That doesn’t sound like fun at all! Hope the weeks go by quickly and the result is good. Can you handle just a bit of texture like a chili with chopped meat broken up well? If so, that’s one idea. Here’s another which I just happened to make yesterday:

https://www.daringgourmet.com/goetta-cincinnati-sausage-grain-patties/

Packed with protein and whole grain, and tastes good, too! This was the first time I tried this particular Goetta recipe and I’m very happy with it. Two minor changes::

- I cooked the meats in water then defatted the water and used that for the 4 cups called for.

- I made it in a dutch oven, and ended up moving from stovetop to 300 oven to prevent scorching.

If your gums are tender even things that seem like the should be soft can be killer. Pâtés can be your friend. Braise the meat, potatoes and vegetables, or otherwise cook until soft, and grind them together. Use as a filling in soft dough, or hollowed out roasted zucchini, or just spread on bread. Season well to make up for the flavor you get from chewing. Vary it with different sauces.

Tofu is very versatile and soft - easy to eat. High in protein. Silken tofu is almost like custard and can easily be mixed with things you like to up the protein content.

Nut butters on soft bread should work as long as they are a smooth variety. Mix peanut butter with applesauce or apple butter to keep if from being so thick, spread it on soft bread.

Hummus is also a good source of protein and delicious!

Yams, baked until they are gooey soft...yum!

Having had extensive dental work myself, I have also had to go through the soft food phase. Both hummus and refried beans have a lot of protein. And meatballs or meatloaf are really easy to gum :-) Try tuna salad as well - just leave out any celery or pickles. And mashed potatoes with gravy is a big hit, as is just about any kind of soup, even those with meat, as the long, liquid cooking process tends to tenderize meat very well.

I found that the need for really soft food is relative :-) It depends on how sensitive your mouth is but I was eating more or less solid stuff in a just a few days.

How about Mac and cheese?

Hummus! How could I forget hummus! And I love tuna salad. Forgot all about that too. Mixing some almond butter with applesauce seems like a quick fix.

I find I am even more sore than when I wrote this post this morning. I woke up thinking, "Hey, this isn't so bad after all." But now my jaw aches all over and my face is swollen. But apparently that is typical. I went to a club meeting this morning and someone brought a noodle kugel. I couldn't eat it!

I have the retainer for 3 weeks or more. I'm sure the soreness will recede quickly but this retainer! I never realized the grinding surfaces of teeth mattered so much until they were covered by plastic.

Mac and cheese, noodles alfredo, egg custards.

Beans....lots of protein,scrambled eggs with spinach, mushrooms, cheese. Soup Soup Soup! You get a bit of meat or bean protein, veges, starch. If too lumpy, get your stick blender out and blend it to where you can handle it!

When my hubby had most of his teeth pulled, I had been freezing soup for a couple of months, so he didn't suffer much!

The first couple of days, though, don't be worried about just living on ice cream, gelato, jello, oatmeal etc..

Um.... Beans have lots of protein for vegetables, but not much compared to meat, and garbanzo beans (7%) have half the protein of black beans (15%). Tofu has about 10% protein. These are good nutritious things to eat. Just be aware of what they actually are.

Um, lots of people don't eat meat and do just fine getting plenty of protein from combinations of beans and grains; adding dairy makes it a breeze."The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA), which is the minimum amount you need to be healthy, is 0.8 grams per kilogram (0.36 grams per pound) of body weight per day—46 grams for an average woman. That equals as little as 10% of daily calories."
2 tablespoons of PB on bread packs 11 grams of protein

1/2 c of tofu is 10 g

1/4 c hummus is 3g

With just those 3 foods you'd get 1/2 of your daily requirement, add an egg and 1/2 cup Greek yogurt and you're over for the day, with 22 more grams = 47 grams protein with no meat or fish.

I was reminding people that these foods aren't primarily protein. Yes, handled correctly you can have plenty of proper protein in your diet without meat, but tofu isn't itself "protein", which implies mostly protein. There's protein in regular, non-legume or nut, vegetables, too. Compared to them, beans have a lot, but still average about 10%. The advantage of tofu is that soy is a complete protein. The bare minimum you cited is based on the amount of protein needed not to be sick from lack of protein. Most people need more to feel good and function well. Again, not an advertisement for meat. Just an interjection reminding people not to overstate the protein content of vegetative products. You need to eat a lot more quantity of them, and the right kinds, to get the optimum protein quality and content.

