# ISO food that does not require chewing



## vyapti (Apr 26, 2006)

My wife is having a root canal in a couple days.  I would like to prepare a couple of "chew free" meals for her for the days following, preferrable something substantial (with a modicum of nutritional content).  I know that if I don't she'll eat nothing but tomato soup.  

Any ideas?


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## Caine (Apr 26, 2006)

I had a root canal in the morning, a sandwich and a apple for lunch, and macaroni with tomato sauce, meatball, Italian sausage, and crusty garlic bread for supper that same day, and women are more tolerable to pain than men are! But if you must, try 1/2 cup egg substitute, 1/2 cup soy milk, 1 cup cranberry juice, 1 cup ice cubes, 1 cup frozen strawberries, and 1/2 a banana, and give it a ride in the blender until smooth and creamy.


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## jpmcgrew (Apr 26, 2006)

Maybe some polenta with a tomato sauce and parmesan,pureed vegetatables,cream soups,rissoto,scrambled eggs,egg salad,tapioca,chocolate mousse,ice cream and so on.


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## Robo410 (Apr 26, 2006)

oyster stew is great (if you like oysters)  milk, butter, oysters and their liquor, green herbs, pepper, dash worcestershire and or hot sauce if you like

pureed soup...in chicken broth (canned) boil broccoli and cauliflower florets, potato diced and onion or shallot minced, until very soft...puree in blender food processor or with puree stick.  Add half and half (or cream) until desired texture and heat gently.  season if needed with salt and pepper and enjoy...

soft scrambled eggs...in a teflon sauce pan melt butter and add beaten /whipped eggs...cook over low / med heat stiring with a rubber spatula until gently "firmed" up.  season and serve.


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## grumblebee (Apr 26, 2006)

You can always get some cans of Ensure or Boost. They taste pretty good and contain complete nutrition for those who cant eat proper meals for whatever reason. I had it after I had some dental surgery. 

Just make sure its ice cold because warm Ensure is nasty!


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## amber (Apr 26, 2006)

Caine said:
			
		

> I had a root canal in the morning, a sandwich and a apple for lunch, and macaroni with tomato sauce, meatball, Italian sausage, and crusty garlic bread for supper that same day, and women are more tolerable to pain than men are! But if you must, try 1/2 cup egg substitute, 1/2 cup soy milk, 1 cup cranberry juice, 1 cup ice cubes, 1 cup frozen strawberries, and 1/2 a banana, and give it a ride in the blender until smooth and creamy.


 
I would advice against that diet after a root canal Your gums are too tender and can cause infection.

I would opt for an omelet with very soft cooked veggies of her choice, maybe a crepe, soup, french toast?


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## Caine (Apr 26, 2006)

amber said:
			
		

> I would advice against that diet after a root canal Your gums are too tender and can cause infection.
> 
> I would opt for an omelet with very soft cooked veggies of her choice, maybe a crepe, soup, french toast?


 
Did I forget to mention the Vicodin?


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## bethzaring (Apr 27, 2006)

How about;

Baked Custard or cornstarch puddings

glorified mashed potatoes/sweet potatoes, add butter, sour cream, s&p, cream cheese

creamed soups, like potato, corn chowder

milk shakes, smoothies, ice cream, orange juice, jello made with fruit juices


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## CharlieD (Apr 27, 2006)

Chicken soup with meat balls.  
Get the whole chicken. Take the breasts of. Make the soup stock out of dark meat and bones. Add meatballs. 

For the meat balls. I prefer to use meat grinder, but the food processor will do. 
2 breasts
1 medium onion
1 slice of white bread
1 large egg.

Grind everything together add salt and pepper to taste, mix it well, wet your hands and form the balls about ¾  to an inch in diameter, drop into boiling soup, continue to cook as you would usually make soup.

That is what my wife lived on after her wisdom teeth were pulled out.


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## Andy M. (Apr 27, 2006)

Almost any food + Blender = Food that doesn't require chewing.


