So Mrs. Cardigan couldn’t open her jaw this morning. She went to a dentist who told her she’s got severe episode of TMJ and recommends she ‘eat’ with a straw.
Apart from a Wendy’s Frosty, what other food suggestions might there be? I’m heading out to Meijer shortly.
Smoothies would be a good choice. You can add protein powder if necessary. Check your grocery store for frozen smoothie kits. They are a mix of frozen fruit that you put in a blender with OJ or milk. If they don’t have the kits, get a few bags of frozen fruits and make your own.
Just an additional aside, if she’s having a painful and stressful TMJ episode (which, well, duh) having some of the food being delicious and comforting may be a point to consider above and beyond just the nutrition.
So I’d suggest banana’s foster crumble shake.
3 ripe bananas, sliced lengthwise. Cook in a medium hot skillet with a bit of butter, flip once, then sprinkle a little bit of dark brown sugar, a touch of cinnamon, and (if health and circumstances allow) maybe a half shot of a nice dark rum, plus a small pinch of salt, cook until much of the alcohol is evaporated. Meanwhile, lightly toast say 1/3 a cup of instant oats (not that I’d eat such as instant oatmeal, but they’re a good ingredient), and 1/4 cup of your preferred nuts (pecan for me, walnuts for my wife, you know you).
Using a pretty powerful blender, start with a few cups of plain yogurt (full fat is my preference, yours may vary), and add the toasted nuts and oats, blending until smooth and then the bananas last (they won’t need much to get smooth) along with a touch of vanilla extract. Add a little milk or milk like product to get a consistency that works well with a straw, because otherwise it might be a bit thick. Add additional flavors at the end to suite tastes (more rum, cinnamon, sugar, what have you).
You’ll get some decent nutrition, but it’ll also be a comforting dessert option in a stressful situation.
The only green I’ve found that doesn’t work in a smoothie is cabbage. Yuck.
Avocado works well, too.
Yes, there are hundreds of canned nutrition drink choices. Most, I find, are not all that tasty. Some are down right disgusting. (I mean you “Tropical Pina-colada” you had such promise, and just lied)
So don’t buy a case of any flavor. Try, first.
I know nothing about TMJ.
But after surgery and general weakness, there’s a go-to food supplement recommended by my doctor called Ensure.
It’s kinda milk-shaky. Tastes okay, too.
One thing to keep in mind, those commercial supplement drinks are high in sugar. My BIL, who had type II diabetes, was drinking a lot of those because he thought they were healthy, and spiked his blood sugar dangerously.
The above recs for homemade smoothies in a blender are probably the best idea. You know exactly what’s going into them and can adjust ingredients for maximum nutrition and preferred tastes.
Yeah. I make smoothies with a scoop of protein powder (chocolate or vanilla - no weird flavours), some kefir (plain) and milk, half an avocado and some berries. Sometimes a bit of frozen spinach as well.
Premier Protein shakes have 30 gms protein and only 1 gm of sugar. They taste pretty good, too. Chocolate, chocolate mint, latte, and banana are my faves.