adventures in tooth decay

I'm cracking up at that title. Here's the upside of eating clean... mostly meat free... it's easier on the teeth.
I was reminded of this while enjoying a dish of thai curry beef (remember, I had a craving...) The same thai curry beef that I was enjoying back early in June (before Weight Watchers) when major tooth pain set in that sent me running to the store for advil, floss and orajel.
I feared a major dental expense then and... my goal for this year is NO MONEY ON MEDICAL/DENTAL BILLS... plus no painkillers or other pharmaceuticals and dental work means, inevitably, painkillers and antibiotics.
The inflammation abated and I have enjoyed a painfree summer - other than a few unpleasant carrot incidents.
Yesterday, however, the pain returned. I made it thru my necessary shopping trips with Austin to prepare for school... one pair of decent slip on tennies, two pair of size 33x30 blue jeans, one pack of plain white tees, one Old Navy tee, one pair of cropped yoga pants (for me), one new bra to replace the one with the underwire blow-out from Friday (also for me, in case that wasn't already clear), two new toys for Bitty and Stubby, one ridiculously overpriced trip to the "city" grocery store to get some ingredients not available in our town... and I withstood the discomfort with only a few applications of orajel and one ibuprofen.
By the time we headed home... yuck.
Thank goodness I bought wine. Thank goodness my alcohol tolerance is so low that one very small glass made me comfortably numb so that I was able - with the assistance of some ice - to make the pain bearable again.
Unfortunately... this morning... it's back again. Baaaaad timing.
Not completely broke but I did spend a lot of money yesterday trying to take care of Austin's school necessities and we still need to nab a pair of boots.
I'm trying so hard to stay on top of bills. It's always something.
Bad timing financially and also because it's going to be a rough week for my co-worker whose dad is having open heart surgery. Her place is with her dad. No doubt, no argument. If it was MY daddy... you can forget me getting anything else done except sitting and waiting to know that he was going to be ok.
But that leaves us shorthanded at work so I have to cowboy up and be there.
Therefore, this weeks menu will be structured to avoid unpleasant dental experiences.
I hope.
No corn on the cob this week, for sure.
We bought some new foods to try this week... dragonfruit was our experiment yesterday. It's odd shaped, native to Asia, a burgundy/pink exterior but white and black polka dot interior. Sort of a mild kiwi taste. Would be excellent in fruit salad.
We also found some nice rappini - aka broccoli rabe. I intend to incorporate that into my warm pasta dish with pesto and goat cheese, parm and tomatoes. I'll make up a batch and reheat during the week.
I bought a bright yellow canary melon. I understand it's flavor is like a casaba melon - which I've never had. I'll cut that up today and have it for breakfast during the week.
I try to do at least one produce serving at breakfast plus one protein. The higher the morning fiber, the better I seem to do at avoiding cravings during the day. Melon is a good high fiber, filling food.
I aim for two produce servings at lunch plus protein and grain - sometimes my protein comes from the grain or the produce.
I aim for two produce servings at dinner as well... and my afternoon snack almost always is a protein to carry me through the end of the day. Dinner is usually the meal where I eat an animal protein, usually some kind of fish.
I am not sure if this is exciting info or not... it's just what I do.
We bought bacon wrapped scallops. At $6 for six, it was pricey but yet still cheaper than ONE McDonald's meal. Austin LOVED them. Soooo easy to fix... I just broiled them for about five minutes. He ate four, I ate two (due to my dental pain and the high calorie content of the bacon, plus it was pork and contained nitrites which I try to avoid).
Today we're having crab stuffed mushrooms... again, $6 for six, again, more expensive than our usual proteins but a nice chance to try new things. The point values are surprisingly low on these.
I've got to make a quick run to Walmart for ibuprofen and boots.
Hope you have a super Sunday! Love and hugs!