Food for a sore tooth

This doesn't really look like food for a sore tooth does it?  It's a compromise.  A few weeks ago I got a temporary crown and didn't follow my dentist's advice to not eat raw veggies.  I've done that before, no problem but this crown does not fit well, leaving a gap between it and another tooth.  So my gums got more and more sore and I decided yesterday to stop all crunchy raw veggies and just go for smoothies and soups until Wed when I get the new crown.   I didn't last very long.  It was kind of fun making the smoothies.  The taste was fine.  I even had a weird one with beans and romaine and chives, and ramps and fruit-infused vinegar.  That tasted alright.  My morning smoothy with kale and cabbage and berries and ginger and lime tasted good too.  But it's just not my preference!  I really like salads.  I like the crunch and taste of romaine, the crunch and taste of orange bell peppers and jicama.  And especially, the taste of fresh strawberries, blueberries and blackberries.  They are really good this time of year and I want to taste each one.  I like taking a long time to eat and enjoying it.  I like feeling full afterwards.

Another funny thing about the smoothies was that they made me more hungry.  You'd think they would be more satiating because more of the calories are probably bioavailable compared to my partially chewed salads.  I don't know if the hungry feeling was due to a less full-feeling from the smoothies, a bigger insulin surge from the smoothies, or a mixture of both.  I definitely eat the smoothies faster so the insulin surge is not out of the question.  The insulin spike causes low blood sugar (by transporting the sugar in your blood into your cells) which makes you feel more tired and hungry.

Today I looked at my strawberries and romaine lettuce and decided on a compromise for tomorrow:   salads with the easy crunching veggies, soup, and cooked veggies for dinner.  Breakfast has romaine, spinach, blueberries, strawberries, and I'll top with with a serving of home-made soy yogurt.  This is my favorite breakfast!   Lunch is romaine, spinach, orange bell pepper, jicama, and some chopped chives, cilantro and ramps (fresh from the garden and the woods!).  That will be topped with an orange/seed dressing.  Also I'll have along two bowls of yummy soup I made yesterday.  It was my GOMBS chili (without the corn) and it was even better than the first time so I modified the recipe a bit.  This is very easy to chew.    Dinner will be a bunch of cooked veggies:  broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, asparagus, mushrooms.  I'll throw it all together and top with a light sauce (maybe just fruit-infused vinegar or lemon) and some ground seeds.  I used to have all those veggies raw on my salads, but this actually might be a better way to eat them because they are more digestible cooked.  So maybe I'll start doing this more often.  I changed my schedule around so I can actually eat dinner most nights at home, which allows for cooking (quick cooking since I will be hungry).