pre-surgery: creating a meal plan

I think the most important part of planning for having your jaw wired shut for 6 weeks is to consider what you're going to be eating those six weeks… actually, more like drinking, since the diet is unfortunately all liquid for the entire 6 weeks.  I really tried to stay as healthy as possible with everything I planned.  The most important thing to remember is that you don't have to just drink ensure, Boost, and standard broth the whole time.... that would get boring too quickly!  Incorporating different fruits and vegetables and looking at other things that could be added to your diet to help provide as much nutrients is the best idea!  Here's a breakdown of what's included, no recipes in this entry though; post that in later entries.  

Soup: Personally, I know that it's inevitable that I'm probably going to lose a lot of weight (which I'm dreading btw).  However, I really tried to incorporate different foods that would help me stay as healthy as possible.  Liquid diets suck for most people because no one is really sure what else they can eat.  For the past 4 months I've been meeting up with my cousin at least once a week to cook different soups.  These soups are usually always made entirely from scratch; sometimes even the chicken stock.  They're not your standard soups, but any means.  A lot of them are lower sodium, pretty low in fat and packed with vegetables that are blended with the skins (skins of vegetables contain dietary fibre).  All the recipes include an added source of COMPLETE protein.  I have to stress 'COMPLETE' because vegetable proteins are incomplete unless there is a right combination.  For complete proteins, you need to combine grains (rice etc) with legumes (beans, lentils etc.), or grains and nuts/seeds, or legumes and nuts/seeds.  My favourite combination is brown rice and lentils.  It took a LOT of time and effort on the part of my awesome food master chef of a cousin (I love you<3) to come up with everything I need in pureed soup form!  I'll be happy to share a few of my favourite recipes with you guys later on if you're interested.  HELL NO TO BORING CANNED SOUPS FOR ME!  :) 

Quick tip! If you're worried you're going to be stuck eating the same type of soup for days at a time, don't worry.  My cousin taught me that you can make big batches of your favourite homemade soups ahead of time and then freeze them on ice cube trays.  When they're frozen, you can just pop them out and put them in a ziploc bag.  That way you have a few options to choose from and can portion how many you want! 

Smoothies and Shakes: Now obviously, soup can't be my only food.  I've also compiled a recipe book of different shakes and smoothies that I love to help me.  I love all things berries.  So I made sure to stock up on frozen berries.  Best part of frozen berries is that they're usually freezed immediately after being picked, so they maintain a lot of their nutrients and possibly have less pesticides since they are frozen.  Also, I LOVE bananas, so I bought a few bunches of bananas and cut them in half and froze them.  I recommend having enough of a quantity to last only two weeks though, since frozen bananas can only last so long.  I also stocked up on yogurt (normally just plain yogurt or no added sugar yogurt) as well as soy milk, almond milk, and regular milk just to have different variations.  These are things I can have readily on hand that won't go bad.  Other fruits, like avocados and mangoes will be bought whenever needed since they don't keep for very long.  

Green Smoothies:  I'm SO excited to add this to my diet.  For those of you who don't know what green smoothies are, they're just regular fruit smoothies with added green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, or other greens.  Now I wouldn't suggest this for a lot of people since the idea of adding leaves and such into fruit smoothies sounds… well, gross. LOL. However, the benefits of greens is RIIIIIDICULOUS though that I couldn't pass it up; vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients etc.  I'm planning (depending on how well I grow accustom to the taste) to have a green smoothie every morning.  Also, I buy the greens frozen, since it keeps longer as well.  

Protein Shakes and Meal Replacement Shakes: I already have a favourite protein shake mix that I love, so I keep it handy just in case my stomach needs some filling.  Same goes for my meal replacement shake; one of my girlfriends gave me a can of meal replacement powder (I love her<3) so that I always get as much nutrients and good stuff as possible.  I plan on drinking my meal replacement shake everyday, and my protein shake especially on workout days.  

(hahahahahaaa, don't kill me! <3)

Miscellaneous food/drinks: LOTS OF WATER. Can't stress that enough.  I will always have water or green tea if I'm drinking anything.  I bought matcha green tea from the local Whole Foods (absolutely love this place btw; it's heaven).  Matcha has so many more benefits than just plain green tea, but it's so freaking expensive!  So I plan on using it for my matcha green tea shake!  I'll post all recipes later on whenever I make something new.  Another item I keep handy is fibre.  Although, I'm sure I won't have too many digestive problems on this 6 week liquid diet because it's pretty much like I'm going on a 6 week detox! (Scary thought).  Also, I picked up Agave nectar, which is supposed to be a healthier alternative to regular sugar when used in regular portions.  I'm thinking I'll add some if I even need to sweeten anything.  

But there you have it… My meal plan thus far.  I'm sure I'll modify it as time goes on though.  I did my best to include as many different coloured vegetables and fruits, leafy greens, fruits rich in antioxidants, complete protein, vegetable fibre and other varieties.  I have tons of recipes, which seems ridiculous… but I'm sure on a 6 week diet, drinking the same thing will get so boring.  Variety is the key! LOL.