I have had mine for 13 weeks (since the 7th of May 2018) but the picture below was the third week into my orthodontic treatment and I have approximately 59 weeks to go and oh boy, it hasn't been easy.
Eating can be very challenging especially on days when they are worked on, this being said, let's dive into my compiled list of meals for a Nigerian braces wearer.
- Pancakes/Crepes/waffles (This was my go to breakfast)
- Cereals (If you are like me who loves cereal crunchy, this might be challenging, so you might opt for golden morn or start getting used soft/soggy cereal)
- Rice (First off, as a Nigerian it is very hard skipping this from your diet
- Plantain (soft plantains to be precise if you are going for the fried version)
- Yam/Plantain porridge (really mashed)
- Beans (my best being ewa agoyin)
- Pap/Custard/Oats
- Moi-Moi
- Proteins (eggs, very tender chicken and turkey, succulent pomo, fish) under no circumstance should you try cracking the bones but boy, na this part pain me pass.
- Pasta, in any shape you want/ Noodles
- Pastries (Cakes, bread, doughnuts) in my defense, I eat any pastry, all i have to do is cut them into tiny bite size pieces
- Party small chops (i can eat all of them except stick meat and sometimes gizzard if it isn't very soft.
- Swallows (Eba, Amala, Semo, Fufu, whatever, you name it)
- Eko and vegetables (not sure what the english of eko is)
- Soups (Natives soups)
- Sauces
P.S: I am terrible at plating, but above is a stir-fried rice and chilli chicken sauce with the chicken being extra tender.
(Coconut Pancake, egg and maple syrup)
These are the very generic ones but you can also venture into local delicacies which would be easy on your teeth but the list above is what I have tested and I know over time, I would update it.
If you are as prudent as I am and wouldn't want to snap any brackets, its safe to first cut whatever you want to eat into bite size and start to chew very slowly to see if you can eat that particular thing.
As hard as it seems, you would eventually get a hang of it, I promise you!
