not to use straws too often until you are better healed, but since your doctor didn't mention it and it doesn't hurt when you use them it probably isn't too big of a deal.

[marieze]

First, I just want you to know I'm so sorry to hear about your accident, and I hope you feel better with eaching passing day....

Guacamole
Poached or soft boiled eggs
Cream cheese or fat bombs
Cream soups which will be more filling
Lc cheesecake with no crust
Lc pumpkin pie with no crust
Blender chicken salad
Blender egg salad

Marieze

[snowmop]

Originally Posted by rose1

egg creams

You beat me to it--- I was going to say that!

[rubidoux]

Originally Posted by rose1

egg creams

I'm gonna third egg creams. I usually make mine w four eggs for 24 g of protein and then sometimes 2T of peanut butter for another 7, I think. They can be very yummy and are not thick. And a great way to get some protein.

[IWILLDOIT1978]

What are egg creams? Do you just blend the eggs and eat them raw or do you cook them?

[reddarin]

Did anyone mention HWC floats yet? Good stuff!

[Robalina75]

How do you make an egg cream?

[Robalina75]

Originally Posted by reddarin

Did anyone mention HWC floats yet? Good stuff!

What's a HWC float??

[synger]

Originally Posted by reddarin

Did anyone mention HWC floats yet? Good stuff!

Oh, yes, yum! Pour your favorite diet soda, add heavy whipping cream. I love Diet A&W Root Beer and cream. It tastes like a float after the ice cream has melted.

[LiterateGriffin]

Confession: I haven't read all the replies.

But here's my credentials: When I was 18, my jaw was chopped up into little pieces and wired shut for 6 weeks. And I do LC.

I didn't just need to make things liquid -- I then had to STRAIN them, because the gaps I was drinking through were so small. Things you wouldn't think would be a problem? WERE.

I'm here to tell you that with a good enough blender, you can puree ANYTHING. At one point, my mom's boyfriend ordered pizza. (Mostly just to be a jerk, cuz he knew I couldn't have it but would want it.) I took out that darned blender, some tomato soup to thin it, and liquefied that sucker!!!

It's actually much easier to liquefy the animal-based things than the plant ones. (The plant-based foods took a LOT more straining. Luckily, you shouldn't have to deal with that.)

I also poured eggs and milk (this was pre LC) into just about everything, to make sure I got the protein & calcium I needed to re-grow all that bone.

Here would be my go-to list, for now:

• Modified bulletproof coffee. Blend together 2 eggs, some Coconut Oil, and some heavy cream, until frothy. Top up with coffee. Feel free to add a dash of vanilla, some cinnamon & nutmeg, or some unsweetened cocoa powder for variety!
• Cream soups, just like the doctor ordered... made from scratch, with real cream, and leaving out any starchy ingredients.
• Deviled eggs. (Honest, I eat these without ANY chewing, all the time!)
• Alfredo sauce, run thru the blender with your favorite veggies

To make alfredo, stir together a stick of butter, around a cup of cream, some mozerella and freshly shredded parmasean. (Doesn't take much of a recipe to make it!) Just stir until it's all melted. Add veggies, maybe even some meat, and toss it all in the blender!

When I was wired, I was also able to find some liquid vitamins, and a powdered calcium supplement. (This was a MASSIVE surgery, and eating was exhausting, so we wanted to be sure I was getting the nutrients I needed.)

When in doubt, toss whatever you want to eat in the blender, and add appropriate liquid (be that cream, water, broth) until it gets soft enough to swallow. And I do mean WHATEVER. (You can liquify a grilled steak! I swear!)