Post-Gum Surgery Diet...Or Rather Lack of One

I don't know if anyone reading this (if anyone is reading...hello?) has had a mouth or gum surgery and experienced the not so wide variety of post-surgery foods available. Well if you haven't be prepared; the options are few and if you have specific food allergies, comme moi, they are even slimmer. Two days ago I had gum surgery, which itself was nothing really to complain about (until the last 20 minutes when the numbing shot wore off....ouch.), but the difficult part came when they handed me a packet of dietary and activity limitations for the next week of recovery.

For activities it basically read that I was to remain immobile for the first 2-3 days and then for the rest of the week doing minimal activity (NO working out!! Ahh!!). Of course I ignored this and have been out and about almost all day everyday so far. The results: just some bleeding and loose stitches..no biggie right? Totally plan on yoga tomorrow...can't keep me caged! However, in terms of diet restrictions, I have not been so free. For diet it essentially says a soft, alcohol free [no wine :,( ], cold meal plan for the week. Suggestions from the lovely pamphlet: "soft breads (gluten), soups (gluten), cooked cooled cereals (gluten), juice (yum!), and cooked mashed veggies (baby food??). No salads, crisp vegetables or fruit, nothing chewy or hot, no straws, spitting, carbonated drinks, or fried foods." Yup...

To accommodate my new diet needs, I went on a grocery shopping spree. Here's what I found: instant Jello pudding mix (vanilla and chocolate, sugar free/fat free), sugar free strawberry Jello (10 calories no fat!!), lower sugar maple and brown sugar instant oatmeal (I am okay with eating oats, however other gluten intolerant/celiacs may not be), Crispix cereal, Welch's light grape juice, Haagen Dazs raspberry sorbet, and Mott's sugar free plus calcium applesauce. Needless to say leaving the store I felt pretty good about my mostly healthy selection.When I got home, I set to work making the instant pudding (with rice milk so it was dairy free) mixes and then swirling them together to make a marble vanilla/chocolate pudding, and looking up interesting recipes that fit all the restrictions, new and old. I have had, so far, Crispix soaked in rice milk to make it mushy enough to eat, both the Jello cup and marble Jello pudding, oatmeal left to completely cool in the freezer before eating, Pad Thai noodles with wheat free-reduced sodium soy sauce chopped into ity bitty pieces with no crisp veggies, and a slice of gluten free bread torn into tiny pieces and topped with Tofutti dairy free cream cheese and tiny chunks of sun dried tomatoes, all topped off with a nice glass of grape juice. I've made out pretty well so far, although my calorie count has been semi-low some days (yesterday only hitting 500 something). To make up for the low calories diet, I've added a spoonful or two of reduced fat Jif peanut butter whenever I notice the calorie count drop. Tonight I fully intend on a nice scoop or 2 of Haagen Dazs sorbet for dinner...can't complain about that.

And now, I think I'll take a walk...shhh ; )