My first adult experience with eating after surgery happened the week after I shattered my cheekbone in a skiing accident.

I was discharged from the hospital after facial reconstruction surgery and I remember wandering around the drug store and looking at the labels of meal replacement drinks for seniors while my prescriptions were being filled. I had some boxes of cereal, TV dinners and instant mashed potatoes.

That was the sum total of my post surgery nutrition plan. 

I had no idea how difficult and tiring it would be to cook. I could barely stand in the shower! 

I had no idea that salty foods increased swelling.

I absolutely had no idea which foods could have helped me reduce inflammation and bring my body back into balance.

If what I ate was a big part of recovering from surgery, someone would have told me, right? 

I also encourage you to go beyond the research and also incorporate recipes from your culture that have been passed on for generations as ‘healing foods.’

Does your heart warm when you remember the soup a grandparent used to make when you were sick as a child? Did an ancestor make tea using herbs in their garden? I invite you to also use that wisdom in your healing plan.