It's not cooking ;0), but my SIL had surgery last month (abdominal, not oral) and was told to go heavy on protein during her recovery period. The problem was, she wasn't feeling her best and heavy meaty or even eggy meals didn't appeal to her. She was told by her surgeon to buy Ensure or Boost and include at least a couple during her day. They come in a variety of formulas, from high protein to one with more calories. We did a taste test, she didn't object to Ensure in any of its flavors. I gave the Boost more stars, it had a better mouth feel for one, was more like drinking a glass of chocolate or strawberry milk.

Tapioca custard made with milk and eggs. While there doesn't appear to be a lot of food value to tapioca it does have properties that have a lot of value to the body. Then there is the whole milk/cream/ half-n-half and eggs that provide a lot of dairy goodness.

(Forgot to add: I'm talking about small pearl tapioca, not the ground-up instant stuff. )

I can't eat soy, so that's out.

Forgot about protein shakes. I seem to be forgetting a lot: must be a side effect from the anesthesia. I wish I'd anticipated this so I could have been more prepared. But I was not expecting the retainer.

Today I am in more pain, which they said to expect. Not feeling up to making anything. But I can at least whiz up a protein shake.

Be cautious of protein drinks; many rely on soy for some or all of the protein.

Linnea, are you allowed to use cold packs on your face (i.e., don't have to be in your mouth)? They can help you feel better. Moving around--getting your blood circulating--will also help speed healing.

Also, avoid nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, potatoes), which tend to promote inflammatory response, even though they're mighty tasty and cook down soft.

The brain fog thing may also be from the trauma of healing. Something my fellow artists notice when they have a major injury or surgery is that all of their creative energy seems to go to healing. They can do the chores part of the work, but can't do new and inventive until they're mostly healed. I find a similar effect just on clear thinking and memory.

Take care. Enjoy your shakes. Maybe tomorrow you'll be ready for another egg.

Well, again, I'm all about soup and have cooked and frozen bunches in the past for this kind of thing. You can get your veges, protein, starches all in one meal.

But!........ Shouldn't your Oral surgeon offer some nutritional advise? If you have Kaiser, maybe you could get an appointment with a nutritionist?

When SO had extensive dental work done I made Ina Gartens roasted vegetable soup. Being a meat eater,he was not a fan. But I thought it was delicious! And I am usually not a big soup person.

Cottage cheese or farmers cheese with add ins. Mashed or diced avacado, warmed applesauce, or a bit of any flavor jelly. I also use farmers cheese with cappy ham cut small , slice of provolone, and a dash of garlic powder. 30 seconds in micro melts cheese. Tastes like a calzone , minus the crust.

Olychick, my protein shakes are whey protein. I learned years ago to scrutinize everything for soy content.

Handout from oral surgeon just says eat a soft diet for a few days. But most people don't come out with a retainer, that's something peculiar to my case. I left a message for my regular dentist but have not heard back. This thing is almost impossible to pry out when I brush my teeth, too. And I have to do that. I hope he'll call back and tell me the magic trick for that.

plllog , I thought I'd get a lot done these last 2 days since I'd cleared my schedule of everything outside. Have done NOTHING.

Well, this too shall pass....

Linnea, I'm glad you asked about this. I'm in the same boat, but not for constructive reasons, like you. I went to the dentist from hell in December, and I still can't chew normal food. Some of the posters have suggested things I forgot about too. I think there's a tendency to eat too much carbohydrate. I usually don't even think about that, but so much soft stuff is sweet. Smooth refried beans with lots of cheese on top has been a favorite, and the incomplete proteins complement each other. Mashed avocado is great with lemon and salt. I think most of my protein has been coming from milk; luckily I like to drink milk. Overcooked vegetables are really pretty good too.

I hope you're much more comfortable soon.

Perfect timing for me. Dad had a tooth pulled by the oral surgeon yesterday. By afternoon, I gave him pea soup and a pudding. Dinner was scrambled eggs with lots of heavy cream, cheese and chopped spinach. This morning it was oatmeal and lunch will be lentil soup that I will smooth with the immersion blender. Dinner? Not sure yet. and I may make a bread pudding with lots of custard in it.

He looks like he was in a bar fight. Swollen jaw and bruised!

Twice baked potatoes are nicely filing and very easy to eat.