What to Eat When You Get Your Wisdom Teeth Out-Day 4

Breakfast

Not getting much sleep the night before, I woke up tired and in pain. Going downstairs, I immediately went on my computer to distract myself, not in the mood to eat at all. The day before, my mom put the crepes into the fridge, so we had an easy fix the next morning. Microwaving the crepes made it easier to eat, as they became softer. On the side I had a yoghurt, a handful of raspberries, and a glass of orange juice.

Lunch

Appetite is one thing I lack during this recovery. I guess it is due to the pain and swelling. My mom noticed this, and made sure that I ate, because it could prove just as bad if I didn't. For lunch, she fried the root vegetables from the night before (see Day 3), added some onions, and fried an egg separately  She added some ketchup to the side for taste.

Dinner

For dinner, my dad decided to surprise me with a zucchini and ground meat dish. The zucchini was soft enough to bite into with my front teeth, and filling enough so it didn't leave me hungry. I don't have the procedure, as he didn't record them but the ingredients are as follows:

1/2 yellow onion, diced

2 lb lean ground beef

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbs dried oregano

2 medium (6"-8") zucchini, diced

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1/2 tsp sea salt (optional)

-Sema

What to Eat When You Get Your Wisdom Teeth Out- Day 3

Breakfast

I had scrambled eggs, an easy and edible quick-fix. It was also all I had an appetite for. My cheeks were still swollen, and I was unable to open my wide enough to get hard foods in. This was a major set-back, because at that point I had had enough with the food I was able to eat. At least the eggs gave me a sense of 'normalcy.' I had a yogurt as a snack later on.

Lunch

For lunch she made crepes with cream and they were delicious. When she buys gluten-free flour she always freezes it. That is how she could easily go to the freezer and pick up a gf waffle mix. 

It felt heavenly to bite into a soft crepe with a dash of cream on top.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1 1/4 cups whole milk or half-and-half

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 cup gluten-free flour mixture 

1 tablespoon melted butter

Dash salt

3 tablespoons stick butter

Procedure:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk (or half-and-half).

2. Add the sugar and whisk to blend it in.

3. Stir in the flour mixture until the batter is smooth.

4. Add the melted butter,stirring with a whisk just until blended.

5. Tilt the pan quickly so the batter is evenly distributed.

Dinner

For dinner, my mom made a cod dish. The frozen cod filets are from Sam's Club, and can be baked, broiled, pan fried, or poached. In our case, my mom poached it. It was soft enough to eat, and delicious enough to enjoy! On the side, she prepared an avocado puree and some boiled vegetables.

Root Vegetables:

Potatoes, rutabarga and carrots.

How to prepare the root vegetables:
1. Wash and peel root vegetables.
2. Cut them into smaller cubes.

3. Add all vegetable to a pot of water.
4. Make sure the vegetables are covered with water.
5. Bring to a boil and boil until the vegetables are soft enough to eat. (Approx. 20 min)

How to prepare the cod:

1. Rinse the frozen cod filet under running water and path it dry with a paper towel to absorb any access water.

2. Cover the cod filets completely with water.

3. Add bay leaves and 1 tbs of salt. 

4. Bring the filets to a boil over high heat then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 7 minutes. 

5. Your cod fillets are ready when they are opaque and flake easily.

The internal temperature of the cod filet should be 175 degrees F. 

How to prepare the avocado puree:

3/4 cup sour cream or low-fat sour cream

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon salt

1. In a food processor (or however you’d like to prepare it), puree the avocado until it is completely smooth. 

2. Mix together the avocado puree, sour cream, onion powder, salt, and 2 ½ tablespoons of chopped chives.

3. Transfer the dip to a serving bowl and garnish with the remaining chives. 

What to Eat When You Get Your Wisdom Teeth Out- Day 2

Breakfast

Getting no sleep the night before, I woke up very swollen and in pain. Having no appetite due to this, I wasn't in the mood to eat. My mom prepared a homemade smoothie made out of homemade yogurt, one banana and strawberries. To drink I had a glass of orange juice.

Lunch

Around noon, hunger crept up on me. I was really not in the mood for a yoghurt or smoothie, so we looked around the pantry and came up with some ready-made Pad Thai noodles. It was very easy to make (just follow the instructions on the box). As a side, my mom mashed up an avocado, adding a pinch of salt to make it a salty snack.

