Jaw Surgery

foods, updates and general info about my double jaw surgery experience ✌🏻

[softfoods]

RANDOM SURVIVAL TIP

you 100% will need this! it’s an ice pack for your eyes!

yes.....you may look like a weirdo but it’s literally going to save your life.

for me, the worst pain i had was under my eyes and so this helped amazingly! my friend also got me a soothing eye cream which was perfect!

[softfoods]

🖤EASY CHICKEN RISOTTO🖤

1. fry off ready cooked chicken in 1 tsp of oil (skip this step if you’re struggling to chew)

2. while the chicken is frying, microwave plain white rice for time specified on packet

3. add microwaved rice and a tin of chicken soup to the pan that the chicken is in

4. stir until bubbling and is about the thicken above

5. enjoy!

i love eating this so much! it literally takes 5 minutes to cook and is perfect for when you’re starving! i love that it’s really filling, and even tastes good cold (it takes me about 30mins to eat this after surgery). 100% would recommend that you try this!

you could probably use different rice and soup to change things up or for dietary requirements but i’ve never tried any other combos! let me know if you have used a different rice or anything!

✌🏻x

[softfoods]

BEFORE AND AFTER ❤️

it’s just gone 6 weeks since my op and i thought i’d post a quick before and after! i’m still quite swollen so this isn’t the final result but if definitely feeling more confident about my face 😍

[softfoods]

BEST CRISPS EVER

i know crisps are usually quite hard but here are my fave crisps to eat atm!

❤️MONSTER MUNCH❤️

💛QUAVERS💛

💚SKIPS💚

all soft-ish and easily broken up! these all melt in your mouth so i’d definitely recommend you try these to beat your cravings!

✌🏻x

[softfoods]

FOODS I AVOID

💛SWEETCORN;

SUPER annoying to eat, especially with braces!! if you have soup that has sweetcorn in it, you should 100% use a sieve to take it out (even if you’ve blended soup, sieve it!)

💛RICE;

i know some people recommend eating rice after this type of operation but i’ve found it’s just a nightmare. it gets stuck everywhere in my braces and given that i can’t really use my tongue to get it out of my braces and gums (can’t open mouth wide enough to get my tounge out 😫😂) i avoid it as best i can, but have eaten it a few times to fill me up 😂

💛ONION;

i’ve found the skin on onion is extremely hard to chew, so i avoid it even if it’s on pizza and is super soft!!

i can’t think of any other things that i avoid but i’ll update you as i find more! obviously i avoid the usually hard, chewy things (biscuits, gum, crisps ect) but i thought these were things that you might not think about!

✌🏻x

[softfoods]

Quick update

hey! so it’s 6 and a half weeks since my op!

i’m just experimenting with different foods to see what i can and can’t eat! the most exciting food so far? PIZZAA!! i literally cannot stop eating it at the moment!!

ermm...

my dissolvable stitches are FINALLY starting to come out! but there are still a few under the inside of my top lip and right at the back of my mouth! my orthodontist told me to brush them with a toothbrush but i still can’t really get to the back of my mouth with a toothbrush (i’m still using a baby toothbrush) so mouthwash is my life saver atm!

i can also currently open my mouth about 2cm wide so it’s not too bad! still having to break food into small pieces but i’m finding it much easier to chew!

if you have any questions please feel free to drop them below 💙

✌🏻x

[kalany]

Low and no chew foods, mostly low-spoons prep

This is for an anon (ETA: shoot, not an anon, but I can’t tag them, so) @disabilityhealth got, but others are welcome to reblog!

Edit to add: I’m ovo-lacto vegetarian, so these are veggie foods. There’s probably more meatie foods I’m not aware of.

I’ve been on a no-chew diet for eighteen months now, thanks to multiple jaw surgeries.

