I ended up leaving the office shortly after lunch and returning to my apartment before heading out to do some grocery shopping. On my first trip, I went to Berkeley Bowl and Whole Foods Market. I go to Whole Foods frequently, but trips to Berkeley Bowl are a rarity for me. I’d always found it to be expensive for some of my staples, things like non-dairy milks and tofu. This time around, I did find a few things on my list that were cheaper than at Whole Foods, such as silken tofu, but I doubt I’ll be returning regularly.

I returned home from my first shopping trip to eat my first dinner, which started out consisting of a package of ramen with half a block of silken tofu. For all of the jokes about students living off of ramen because it’s all they can afford, I actually really like the stuff. Somehow, though, this was the first time I’d had it since I started graduate school, and it may even have been the first time since I started college. Fortunately, I bought a few more packages, so I’ll have some to feed later in the week, too. The silken tofu was a nice addition, too. I had been somewhat concerned that it wasn’t going to be soft enough for me to eat without chewing, but it really was a perfect food for me, given all of my dietary restrictions. In a sheer display of lack of willpower, after finishing the ramen, I cut up the remainder of the block of tofu and slurped it up with a little bit of teriyaki sauce.

I then embarked on my second shopping trip, the destination of which was Trader Joe’s.  There, I acquired some hummus and whole wheat tortillas, which became the basis for my second dinner. To make my second dinner, I started out by just cutting and tearing a tortilla into small pieces and then mixing those pieces with some hummus. Some of the pieces of tortilla were large enough to make it feel a little bit weird as it went down, and I realized as I finished that I could have used my blender to break up the tortilla. Of course, I couldn’t wait for tomorrow to try this, so I took out another tortilla, tore it into large pieces, and then shredded these pieces with the blender. After removing the shredded tortilla from the blender, I mixed it into several tablespoons of hummus. The second tortilla went down much more easily. In all, I probably used about half a pound of hummus tonight, so I’ll probably end up making my own hummus some time soon in order to keep the cost and the number of trips to Trader Joe’s under control.

My dessert today was the same as the last two nights: brownies and Purely Decadent soy ice cream. I actually finished the brownies today. A few people did take one at the office on Wednesday, so I didn’t eat the whole recipe myself, but I’m sure that I came pretty close.

I very much enjoyed my two dinners tonight. While they admittedly weren’t exactly what I would be eating if not for my accident, they compared favorably to the smoothie and soup diet that kept me going for three weeks. I’ll probably get tired of this diet soon enough, but for now, I like it.

After the semester ends (or sooner, if I should catch up with school work), I’ll probably try to start cooking again, even if just a few soups. This will cut down on the amount of liquid I need to carry.

After a brief stop at the office to arrange a ride home from the oral surgeon’s after my procedure, I went to Walgreens. There I acquired a Water Pik (I opted for a cordless model since my bathroom doesn’t have any outlets), a two-pack of children’s toothbrushes, and a package of little brushes, called Brush Picks and made by a company called DenTek. Although nobody had suggested this last item to me, I bought it because the brushes reminded me of some brushes that I used to use when I had orthodontic braces. They came eight to a package, and each one has a small brush at one end and a flexible pick at the other end. Eight is more than I’ll probably need, but this was the only size package I could find.

I then caught a bus to Whole Foods Market, where I purchased soy protein powder, antibacterial soap, natural mouthwash (Tom’s of Maine brand) and a couple of Amazake smoothies. I bought some frozen fruit with the dual purpose of adding to smoothies and icing my jaw on the bus ride home.  I also looked for a calcium supplement, which proved to be harder than I thought. The supplements were organized by brand, so I had to look through each brand separately (rather than finding all of the calcium supplements in one place). I couldn’t find one that was specifically labeled as being vegan, and eventually an employee came over and asked if I needed any help. I told her what I was looking for, and she told me that calcium citrate should be vegetarian. I didn’t have the energy to explain the difference between veganism and vegetarianism, but I was baffled that somebody working in the supplement section of Whole Foods in Berkeley could lack that knowledge. She started pointing out different supplements to me, but I had already decided that she wasn’t going to be much help. Eventually, she left to check on something else (for which I was relieved), but she told me she would come back. I managed to find a supplement whose ingredients looked vegan (although it was only labeled as “Suitable for Vegetarians” and free of dairy). It seemed good enough, especially given the circumstances, so I took it to checkout and paid.