Wisdom tooth wisdom: Smoothie recipes and skincare FYIs

tl;dr - Having your wisdom teeth removed sucks. Here are a few soft food recipes that helped me get through wisdom tooth surgery, and an overview of how I kept my problem skin at bay during recovery.

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Life update: I just had my wisdom teeth removed.

Oral surgery is no fun (underneath that blue compress are some super swollen cheeks), but getting to eat my favorite soft foods has made the recovery a lot less painful. Here are some ideas on how make the most out of the post-op period with yummy soft foods and a simple skincare routine. Please note I am not a licensed oral surgeon, and I am offering suggestions based solely on my recent wisdom tooth extraction experience.

Post-op soft foods: Purees, soups, smoothies
After oral surgery, you're supposed to eat soft foods that don't require chewing so the incisions in your mouth can heal. I love pureed food anyway, so I went a little crazy in the kitchen before surgery, making creamy tomato-onion soup, cauliflower-garlic soup, and mashed potatoes. Wanting to keep up my veggie intake, I pureed spinach into all of these as well. Thanks, Pinterest!

Amid my soup-making frenzy, I didn't realize was how nauseous I would feel after surgery (nausea can be a side-effect of anesthesia). As a result, I barely touched the tomato-onion and cauliflower-garlic soups - they were too spicy for my sensitive post-op stomach. I needed bland food. So I ate a lot of mashed potatoes right after surgery, and when I got bored with that, I made plain rice congee and blended it to smithereens. Plain silken tofu was great too for the protein. I added dashes of soy sauce, tsuyu, and sesame oil for flavor. Nothing gourmet, but it kept me nourished and helped me heal.

Being limited to soft foods also gave me the opportunity to experiment with smoothies. I've made green smoothies and rainbow smoothies before - this time around, I discovered two new smoothie recipes (fruity mango and creamy almond-banana) that are so tasty, I'll continue making them well after I'm done recovering. Below, you can see the fruity mango smoothie in progress on the left and the finished product on the right (the green stuff is the same smoothie with some spinach blended into it).

Two tools that came in handy for all my post-op foods: this Cuisinart immersion stick blender and Blendtec blender from Amazon. I used the stick blender to puree anything hot and used the Blendtec for all my cold smoothies.

Summary of things I ate while in recovery:

• Mashed potatoes
• Plain rice congee blended with soy sauce and sesame oil
• Smoothies with zero berry or seed ingredients
• Silken tofu with tsuyu, soy sauce, and sesame oil
• Unsweetened applesauce
• Plain yogurt with honey
• Kefir with honey
• Melted cheddar cheese on its own
• Green tea, vanilla, and coffee ice creams

Post-op food tips:

• Prepare at least one sweet and one savory soft food before surgery so they'll be ready when you come home
• When cooking, minimize spices and err on the side of blandness in case you have post-op nausea (potatoes and rice are great, and you can always add hot sauce later if you're feeling up to it)
• Avoid eating anything that could get lodged in the socket where the tooth used to be: no coarse-ground pepper, un-blended nuts, fruit/vegetable peels, or small-seeded fruits like strawberries
• Don't use a straw while you're in recovery - it could dislodge the blood clot you need to heal the socket where the tooth used to be
• Avoid very hot foods that could irritate the surgical site

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And here are the recipes!

Tropical fruit green smoothie
Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup frozen mango
• 3/4 cup frozen pineapple
• 1 banana (fresh or frozen)
• 1/4 cup apple juice
• 1 scoop mango sorbet
• 1/4 cup plain full-fat yogurt
• 2 large handfuls of spinach

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend to desired consistency.

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Creamy banana-almond smoothie
Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 bananas (fresh or frozen)
• 3 tablespoons smooth almond butter
• Dash of vanilla extract
• Splash of milk (dairy milk or non-dairy milk or your choice)

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend to desired consistency.

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Mashed potatoes (adapted from Epicurious)
Makes 3-4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 cups canned chicken broth
• 2 large handfuls of washed and drained baby spinach
• 1 cup (about) milk (dairy milk or non-dairy milk of your choice)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• Salt to taste

Combine potatoes and broth in heavy 2-quart saucepan. Cover and simmer; add spinach at the 20-minute mark. Continue simmering until potatoes are very tender, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes from the beginning. Let mixture cool slightly. Puree potato-spinach mixture with a stick blender. Return potatoes to saucepan. Stir in enough milk to thin to desired consistency. Mix in butter. Bring to simmer. Remove from heat and mix in 1/3 cup sour cream. Season with salt.

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Blended rice congee
Makes 2-3 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white calrose rice
• 5 cups water
• Soy sauce, tsuyu, and sesame oil to taste

Place rice and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Cook until rice is very soft and water is opaque - about 20 minutes. Puree the congee with a stick blender. Add soy sauce and sesame oil to taste.

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Post-op skincare: The simpler, the better
I was worried about my skin after surgery because my doctor told me one of the anti-swelling meds would give me acne. Plus, I had no idea what post-op swollen cheeks would mean for my skin. I was too woozy in the days after the procedure to keep up a full skincare routine, so I narrowed it down to three products: facial wipes, moisturizer, and sunscreen (our apartment gets a ton of natural light and I'm very sun-sensitive even if I'm indoors all day). I know using facial wipes alone without a proper wash is a big no-no, but I didn't wear makeup during recovery, plus it was uncomfortable to lean over to wash my face after surgery (too much blood rushing to the head), so I risked it for a few days. I'm happy to report that I didn't get any new pimples since the surgery; I'm hopeful that the simplicity of this routine made it possible for me to keep up with it as I recovered.

I'm now in my fifth day after surgery, and I've graduated to a beefier routine with more active anti-acne and anti-wrinkle powerhouses. I'm especially loving NERD Skincare Acne Treatment Lotion, a gentle sulphur-based liquid that feels like a gentle, odorless toner. I used it daily leading up to the surgery, which also may have been why I avoided a post-op breakout. #notanad

Skincare regimen on days 1-2 post-op:

• Cleanse: The Face Shop Rice Oil Bright Cleanser
• Moisturize: L'Occitane Immortelle Precious Cream
• Protect: Clarins V Plus HP SPF 40 Daily Shield Mineral Sunscreen (discontinued - waiting to see if La Roche Posay Anthelios Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50 is a viable replacement)

Skincare regimen on day 3 and onward post-op:

• Oil cleanse: The Face Shop Rice Oil Bright Cleanser
• Foam cleanse: Senka Perfect Whip Foam Cleanser
• Tone: L'Occitane Immortelle Essential Water
• Treat and prevent acne: NERD Skincare Acne Treatment Lotion
• Moisturize: L'Occitane Immortelle Precious Cream
• Protect: Clarins V Plus HP SPF 40 Daily Shield Mineral Sunscreen

Have you had your wisdom teeth out? What was helpful during your recovery?