February 5, 2009
What to Eat when Chewing is a Pain
Mitsitam Cafe at the Museum of the American Indian in DC. Courtesy of Flickr user absentmindedprof
One of my best friends, a newish mom, asked a while ago if I could post something about baby-friendly foods—things that don’t require a lot of teeth. Ew, I thought, no thanks! I’m finicky about food texture, and I like my vegetables crisp, my pasta al dente, and my bagels chewy.
But in the throes of dental woes this week, I found myself rethinking the merits of soft foods. I hope you never find yourself in similar pain, dear reader, but just in case…I offer a few suggestions. (I think they should be baby-friendly as well, but I can really only attest to chewability.)
- Avocadoes. I’ve always loved them, so it’s no punishment to eat more. One of my favorite treats is simply half of a ripe avocado, mashed up a bit with a fork and eaten right out of its own skin, with a squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkle of sea salt and red pepper.
- Soup, which is both sippable and just plain comforting. Lately I’m addicted to the pumpkin-and-crabapple soup on the winter menu at Mitsitam, the cafe over at Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. (If you’re not close enough to go there and try it yourself, you can find the recipe here.) And I haven’t yet tried this spinach and zucchini soup recipe I found on the 101 Cookbooks blog, but it looks easy and delicious.
- I’ve also been enjoying muhammara, a spread/dip made from red peppers and walnuts. I played around with this Food & Wine recipe by using fig-infused vinegar instead of sherry vinegar, and soft wheat bread instead of white. It was a huge hit at my Super Bowl party, and the leftovers sure came in handy this week. Next time I make it, I’m going to try a version that incorporates pomegranate molasses, like this recipe featured by the Chocolate and Zucchini blog.
- Sweet potatoes, baked or steamed to tender perfection. Like this guy, I don’t think they need much dressing up.
- Yogurt, by itself or blended into a fruit smoothie. If you’re new to smoothies, a blog called The Pioneer Woman Cooks breaks it down step-by-step with photos (and I’m sure you could substitute other fruits if you don’t care for blueberries).
Other soft food suggestions? Your comments are welcome!
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Eggs would probably be a good bet. They are pretty soft when scrambled with cheese. Yum :)
Here in France many vegetables are served in purée form, and are adored by adults and kids alike, dental issues or no. In addition to the normal purée of potatoes, you can also make a great purée of apples and celery root, or parsnips and carrots, or spinach with a little cream, or winter squash and a splash of maple syrup, and so on practically forever. Your imagination is the only limit. I especially like to make purées of whatever leftover cooked vegetables I have in the fridge, then dollop them onto the plate as an ever-changing array of side dishes. Just a spoonful of two or three different purées on a plate automatically dresses it up and makes eating your vegetables more fun.
Fruit smoothies are dead easy, no recipe needed, no special blender needed. Just put the fruit in the blender and hit “go.”
The flavor and thickness will vary according to your ingredients. Bananas make them thick, melon makes them thin. You can also add yogurt and/or cottage cheese, which adds dairy and makes them thicker.
I advise against adding ice. Adding ice means you have to eat (drink?) the smoothie now or it turns way thin and watery. If you don’t add ice then you can have some now and some later.
My husband and I have been trying to eat more fruits and vegetables and last night for dinner (we had a late lunch) had baked apples with not too much sugar topped with greek yogurt. It was soft, warm and tasty.