Peter's Delicious, Nutritious Recipes for Recovery

POST OPERATION

Peter’s Delicious, Nutritious Recipes

for Recovery

Introduction:

What Matters to me is helping others, especially those

who have the same challenges as me. I was born with a

unilateral cle lip and palate. Since the age of 4 months,

I’ve had 8 operations on my mouth, nose and ears for

hearing. Doctors told me I could not bite, chew or suck on a

straw while I recovered. I had to keep my mouth still while I

healed. My family was given the job of finding foods I could

eat without using my jaw. The answer was a great kitchen

appliance most people have at home – a blender. Now

my favorite foods could be blenderized, so I didn’t have

to miss out on almost anything. And if you’re wondering

how I swallowed all the food, a large oral-feeding syringe

with a big hole at the tip made it easy. If you can’t aord a

blender, people are always very willing to lend theirs for a

couple of months.

Healthy eating has always been important in my house so

when I was still able to eat a variety of nutritious foods that

also tasted great, my recoveries became that much easier.

My parents have always given me a lot of love, and taught

me about caring for others. Their eorts to find me edible,

delicious food during my recoveries were one way they

showed their love for me. And when I thought about that

and our years of healthy eating, the idea for this cookbook

arrived.

So this is what I wanted to share with

you - a book of blenderized foods

that are delicious whether you are

recovering from an operation or just

hungry. Maybe your mouth is sore

aer seeing the dentist, or maybe you

are a lot older and don’t have any

teeth at all. I hope you’ll find a variety

of foods in this book to enjoy. I have

tried to include a selection of recipes

for every meal of the day: porridges,

soups, stews, smoothies and healthy

desserts.

My Surgery:

Day 1 to Day 3 - Aer my bone gra surgery I was on clear

liquids for 3 days.

I was ONLY allowed to have water, clear soup broth, tea

(with no milk/cream), apple, cranberry and/or white grape

juice (no pulp), clear jelly, popsicles (but not on a stick as

you could damage your surgery and no bits of fruit in them),

clear sodas, sports drinks and rehydrating drinks.

Day 4 to 6/8 weeks - No chewing or biting at all. You must

be able to swallow your food without chewing and if its

too hard to swallow, then it needs to be blended again

into something more liquid. Some people cannot aord a

blender so they need to mash the food very well by hand

and then add liquid like water, juice, gravy, cream, milk (nut

milks, coconut milk) to make it so and easy to swallow.

I suggest using a small plastic spoon so you don’t have to

open your mouth too wide and if you accidentally bang

your teeth it wont be as hard as a metal spoon.

We figured out that it was much easier to continue using

a large, oral syringe that we initially got from the hospital,

and then to buy more from the pharmacy. Aer a while the

syringes started to stick and then we knew it was time for a

new one. It’s a lot easier to use a syringe if someone helps

you by holding it and slowly pushing the plunger while you

swallow.

POST OPERATION

Peter’s Delicious, Nutritious Recipes

for Recovery

All money raised through the sale of this

e-Book will be donated to charities like

LCCA, Clapa, Smile Train, Changing Faces

and other charities that oer medical

treatment and support to people with

facial disfigurements all over world.

If you cannot aord to make a donation,

please enjoy these recipes anyway.

Notes:

These are some my aer-care guidelines,

following my bone gra from my hip to

my gum line. Please ask your doctor,

nurse or nutritionist if you need something

dierent.

Oral Hygiene:

It is important to note that if you’ve

had any sort of operation in your

mouth you should keep the area as

clean as possible and observe hygiene

guidelines from your doctor or dentist.

These guidelines usually include

rinsing your mouth with an antiseptic

solution twice a day and using a water

and salt mixture aer every meal, as

sometimes you can’t brush your teeth

for a long time aer surgery. My mom

brushed my teeth on the opposite side

of the surgery for weeks with a small,

so toothbrush.

I was not allowed to have any crunchy, chewy, hard or sharp

foods as they can destroy the stitches and move the bone

gra, which would make the surgery fail.

