Category: Recipes

Healthy Chocolate Pudding

Healthy Chocolate Pudding

Posted on by The Cleft Dentist

Tough times call for chocolate.

No doubt about it- this is a historical time for the world right now. With the coronavirus pandemic happening, a lot of us are spending more time at home.

As this is being written, many are probably scared, frustrated, and upset because cleft surgeries have been labeled as “non-urgent,” meaning that cleft lip repair you have been preparing months for has been postponed until who-knows-when. I can assure you, your craniofacial team is working hard trying to get these surgeries back up and running as soon as it is safe to do so. You are not alone! Reach out to your fellow cleft families on Facebook or in your community for support.

Meanwhile, here is a recipe that can help you:

  • indulge in some chocolate without feeling guilty
  • have as a post-surgery snack when surgeries are back on
  • use as a way to get some nutrition for your kiddos!
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Healthy Chocolate Pudding

No cooking necessary, no refined sugars, quick and easy.

Course Dessert
Prep Time 5 minutes
Servings 1 person
Author The Cleft Dentist

Ingredients

  • 1/2 banana
  • 2 tbsp cacao powder unsweetened
  • 2 tbsp almond butter
  • 1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
  • 2 tbsp oats
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • pinch salt

Instructions

  1. Pour all ingredients into a blender, and blend! Or, you can use a food processor.

  2. If you prefer, chilld for 25-30 mins in the refrigerator

Let me know if you have any requests or questions. Like it says in my About Me section, I’m a nutrition fanatic!

Please, everyone stay safe and healthy. Thinking of you all!

Nutrition-Packed Smoothie Bowl

Nutrition-Packed Smoothie Bowl

Posted on by The Cleft Dentist

Looking for a healthy recipe that is great post-surgery?

Look no further!

This is my go-to recipe for something quick, nutritious, and can be eaten after any kind of mouth surgery (or just on a random Saturday morning). 

If your child is small, and it is difficult to feed with a spoon, the following is a great option to squeeze the smoothie into his or her mouth. You’ll also have full control over the portion:  Squeasy Food Pouch

 

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Nutrition-Packed Smoothie Bowl

Perfect for that post-surgery food. The cold will feel good on the surgical sites, and the nutrition content is great for keeping energy up and bellies full.

Keyword Smoothie, Smoothie Bowl
Prep Time 20 minutes
Servings 1 person
Author The Cleft Dentist

Ingredients

  • 1 scoop protein powder Tone it Up protein powder is my go-to (can omit this if for a child)
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk almond or coconut work!
  • 1 medjool date remove pit
  • 1/4 cup frozen mango
  • 1 cup spinach
  • 1/2 frozen banana
  • 1/4 avocado
  • 1 tbsp flax seed meal

Instructions

  1. In a high speed blender, combine all ingredients and blend

  2. When smooth, serve!

Recipe Notes

This recipe will be loved by adults and kids alike! Feel free to substitute mango for blueberries, strawberries, or your favorite fruit.

Feel free to top with soft fruits and drizzle with honey!

The flaxseed meal in this recipe will help with the recovery from surgery for getting rid of bloating post-anesthesia!

I hope you enjoy the smoothie. The great thing about this is that you can disguise medicine in the smoothie too! If your child is being fussy about taking the medicine, go ahead and put the liquid right into the mix.

Foods after Cleft Palate Surgery

Foods after Cleft Palate Surgery

Posted on by The Cleft Dentist

Your baby’s cleft palate is repaired! It’s an exciting time, but it was so hard to get the baby to start eating solids before the repair. Many parents struggle with trying to figure out how to feed the baby after the palate surgery. 🍲

Before the cleft palate surgery

Some cleft palate children do better with small, soft foods before the palate repair. If your baby prefers soft foods over purees, the key is to make sure the food is not too smooth but also not too chunky for the little one. Using the back of the fork to mash these foods or a potato masher are perfect. The reason some cleft babies prefer soft foods over pureed are because it is harder for the soft foods to lodge into the cleft area. These foods include, but are not limited to: 

  • sweet potato
  • pasta
  • beans
  • vegetables
  • meat
  • bananas
  • pears
  • apples
  • scrambled eggs

Other babies prefer pureed foods.🥣 In that case, you would just steam or bake the above foods and puree them in a blender. The issue with pureed foods is they tend to go through the cleft and out of the nose. So if you are struggling with this, definitely try softer foods and you can research Baby-Led Weaning.

After the cleft palate surgery

You feel like you’ve finally mastered feeding your baby solid foods, and now you will have to change some things because of the cleft palate surgery.