First off, a lot of soft foods can be mashed up with the tongue rather than properly chewed, if that’s an option for you. Small enough things, if they’re moderately soft, can just be swallowed whole. Mostly-solid things I eat:

cake, and stuff with similar textures, like no-nuts banana bread

macaroni and cheese—I get the microwave trays from Trader Joe’s but if you make it yourself be sure to cook, or even overcook, the pasta.

alphabet pasta, overcooked—I often cook it in tomato soup, because then it’s like spaghetti-Os, but without the weird can taste.

rice—this I cook regularly, then add an extra tablespoon or so of water per quart of rice and let sit in the fridge. After a few days it’s soft enough to swallow whole.

grilled cheese sandwiches—cut off the crusts, cut into bite-sized pieces, and soak in soup. The cheese can make a few chews desirable, but it’s very low-chew. It’s high-spoons, but also filling and nutritious.

bread in soup, as for grilled cheese—much lower spoons, still yummy

raspberries turn out to be soft enough to squish up

steel-cut oats—I like the instant packages from Quaker and Trader Joe’s

Then, semi-solid and liquid things:

soup. Obvious? Maybe. But it’s a good way to get some veggies in your diet when you can’t chew.

cottage cheese

yoghurt—with fruit spread mixed in, it’s a way to get some fruit.

chocolate Boost—I drink about six to ten of these a week, depending on how much I feel up to cooking.

milkshakes—I find I don’t taste protein and vitamin powder in these very much, so it’s where I hide my supplements. I also hide my fiber here, in the form of hemp protein powder plus Benefiber.

smoothies—another good place to hide vitamins and supplements, but personally I get sick of them after about a week

ice cream. Just straight up ice cream. Or frozen yoghurt.

juice. Again, probably obvious.

milk. I’m lucky enough to be highly lactose tolerant, so this is where about 90% of my protein comes from. You could also drink a milk substitute, and probably get similar benefits.

refried beans

mashed potatoes, and other similar items—did you know you can mash up carrots and parsnips? They’re pretty good.

Low-chew things, for when I’m feeling adventurous:

tortellini in marinara sauce—if you blend the marinara sauce first, you can usually get these down with like one bite-down each

cheese chunks—let them sit at room temp for like 30 minutes to soften, then squish them up between your fingers to “pre-chew” them

watermelon—you wouldn’t think of it as low-chew, but a good ripe watermelon requires shockingly little effort to chew

egg noodles in soup—again, they do require a tiny bit of chewing, but if you’re really struggling blending it will make it almost zero chew

chocolate—can be zero chew if you have patience. I don’t.

ETA: scrambled eggs! Also frittatas, if they’re made with soft ingredients. I like rice frittatas but I might be weird.

There’s probably more I’m forgetting, but that’s what I can remember or find in my cupboards rn. I hope that helps?

[softfoods]

TOMATO PASTA

mix tomato pasta sauce with boiled and drained pasta!

i also liked adding grated cheese for some extra taste!

if you’re struggling to chew, use a potato masher or a hand blender to mush up the pasta so it’s easier to eat!

i mashed my pasta in weeks 2-3 post op and now in week 5 i’m able to chew pasta without it being mashed!

i know it’s annoying to keep mashing everything and how your food goes cold by the time you’ve eaten half of it....but trust me it gets better!! keep hanging in there! 💚

💙remember to drop any questions if you’re preparing for surgery or are in the recovery process!💙

[softfoods]

🧡CAJUN PASTA RECIPIE🧡

1; in one pan boil amount of pasta required (do much less than you’d usually do, becuase you’re probably not going to eat it all)

2; in another smaller pan, heat a tablespoon of butter/margarine and a tub of single/double cream-on low heat

3; drain pasta when ready

4; once butter has melted stir with wooden spoon

5; add butter/cream to pasta and mix well

6; if you’re still struggling to chew, mash up pasta using a potato masher or a hand blender

7; sprinkle on cajun spice! add bit by bit as i can be quite spicy! i’d recommend taking the slice with you while you eat the pasta becuase it’s likely you’ll need to keep adding spice and you eat the pasta!

8; tuck in!

——————————————-

9; if you’re able to chew you can add chicken for some extra protein!