For example, I couldn’t have:

• Bread (especially whole grain)

• Cereal

• Fried rice or noodles

• Crisps

• Bacon

• Nuts

• Crackers

• Candy

But I did have a lot of smoothies. All the smoothies in my

cookbook follow the advice I was given. They don’t contain

any of the following:

• Seeds (which can get stuck in the wound)

• Whole pieces of fruit

• Fruits that have seeds

• Raw vegetables.

Food Allergies: Please be aware that we have tried to

exclude foods that commonly trigger allergy responses. The

exception is one recipe with peanut butter. Only you know

what foods are best avoided.

Consistency: Each recipe recommends a quantity of liquids.

Some people may need their soups, smoothies and stews

with more or less liquid. Please change the quantities to

best suit you.

Stews for the family: Sometimes we made stews for the

whole family and only blended the portion for me. But

mostly we all had blended food. We even made a stew with

turkey for Thanksgiving!

Keeping weight on: We were told when we le the hospital

that a lot of people lose too much weight during the

recovery process and struggle to get enough protein, fats

and carbohydrates. I didn’t lose any weight by eating the

delicious food in this book and I looked very healthy, with

nice red cheeks. These recipes are for feeling full, keeping

weight on and not for detoxing. Wherever possible, we used

full fat milks, yoghurts, and tins of full fat coconut milk.

Also, it is important to find a protein powder you like to

ensure you get enough protein during your recovery. This is

best added to smoothies.

Prepare in advance: A practical idea is to cook and freeze

these foods in advance. Then, when you are busy and don’t

have time to cook you can just open the freezer and defrost

something.

Travel: You can fill 100ml containers with your culinary

creations, put them in plastic bags, and take them on

planes as long as you can show security an explanatory

letter from your doctor. You may need more than one

plastic bag!

We used flasks like these for going on trips and they are

useful as they keep food very hot or cold. We even travelled

with them in the suitcases in the main hold of the plane so

that we had instant food on the other side. Great for school

or work lunch as well.

Eating out: We found restaurants were really helpful when

we asked them to make me soups and smoothies. It was

only a matter of telling them what I could eat. The kitchen

took care of the rest.

Other utensils: If you don’t have a blender you will have to

mash your food until it is very so which means you really

need to overcook it. Put it through a strainer to make sure

you get rid of the small bits.

Sometimes I wake up in the morning really hungry. I was

probably dreaming of this scrumptious porridge all night!

Yummy Porridge

1 cup Oats

2 Apples, peeled and cored

¼ C Coconut Milk

1/8 TBS Cinnamon

1 Banana

1 TBS honey

Boil oats and apple until really so, add to the blender

along with the remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth.

Bone Broth

During most of my operations I was only allowed clear

liquids for the first three days. This bone broth, a kind of

clear soup, was a welcome change from all that apple juice,

grape juice and water.

Everyone has heard that chicken soup is good for you

when you have a cold. In fact, one of the nutrients found in

chicken broth, cysteine, is very similar to one to be found in

bronchitis drugs you buy at the pharmacy. But this one has

the advantage of being completely natural.

Here’s an interesting fact. In the Far East broth it is believed

to be so important for healing it is prescribed to anyone

with broken bones. Bone broth contains a lot of collagen,

a kind of protein that occurs naturally in many parts of our

body. It acts to support and strengthen muscles and makes

up bones, teeth and cartilage to name just a few. So if you

are ever unlucky enough to break a bone don’t forget this

soup!

If you don’t feel like making your own broth you can buy it

in powdered form in dierent flavors.

What you need:

If you make your own stock you will be getting a much

healthier soup than one made with stock cubes. It can also

act as a stock for other dishes featured in this book.

Here’s what you need to make bone broth:

• Stockpot with two handles

• Colander or Strainer

• Long Handled spoon

• Fresh, raw bones to fill your cooking pot 2/3 full.

Mixing poultry and meat bones is fine. Go for the

healthiest bones you can find – organic and free

range are best. Animals raised in feed lots or cages

can contain chemicals that aren’t good for you.