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## GB (Apr 27, 2006)

Andy M. said:
			
		

> Almost any food + Blender = Food that doesn't require chewing.


MMMMM blended steak


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## Andy M. (Apr 27, 2006)

GB said:
			
		

> MMMMM blended steak


 
It's all about the taste!

How about blended Margaritas...


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## GB (Apr 27, 2006)

Andy M. said:
			
		

> How about blended Margaritas...


After enough of those I might enjoy a blended steak


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## auntieshelly (Apr 27, 2006)

I ate soft foods after my root canal for a few days.  There was little or no pain (I only took one ibuprofen), but be careful of foods that are too hot or too cold. Even though the nerves are gone from the tooth, the area around the tooth is tender and sensitive to hot and cold.  Hearty soups that are blended and thinned with broth are good. Even beef stew can be blended/pureed and served as a thick smooth soup. For breakfast, run the raw oatmeal through the blender or food processor and then cook.  It is much less chewy that way.  Serve with applesauce or mashed bananas.  Watch out for berries for awhile.  Those little seeds tend to get caught in the swollen tissue around the tooth. You and your wife will do fine!


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## Jikoni (Apr 27, 2006)

vyapti said:
			
		

> My wife is having a root canal in a couple days.  I would like to prepare a couple of "chew free" meals for her for the days following, preferrable something substantial (with a modicum of nutritional content).  I know that if I don't she'll eat nothing but tomato soup.
> 
> Any ideas?


All I can think of right now is how sweet you are to look after her so well.


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## BreezyCooking (Apr 27, 2006)

First off, she should definitely ask the oral surgeon about what she should or should not eat following the surgery.  As another poster mentioned, infection is a real possibility - it has nothing to do with "pain threshold".  Geesh.

That said, unless informed by a DOCTOR otherwise, I'd still stick with soft food items at a neutral temp  - niether too cold or too hot.  Lipton's noodle soup, puddings, custards, jello, perhaps some type of ground meat or tuna/noodle casserole, etc.


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## Caine (Apr 27, 2006)

amber said:
			
		

> I would advice against that diet after a root canal Your gums are too tender and can cause infection.


 
Uh, they drill a hole through your tooth, which is what removes the root, sometimes they will insert a pin to replace the root, then they close up the hole with a filling. Why would your gums get tender?


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## vyapti (Apr 27, 2006)

Jikoni said:
			
		

> All I can think of right now is how sweet you are to look after her so well.


Thank You.  Her birthday is later in the month and I've told her she gets the root canal for her gift 

Thanks, everyone, for your input.  It has been very helpful.  CharlieD, your soup looks good, bad teeth or not.


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## mudbug (Apr 27, 2006)

perfect excuse to eat ice cream for a few days - why ruin it?


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## urmaniac13 (Apr 27, 2006)

mudbug said:
			
		

> perfect excuse to eat ice cream for a few days - why ruin it?


 
I definetely second that!!  Ice cream made well with fresh milk and fresh fruits have actually good nutritional values (certainly better than some fast foods), indeed it's a popular lunch option for many Romans here.


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## CharlieD (Apr 27, 2006)

vyapti said:
			
		

> ... CharlieD, your soup looks good, bad teeth or not.


 
Thank you, it really is a good thing, kids love it too.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Apr 27, 2006)

Sooooo many good answers have been given.  I would think that the temperature of foods may be important as well.  Very cold things like ice cream may cause pain, while a cool gelatine desert would be soothing.  In the same vein, I would avoid very hot foods, opting for comfortably warm.  

For nutritional value, there are whole grain cereals such as oatmeal and farina (cream of wheat).  Bright veggies that can be cooked and mashed are easy to eat.  Examples are sweet potatoes, beets, rutabegga, etc.

Of course soups are a natural and are highly nutritions if made properly.  

For meats, go with foods like canned tuna or salmon, mixed with mayo, mustard, and onion powder, and maybe a touch of dill.  Pate's are good, if she likes them, as are sandwich spreads such as deviled ham, potted meat, and ground up bologna, when flavorings are added of course.