But don’t worry! It’s only for a few weeks

And, you might find that after the repair, your baby will want to eat pretty much anything! For example, if your baby only wanted solid soft foods before, purees may be an option now that the repair is complete.

The cleft palate repair is a very important step and also a very exciting one.

After the repair, it is crucial that no: 👎

bottles, pacifiers, or fingers

touch the roof of the baby’s mouth. The baby should not chew on anything at all. This information is usually advised for the first 3 weeks, but every doctor is different.

When feeding the baby, use the side of the spoon to drip the liquid into the baby’s mouth so the spoon does not touch the palate. A small cup can also be used to drip the liquid into the baby’s mouth. Also, after each feeding, give the baby water to drink to rinse the surgical site. As always, nothing too hot, as this could cause damage to the surgical site.

First week

  • broth
  • milk
  • juice

Second week

  • yogurts
  • pureed baby foods
  • soft cereals

Third week

  • Resume normal foods…
  • just be careful!

The no-no’s (splints on the arms) should be worn for about 2 weeks to avoid any fingers in the mouth or the child putting any object in the mouth. The arm restraints must be worn at all times unless your doctor tells you otherwise.

Now for the fun stuff…

Let’s do a recipe!

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Pumpkin Chicken Baby Food Puree

Made with pumpkin, chicken, parsnips and ginger for a fun and nutritious take on the tastes of the season.

Course Main Course
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Servings 30 ounces
Author Michele Olivier

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/4 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
  • 1 parsnip peel & roughly chop
  • 1/4 inch ginger finely grated
  • 1-2 cups liquids water, breast milk, etc

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with tinfoil or a silicon mat.

  2. Lay a large piece of tin foil on top of a cutting board or counter. Place the chicken breast and parsnips onto the piece of foil. Wrap chicken and parsnips up tightly in the foil like a package, leaving the seams of the foil at the top. Place onto the baking sheet.

  3. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.

  4. Remove the chicken tin foil packet and let cool.

  5. Cut chicken into cubes.

  6. Place the chicken, parsnips, pumpkin and ginger into a blender or food processor and puree for 1-2 minutes, adding in 1/4 cup of liquid at a time if needed.

Recipe Notes

Fridge – store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Freezer – can be frozen for up to 4 months (this and this are my favorite freezer storage containers).

Babyfoode.com is one of my favorite resources for healthy, nutritious baby food and advice! It is not specifically for cleft babies, but just follow my guidelines above on how to prepare these foods, whether they are pureed or soft. Let’s look at a recipe for a pureed food!

What I Ate: the post-surgical soft food diet

What I Ate: the post-surgical soft food diet

Posted on by The Cleft Dentist

It is so important to make sure you have a well-balance diet, even though it may seem so limited with soft foods. You'll see how easy it is to get creative with what you can eat! It is ESSENTIAL to increase your protein intake to help with tissue healing.

Wednesday, March 28th

Day of Surgery

 

Post-surgery:                    

Image result for pressed juicery freeze chocolate & vanilla swirl

Pressed Juicery ice cream:

Vanilla Almond & Chocolate Almond- made of only almonds, dates, vanilla, and sea salt

 

Snack:

Mug Cake

Chocolate Mug Cake:

  • 1 scoop Protein Powder
  • 1 tbsp coconut flour
  • splash vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 cup milk (any you like)

You can either microwave this for 1 minute or eat as is. I like to eat as is. It tastes like cake batter!

 

Dinner:

Crockpot Sweet Potato Lentils

Crockpot Sweet Potato Lentils:  Serves 6

  • 3 large sweet potatoes
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 onion, minced
  • 2 tsp coriander, 2 tsp garam masala, 2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1.5 cups uncooked red lentils
  • 2 cups milk (any you like)
  • 1 cup water

Cook on LOW for 6 hours. This is great for the day of surgery, so you can just throw it all in a crockpot and not worry about it for later!

 

Thursday, March 29th

Day after surgery

 

Breakfast:

Rebbl

Rebbl Turmeric Golden- Milk:

Turmeric is great to have post-surgery because it helps with INFLAMMATION. I added some protein powder to this to make sure it was well-balanced.

You can buy this at Whole Foods or on Amazon.

 

Snack:

Mug Cake

Chocolate Mug Cake: recipe can be found above

 

Lunch:

Smoothie Bowl

Green Smoothie Bowl:

  • 1 cup spinach
  • 1 scoop protein powder
  • 1/2 frozen banana
  • 1 tbsp. peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup strawberries

Topped with: 1 tsp honey, 1 tsp tahini

Blend altogether!