Dinner

I had no appetite for dinner. My mom was planning to make some chicken soup, as she believes it has "healing powers." Here is a recipe if you are looking to make something:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/homemade-chicken-soup/detail.aspx

Later that night, around ten o'clock, my mom prepared some gluten-free oatmeal. She insisted I ate, as I hadn't had any dinner earlier. It was an easy food to eat, as it was soft and filling. (Also, it wasn't soup ;) ) Instead of hot water, my mom uses milk, making it sweet and creamy. We both enjoyed it as we sate back and watched a movie!

Here is the link to the instant gluten-free oatmeal we used. We used the original kind, adding milk and sugar to it. We then cooked it in the microwave for about a minute. A real quickfix :). 

http://ecoheavenllc.com/Eco-Planet/Gluten_Free_Instant_Oatmeal.html

-Sema

What to Eat When You Get Your Wisdom Teeth Out- Day 1

The oral surgeon said to eat cold soft items, so the day before I got my wisdom teeth out, my mom and I went to the grocery store. We bought ice cream, sherbet, apple sauce and different kinds of yogurt. When I came home from getting my wisdom teeth out, my cheeks were swollen and my tongue was numb, so I was unable to eat anything for about 2 hours. After I regained senses in my lips and tongue, I feasted on yoghurt and ice cream. I'm not much of a sweet tooth, so by dinnertime I was sick of those items. My mom looked around the pantry for something I could eat. She came up with this ready made gluten-free cheddar potato soup from Bear Creek, which tasted spectacular. The instructions are as follows:

1. Bring 8 cups of water to a rolling boil.

2. Whisk in soup mix.

3. Reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered 15 minutes while stirring occasionally.

4. Salt and pepper to taste.

My mom decided to strain the soup after cooking it to ensure that it wouldn't be hard for me to eat. Then she chilled it, added some mint and a candle to the serving plate and voila – we had a party tray! 

Here is a link to some great cold soup recipes that was posted in the New York Times Magazine.

Also, next time you are out at the grocery store in the soup aisle, look for ready-made gluten-free soups. It's a nice alternative if you don't have enough time to make it from scratch.

-Sema

The Elephant Bar

The other day, my younger brother and I decided to take a walk down to Michaels, which is about a mile away. We packed water and a snack (always essential), and headed out the door. It felt great to get out of the house and actually walk somewhere. After stopping at Michaels to pick up a few things, we realized it was about lunchtime. I looked around, and found a restaurant right next to Michaels, but decided it was a bit too pricy and elegant for us. (We weren't exactly dressed up.) We kept walking down the sidewalk until we saw Chick-Fil-A. There are a few gluten free options there, like the grilled chicken salad, but the line was so long that we decided to skip it. It was quite some time before we got to another place to eat. We kept walking down until a restaurant named The Elephant Bar came up. I've been there before, so I know of their diverse gluten free menu. Our meal was healthy and wholesome, and I am very glad we went that extra mile (literally) for it.

-Sema

Simit

Simit is a Turkish delicacy like the American bagel.

Ingredients:

1 cup of sesame seeds

3 cups of Augason Farms Gluten-free French bread mix (or any other gluten-free bread mix)

400 grams of tapioca starch (14 oz)

1/4 cup Lukewarm water

2 tablespoons of yeast

1/4 cup Molasses (it is available from Middle Eastern grocery stores)

Procedure:

Preheat oven it 375 degrees F.

Toast the sesame on the pan or oven, be careful not to burn it.

Mix the  GF French Bread Mix, tapioca starch, and the lukewarm water together.

Cut the dough into pieces.

Roll the individual pieces out into a strip.

Fold the strip over.









Twist the two pieces together.

 Pinch the dough in the end to attach them together.

Brush on the molasses, and dunk the dough into the sesame seeds.

Let it rise ½ an hour to 40 minutes.

Put it into the oven.

Bake until they are crispy on the outside.

Enjoy!!! Special thanks to my dad for helping out!
-Sema

Is Gluten Free Gross?

Many people view eating gluten free as gross, and don't want to try anything. For example, at school, I'll take out my sandwich or something to that effect at lunch. People will immediately ask me: is that gluten free? I'll raise an eyebrow at them, wondering why in the world it wouldn't be. As soon as I say yes, they cringe or get a discontent look on their face. I just shrug and go on eating my lunch, thinking how much they are missing out on. Eating gluten free is not hard at all, and quite frankly, I don't even notice the "difference" anymore. This blog shows a positive outlook on the gluten free diet and demonstrates how easy it really is.

-Sema