And as was said in a previous post, fruit smoothies are great.  I add carrot and firm, silken-tofu to mine, to add nutritional value.  I omit the ice.  Some fruits you can mix and match that go very well in smoothies are cantaloupe, peaches, appricots, apple, pear, pineapple, cherries, most berries, papaya, guava, banana, anything that will blend smooth.  You can even add such things as psillium husks to a smoothie to increase the fiber content.

And it's hard to beat a good shake or malt, or even a glass of milk with a touch of butterscotch, or chocolate flavoring.  And then, there's always eggnog, served warm or cool, with a bit of nutmeg on top.

Hope this helps.

Seeeeeeya;; Goodweed of the North


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## Lady C (Apr 27, 2006)

How about a protein shake - Blend in blender until smooth
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese or more to make it thick
1/2 to 1 banana
1/2 cup favorite fruit, frozen or fresh (blueberries, strawberries) or 2 tbsp of chocolate powder
water or milk as needed

Without the ice it isn't too hot or cold


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## luvs (Apr 27, 2006)

supplemental drinks are great, applesauce, mashed potatoes & gravy, farina, puddings, soups, pureed squash, shakes, etc.
i drink supplements when i'm not hungry. 
several foods can be pureed w/out being ucky, like fruits.


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## Caine (Apr 27, 2006)

Goodweed of the North said:
			
		

> Sooooo many good answers have been given. I would think that the temperature of foods may be important as well.


The root is what conveys the feeling of hot or cold from the tooth to the brain. No root, no feelings.


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## Michael in FtW (Apr 27, 2006)

Caine said:
			
		

> The root is what conveys the feeling of hot or cold from the tooth to the brain. No root, no feelings.


 
I agree with Caine. The big problem following any dental drilling is that you have collateral areas that are numbed and may be damaged by trying to eat solid foods because you can't feel it - such as biting a hunk out of your tongue.

A root canal is generally a "drill-n-fill" operation - just like getting a cavity filled except that they roto-rooter out the roots. The dentist should provide eating do's and don'ts. I've had 4 and all I was ever told was to not eat anything solid for 24 hours, and nothing as solid as a grilled steak for 48 (and that had to do with the fillings).

Trust me ... I loved the "ice cream" diet for 24 hours .... all the Chocolate Malts I could get away with (it's no fun trying to pull this off when you have a wife on a diet). 

Blender Gourmet Cuisine? Ah, just go down the "baby food" isle ... I found it very conforting food when I had my tonsils ripped out.

The thing with baby food is that it is bland - just add a little S&P, and maybe some butter ...


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## Yakuta (Apr 28, 2006)

I just had two of my lower wisdom tooth extracted.  Talk about pain and discomfort. I am not sure if a root canal hurts as much but I was in pain for almost a week and nothing felt right in my mouth.  It was sore for days.  

I second milk shakes and bananas.  Both of them don't require much chewing and fill you up.  Soup and the middle portion of soft white bread dipped in it worked well for me.


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## jpmcgrew (Apr 28, 2006)

You hafto be more careful when you have a tooth extracted as opposed to a root canal,root canals are filled right afterwards, an extracted tooth leaves an open wound which forms a clot to heal so in those first few days you dont want to suck through a straw or suck cigarettes and so on.If you lose that clot you could be in excrutiating pain as you the expose the live nerves that are still there.Root canels remove those nerves so no pain, however your gums could be quite tender afterwards.


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## Banana Brain (May 1, 2006)

A pureed meal? Like they serve in the baby food isle? That sounds naaaasty. I'd stick to soft foods like yogurt, apple sauce, pudding, corn grits, mashed sweet potatoes, etc. And soup, for every American meal there is, there's also a meal in a can for it. Seriously, name a meal. I'll find the soup for it. Pot Pie? Marie Calander's pot pie soup. Steak and Potatoes? Steak and potatoe soup.

And peanut-butter!


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## licia (May 1, 2006)

Something without seeds. I got a tomato seed in a pocket after root canal and thought it would kill me.


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