 I like smoothie bowls because it feels more substantial than just drinking a smoothie. Plus, remember, no straws during this time! It's perfect to top it off with soft foods, and then it feels more like a meal.

Snack:

Banana Bread

Soft Banana Bread*:

  • 3 medium ripe bananas
  • 1/2 cup creamy almond butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbsp. honey
  • splash vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup coconut flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • sprinkle cinnamon

Bake at 350º for 30-40 minutes. Topped with honey and creamy peanut butter.

*Recipe from Rachl Mansfield

 This bread is seriously so soft and delicious. Be careful with your toppings and make sure they are smooth and soft enough to do minimal chewing and easy to swallow.

Dinner:

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

 

Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Soup:

Recipe can be found HERE

You already know how I feel about this recipe. It's SO good. It's also surprisingly filling, so one bowl of this one, and you are set! Make sure you give it a good blend so there are no surprises when you're eating.

Hope you got some new ideas!

I just wanted to show 2 days of a soft food diet. You can get really creative with it! If you do not want to use protein powder, or the child is too young for the protein powder, I would suggest using yogurt, oats, hemp seeds, or flax seeds as a substitution.

Feel free to leave me a comment below with any questions you have or any other suggestions you'd like to know for some soft-food recipes. I have many more! I'll be posting them periodically in the Recipes section of the blog.

Also, healing has been going well! I'm still sticking to a soft-food diet to not disturb the implants. I'm also taking Osteoven supplements to help with bone formation!

What do you want to know about next? Visit my Requests page, and drop me a comment!

 

Healthy Recipe for Healing

Healthy Recipe for Healing

Posted on by The Cleft Dentist

Sick of ice cream & smoothies while healing?

I know the feeling! While getting a quick milkshake and eating it with the spoon was always an after-surgery must-have for me, it got old real quick. And so did eating marinara sauce straight out of the jar to avoid pulling stitches or damaging any work that was done during my operation.

My mom would make me lots of soup  that was mostly broth to avoid ruining any intraoral sutures. I also remember feeling super creative when I mixed ricotta cheese with marinara sauce and ate that all day long .

I recently had an unexpected surgery in relation to my cleft (we will dive into that topic later on ), and I knew this time had to be different with food, or I would go crazy. I found and created many recipes during my healing, and I am so excited to share them with you. For now, here is my favorite.* My husband and I went NUTS over this one for how easy it was. When we were feeling extra lazy, we would make it in the crockpot after roasting the red pepper .

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Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup

Sometimes, you just need comfort food in your life. But comfort doesn’t have to mean unhealthy. Such is the case with this healthy yet insanely creamy red pepper tomato soup!

If you have 30 minutes, you can make this simple, nutrient-rich soup that’s perfect for chillier days or when you just need a comforting bowl of soup. Or if you made a grilled cheeze and need a dipping companion. Either way, we’ve got you covered!

Course Main Course, Side Dish, Snack, Soup
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 161 kcal
Author Minimalist Baker

Ingredients

  • 2 large red bell peppers left whole
  • 1 28 ounce can crushed or peeled tomatoes in juices
  • 1 6 ounce can tomato paste
  • 1 cup water sup up to half with coconut milk for creamier soup
  • 1 14 ounce can light coconut milk use full fat for creamier soup
  • 1.5 tbsp dried dill
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • .5 tsp sea salt
  • .5 tsp black pepper
  • 3-4 tbsp coconut sugar
  • pinch red pepper flake optional for heat

Instructions

  1.  Roast red peppers in a 500 degree F oven on a foil-lined baking sheet until tender & charred on all sides (about 10-15 minutes in oven). Then wrap in foil to steam for a few minutes.

  2.  In the meantime, add remaining soup ingredients to a large pot and bring to a simmer. Then unwrap red peppers, let cool to the touch, and remove charred outer skin, seeds, and stems. Add to soup.

  3. Transfer to blender or use immersion blender to puree soup. Then transfer back to saucepan/pot and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more coconut sugar to sweeten, red pepper flake for heat, basil or dill for earthiness, garlic powder for overall flavor, or salt for saltiness.

  4. Let simmer on low for at least 10 more minutes. The longer it simmers, the deeper the flavor develops.

  5. Serve as is or with some nutritional yeast on top for protein.

  6. Leftovers will keep covered in the refrigerator for 4-5 days or the freezer for 1 month.

Recipe Notes

Recipe from Minimalist Baker website. 

*from Minimalist Baker.