• 1 piece of dried Kombu Seaweed

• 1 TBS apple cider vinegar/lemon juice

• Onions, Carrots, Leeks, Garlic, Celery

• 2 Bay Leaves

Breakfast Soups and Stews

Recipe:

Put your raw bones in a large pot of filtered water. Use

enough to cover the bones.

Add a piece of dry Kombu Seaweed,1 TBS apple cider

vinegar (1 TBS lemon juice if you don’t vinegar) and bring

them to boil. The vinegar helps pull the healthy minerals

out of the bones.

While it is boiling, roughly cut the vegetables and add them

to the pot, along with 2 bay leaves. Reduce the heat to

simmer and keep it at simmer for about 12 hours. Add more

water when needed. Partially cover it with a lid.

Please note, you need to continually skim the brown foam

o the top as you see it developing. You can leave the pot

on the stove top as it happily simmers away.

Aer 6 hours, take the bones out of the pot and put

them on the chopping board to smash them so that the

important marrow gets released. You can do this with a

meat tenderizer, which looks like a square hammer. Put

everything back in the pot.

Aer 12 hours, cool it down and drain through a sieve.

During the first 3 days aer my surgery we drained it

through a nut milk bag as well to make doubly sure there

were no tiny bits.

Keep some broth to make your recipes and put the leover

amount in ice cube trays and freeze.

Once frozen, pop them into a Ziploc bag until you have an

entire bag of frozen iced stock cubes. This is a very handy

way to add the broth to your soups or stews.

Meriam’s Soup

500 gm Sweet Potato, peeled and chopped

3 Leeks

1 pkt/4 oz Watercress

2 Carrots

3 Celery sticks

1 Red Onion

3 Cloves of Garlic

5 Cups of Bone Broth/stock

2 TBS Olive Oil

Chop all the vegetables. Fry the onion and garlic in olive

oil until soened. Add the rest of the vegetables except

the watercress. Stir for 5 minutes. Pour in the bone broth/

stock. Boil until the vegetables are cooked and so. Add the

watercress for 2 minutes. Put into blender until smooth.

Chickeney’s Chicken Stew Soup

8 boneless chicken thighs

3 Carrots

2 Leeks

1 Parsnip

1 piece of Ginger

2 Celery sticks

2 Sweet Potatoes

1 Onion

2 Cloves of Garlic

5 cups of bone broth

Olive oil

Brown the chicken thighs in a large pot with a little olive oil.

When brown, add the onion, garlic and ginger until so.

Add the carrots, leeks and celery along with the 5 cups of

bone broth.

Simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the sweet potatoes and parsnip. Simmer for further 10

minutes.

Blend until smooth.

Butternut Squash Soup

This is a yummy, smooth soup that my family loves. It

has thyme, garlic, and plenty of bone broth. The sweet

potatoes and butternut squash go together really well.

Large Butternut Squash, about 4 lbs., cut in half

2 Sweet Potatoes

1 large Onions, roughly chopped

2 Garlic cloves

1 tsp of thyme

4 cups of Bone Broth, or Stock

Olive oil

Pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 350 F to roast vegetables.

Cut up the squash, onion, garlic and sweet potato and lay

on a baking tray. Splash generous amounts of olive oil over

the top. Sprinkle with thyme and mix together.

Roast for 30 minutes until all are tender and heat the bone

broth.

Once everything is cooked and so, cool the mixture and

blend until smooth. Serve reheated.

Salmon Soup

1 Sweet Potato, peeled and chopped

1 Large Carrot

1 boneless Salmon (or Cod) fillet, remove skin and slice into

pieces

Parsley

1 ½ cups of Broccoli

1 Onion

2 cups of Bone Broth/Stock

2 tbs Olive Oil

Heat olive oil in saucepan and add onion, carrots and sweet

potato.

Keep on medium heat for 5 minutes.

Add the broccoli, salmon and bone broth.

Simmer for 10 minutes and then blend.

Add (herbed) salt to taste.

