That awkward moment when...

You get used to things being as they are. Time has passed since removal of teeth and adjusting to the denture lifestyle has happened. Then you go through the morning without putting your denture in and don’t think anything of it. 

You feel hungry so you make toast and a cup of coffee and then; damn.

Am I like Superman if I change my own identity?

I know I’m the same person I was before the dental surgery that changed my life. I know I needed it

or things could’ve gotten a lot worse and I would be in bigger trouble than I was, but there are times now when I look in the mirror and, even though I’ve gotten used to my face without an entire row of teeth, it still makes me think there’s a different person looking back now.

A gummi-bear.

I can’t seem to get that name out of my head now. Gummi on one part only though, but still…

But maybe this is a phase, the adjustment phase.

Soft food recipes - Chicken & Sweetcorn Soup

Another meal idea for soft foods/post-surgery recovery.

Personally, I love this soup and there's no better kind of soup for healing and recovery than chicken soup. The corn just makes it a little better.

20g butter

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

5 chicken thigh fillets, trimmed and sliced

1 litre Real Stock Chicken

2 x 420g cans creamed corn

2 x 125g cans corn kernels, drained

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/4 cup sour cream

Salt and cracked black pepper

1/3 cup chopped coriander leaves

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.

Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, then add the chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Stir in the stock, creamed corn, corn kernels and sugar.

Bring to the boil then simmer for 15 minutes or until the chicken is very tender and you’re happy with the consistency.

Remove from the heat and stir through the sour cream, salt and pepper. Top with the coriander and serve.

For more varied texture, process one of the tins of whole corn kernels.

There are more ideas and recipes, or you want to change to a healthier diet, I recommend checking out Changing Habits.

Soft food for recovery

Brothy pumpkin soup

This is one of my favourite soups, easy to make and nourishing. Especially in winter as it is here in the Southern Hemisphere right now.

Perfect for when solid food is out of the question.

Ingredients

• 1 medium pumpkin, chopped with the skin removed
• 2 brown onions, quartered
• 1/2 clove of garlic
• 2-3 carrots, chopped
• 1-3 Litres of homemade broth (chicken, lamb, beef, turkey or goat) (Add less broth for a thicker consistency and more for a thinner consistency)
• 1-2 tsp Changing Habits Seaweed Salt
• 2 Tbsp Changing Habits Coconut Oil, butter or ghee
• 2 tsp ground turmeric powder
• Cream or yoghurt to garnish with (coconut or dairy)
• A handful of activated or toasted pumpkin seeds for garnishing
• A handful of chopped fresh herbs for garnish (parsley, coriander and/ or basil)
• A sprinkle of Changing Habits Dulse Flakes for garnish

Optional Add Ins: 3 potatoes peeled & chopped, 1 large sweet potato chopped, 2 golden beetroots chopped, other spices such as cumin, pepper, chilli, ginger ect..

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Add all of your chosen vegetables (except garlic) to a roasting tray with the coconut oil, butter or ghee and roast for 20-25 minutes.

2. After 20-25 minutes check the veggies and turn them over to make sure they cook evenly. Add the garlic to the trays and continue to cook until everything is golden brown.

3. Once ready, add all of the veggies to a large saucepan along with all other ingredients (except for garnishes).

4. Allow to simmer on the stove until desired (you can slow cook this down to intensify all of the flavours, or quickly cook then blitz to puree).

5. Once ready, ladel into bowls and garnish with cream or yoghurt, dulse flakes, herbs and some of the pepita seeds.

6. Store any leftovers in the fridge for later. 

Why do we always chew rice?

Funny thing, during the recovery phase I had a soft food diet, a very soft food diet; soups, minced

meat and an Asian rice dish called Congee, which is basically a porridge made of rice.

But even though rice is just small grains, you always get the instinctive reaction to chew it, how small does it have to be?

And let me tell you, chewing anything when you have stitches in your gums is never a pleasant feeling.

It’s strange, looking back when I had a full head of teeth, whenever I ate rice I always chewed it before swallowing. It wasn’t until I lost half my teeth that I found I could just swallow it.

It may be the most bizarre thing I’ve ever discovered about myself.

What’s more bizarre is that I’m willing to post it online…

But if you are going through the recovery phase and need something tastier, and healthier than plain old rice, check out this at changinghabits.