Help! My husband is having his jaw wired shut!!

[food girl]

Please help me. My DH is having a saggital-split osteotomy on Friday. His jaw will be wired shut for 3 - 6 weeks. I have ensure, boost and the ilk, but don't you think he will get tired of sweet stuff?

Any recipes for thin soups, smoothies, etc. will be greatly appreciated.

TIA,
Lisa

[SueK]

Wow, your husband sure has my sympathy. I think I would go nuts not being able to eat for that long!

Off the top of my head, how about a good tomato soup, or some type of beef consumme? I guess there's always V-8, too, so he can get his veggies.

Good luck to both of you and hang in there!
Sue

[emilycat]

Wow, what a great way to spend the holidays...ick! At least he won't fall victim to the dreaded holiday weight gain as easily!

I have many recipes for cream of various green veggie soups -- spinach, asparagus, both of which my parents love, a carrot/zucchini one that is especially yummy, so if any of those sound like your husband might like them, I'd be happy to post. Also, have you thought of the Curried Squash and Pear Bisque and the Tomato-Basil soups, both CL recipes? They're both delcious, as well.

[Jessica]

I make smoothies by freezing chunks of ripe banana, then whirring them in the blender with orange or orange-pineapple juice and sometimes a little strawberry yogurt. I make it thick but a few more blender pulses would thin it out.

[andrea]

yellow bell pepper soup is good, too! from cl spring '99?

[SusanD]

Actually, here's a good smoothie recipe that my mom told me about - 1 banana, 1 cup pineapple juice and 7 spinach leaves. It's a yummy way to get your green veggies!

[donleyk]

Food girl,

Your husband has my sympathy! I had my jaw wired shut for 6 weeks years ago. You'll be surprised at what he is going to ask to be put in the blender!

At the time I worked in the kitchen of a restaurant, too! Now, that's torture!

Seriously, though, any soup he likes can be made to accommodate. Good luck!

[food girl]

What great ideas! I hadn't thought of cream of asparagus or spinach! He likes soy milk and tofu, I need to get some of those too. I did buy WHOLE milk for him the other day, it felt weird to buy something that I scorn!!

My husband is about 160 usually, he is now 170 thanks to Pete's Wicked ale!

We both thank you very much!!

[christinew]

I too had my jaws wired shut 10 years ago. No worries. I even put macaroni and cheese in the blender. It was delicious. And I drank plenty of ensure. Best wishes to your husband. Time will pass quickly. And unfortunately I did not lose much weight

Oh, keep some wire cutters handy in the event he becomes nauseous.

Christine

[This message has been edited by christinew (edited 12-19-2000).]

[ginny177]

I had a similar situation a few years ago . My tongue was sewn to the roof of my mouth folowing a surgery. All swallowing was tricky. My mainstays were Ensure,Carnation Instant Breakfast, soups,junkets, and even jars of baby food if they were liquid enough. It was boring, but soups were the most enjoyable because the flavors varied so much. (And I did puree some mac/cheese...Great ! He has my sympathies. Wishing you botha speedy passage of the time!

[Wendy w]

Lisa,

I don't have any recipes or suggestions at the moment as everyone else has had excellent ones, although you may want to consider smoothies with plain yogurt. I'm just here to give words of support to you both. Hang in there!

Wendy

[lindrusso]

Oh boy! That doesn't sound fun at all!

If you want to really pack some nutrition into smoothies, you can use bananas, strawberries (I use the frozen kind, not fresh) a few ice cubes. Cover this mixture with a combo of OJ (I use the calcium kind) and vanilla soy milk. If you think your husband would freak about the soy milk, don't tell him - he'll never taste it! I also throw in some frozen vanilla yogurt or ice cream to sweeten a bit. My 6-year old loves these. When I make them, I make a big batch and freeze them in small, covered cups. Then I just pop them in the microwave to soften them up. They taste best fresh, but they're still good after freezing.

Others on this board have mentioned using wheat germ and yogurt in their smoothies as well.

[Susann]

Yikes-I hope everything goes ok. May I suggest the split pea soup w/rosemary? The recipe was posted on the BB,but if you can't find it, let me know and I will post it.

[Don]

Hi Lisa,

Please ask your doctor for a referral to a nutritionist. Given that your husband will be on a limited diet, you will want to make sure that he gets proper nutrition. Besides, most nutritionists have dealt with situations like this in the past, and they often have tons of recipe ideas. Unfortunately, doctors don't often think to make a referral, and patients don't often think to ask. Good luck!