10; mix diced chicken with oil and cajun spice. mix and add to frying pan (gas mark 6/7)

11; fry off chicken while pasta is boiling

🧡feel free to ask any questions about this recipie if you need some help😊🧡

✌🏻x

[softfoods]

CRAVING BREAD?!

so here’s what i did when i was craving bread!!

i used a ladle to get some gravy out of the corned beef hash (see previous post) and microwaved it in a bowl for 30 seconds.

i then got a slice of bread, pulled off the crust and put LOADS of butter on, to make it much softer!

i ripped the bread into tiny pieces and dipped it in the gravy! tastes super good and beats your cravings for bread!

{can always use normal gravy or even soup as an alternative}

✌🏻x

[softfoods]

CORNED BEEF HASH

RECIPIE;

-add peeled and chopped potatoes into a pan, with diced onion and chopped carrots. add salt to taste

-chop corned beef into squares and also add into pan

-add water and let boil until potatoes are soft

-drain 1/4 of the water

-add gravy powder and stir until water thickens

-DONE

Super easy and quick recipe! really filling and will last for two days!

When eating, use fork to mash potatoes and carrots up so they’re easier to chew 😁

✌🏻x

[softfoods]

PANCAKES

i ate these three weeks after my surgery and omg they were a god send!!

recipe i used;

-200g plain flour

-2 eggs

-300ml milk

whisk milk and eggs together and then add to flour and whisk again!

using this recipe i got four HUGE pancakes! i made one at a time so that i could eat one and the others didn’t get cold! if you used a smaller pan or made the pancakes smaller, you’d easily get 6-8 pancakes out of this recipe!

^pancake with half lemon/sugar half chocolate^

MY FAVOURITE TOPPINGS;

-lemon juice and sugar

-nutella

-icing sugar

✌🏻x

[softfoods]

💙MILKSHAKES💙

i basically lived off these for the first week after surgery! using a syringe, these are perfect for for first few days after jaw surgery!

i got both chocolate and strawberry, because i was getting bored of just one flavour!

i used full fat milk, to try and get some energy, and then just whisked the milkshake powder in!

i actually already had one of those hand held blenders, which are supposed to be for protein shakes, but i used it to make sure that my milkshake was whisked!

[softfoods]

🍰CAKE🍰

these are so tasty and moist (i know i hate that word too 😂) and are perfect for breaking into pieces to put in your mouth!

they also sell these in the flavours; bakewell, lemon and angel!

i’ve yet to try these other flavours but they sounds perfect! 💛 also they were only 79p for 6 from Aldi, so deffo a great bargain!

[softfoods]

🧡JELLY🧡

Perfect for when you are craving something fruity! i usually have one after my dinner/tea as a sort of dessert!

[softfoods]

💛LIFE SAVER💛

these are amazing for where you’re craving chocolate but can’t eat it! so tasty!

i got these from Aldi, but i’m sure there are the same things in different stores!

[softfoods]

💛MASHH💛

okay, so i know what you’re thinking...you’ve already eaten mash so much and you’re sick of it....

well i’m here to help! with different ways to make mash less boring, you’re sure to be craving some of these ideas!

💛BASIC PLAIN MASH; with ready-made mash i’d recommend adding a good tablespoon of butter to add some flavour and maybe milk if it’s still too thick for you to eat it

🧡CHEESEY MASH; add tablespoon of butter to ready made mash, and then go to town with cheese! trust me, the more the better!!

❤️CAJUN MASH; add tablespoon of butter to ready made mash. then add a sprinkle of cajun spice. this is PERFECT if you’re craving some sort of flavour! cajun can be quite spicy though, so experiment with the amount of spice you add to your mash until it’s perfect!

💚CHEESE AND ONION MASH; this ones a weird one, but i’m obsessed! i bought some cheese and onion sandwich filler (usually put it on jacket potatoes) and added two large table spoons to ready made mash. also added extra cheese (becuase why not) and then mixed until melted! would eat this maybe 2-3 weeks after surgery as it can be quite thick!

💜MASH AND GRAVY; can’t go wrong here! try changing the gravy up though! go to your local takeaway (if they have good gravy), make it yourself, go to your local carvery! go gravy crazy! 😂

💙CARROT AND SWEDE MASH; i personally didn’t like this, but it’s a good option for when you’re sick of normal mash!

✌🏻x