Lamb Stew a la Blender

You might think of stew as one of the most challenging

foods to eat since it is so chunky and chewy. But here’s

another food that can be put in the blender!

What you need:

1 lb Lamb, cut into cubes

1 Red onion, chopped

1 clove Garlic, chopped

2 Sweet Potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 head of Broccoli chopped

1 cup of cooked Rice

2 stalks Celery, chopped

2 large Carrots, chopped

2 cups of Bone Broth/stock

Herbed sea salt

2 tbs Olive oil

Fry and brown garlic, onion and lamb in casserole pan. Add

all vegetables. Add seasoning and some bone broth/stock.

Cook on stove top until vegetables are so, on medium

heat.

Once the stew is cool, ladle into blender.

Add rice and blend.

Add salt to taste.

Reheat to eat.

Pete’s Powerful Red Recovery Smoothie

2 Kale leaves, ripped up, or similar amount of spinach

½ Beet, small

1 Apple (cored)

2 cups of Coconut milk

________________________________________________

The Green Monster- who’s a nice guy, really

If you want to make this one even greener, add a few pieces

of store bought dried seaweed. Soak the leaves in a bowl of

water while you prepare the other ingredients.

Spinach leaves,1 handful

Cucumber, ½ large

Apples, 1 – 2, cored

Celery, 2 sticks

Avocado, ½ large

Watercress, 1 handful

small bit of parsley

Don’t forget those side dishes that

are practically blenderized already,

like mashed potatoes mixed with

cooked and soened sweet potatoes.

I always like butter and cream added

in too. Yummy! Just spoon the

blended lamb stew over the top and

you have a delicious meal that will

really fill you up!

Smoothies

Smoothies can be anything and everything you want them to be. Sweet or savory, nutritious and filling.

They can be a refreshing breakfast or an alternative to the usual sandwich at lunch. Wash and chop your

ingredients, blend them up, pour into a tall glass and enjoy. If the mixtures are too thick, just add more

liquid. And if you want to sweeten them up, put in a bit of honey. You will get 1 – 2 servings from each

recipe depending on the amounts added to the blender and the size of your glasses. For extra protein

don’t forget your old friend, protein powder, and some more fluids to thin it out.

Mangana Mousse

1 cup of chopped Mango (frozen is fine)

1 Banana

1 scoop protein powder (of choice and flavor, I used

chocolate)

1 cup of milk/almond milk

2 cups of Coconut milk

1 tsp Vanilla extract

Pear-banana-cado Punch

Turmeric, in this recipe, is a spice well known for its anti-

inflammatory properties.

1 Pear, pips removed

1 Banana

½ large Avocado

2 cups of Full-fat coconut milk

¼ tsp Turmeric

Yo-yo Bacado

This one is really fresh and light. Good for a pick-me-up.

1 Banana

1 Avocado

1 Apple (cored)

1 cup Plain Yogurt

½ cup Almond milk/milk

Peter’s Peach Party

If you want to sweeten it more

add a spoonful of honey.

1 TBS Peanut Butter

1 tin of Peaches in juice/syrup

1 cup coconut milk

½ cup milk/almond milk

Peter’s Classic Chocolate Mousse

This dessert is absolutely great! And you will never guess

its secret ingredient.

4 dessert spoons of Cocoa powder

1 Banana

1 Avocado

Juice of ½ Lemon

2 tbs Honey

1 ½ Cups of Almond Milk/Milk

Add all the ingredients into the blender. It is best to have

the same amount of banana as avocado. Blend and taste

aerwards. If it doesn’t taste sweet enough add a little of

your favorite sweetener.

Lastly, simple dessert can be the best! Try slightly melted

ice cream or hot chocolate.

That’s it. I hope you like all the food and you recover well.

I had a lot of fun re-making all these with Mum, Dad and

Lanie.

Get well soon,

Peter.

DESSERTS

The End

Written by Peter Strachan with the help of Sharron Hawker. I spent a

lot of time asking Lanie and my Mum and Dad for their input.

Dedication: To Leilani Santiago and everyone in the world.