Getting ready for back to school? Make sure your shopping list includes snacks that are good for your mouth too!
As days fall off the calendar, it’s getting near time for kids to pack their brand new pencils and brand new books into brand new backpacks, lace up their brand new shoes and head back to the hallowed halls of academia for another year of learning adventures. What this means for parents is another year of trying to figure out what snacks to pack that are healthy and that your kids will actually eat! If you’re stuck for snack ideas, here are a few that your dentist will approve of!
What to Get and Why
Oral health is tightly linked to body health – what you intake affects your mouth as much as the rest of you, so take care when snacking!
- Crunchy foods! Apples, celery, carrots, and other raw fruits and veggies are like natural toothbrushes. Eating them helps dislodge other food particles and stimulates the creation of saliva, which helps minimize plaque formation. To keep apple boredom at bay, switch things up with different kinds of apples! There are plenty to choose from!
- Add a yogurt dip or hummus with fruit or veggies to take them up a notch!
- Water, water and more water! Not only does it have a cleansing effect in the mouth, but it’s the healthiest method of hydration. Fruit juices, even all-natural ones, are loaded with sugar.
- Go nuts! Nuts and grains provide excellent energy and nutrition with minimal sugar impact. Just remind the kids to floss, ensuring any tiny pieces left over are removed.
- Make your own popsicles or frozen yogurt pops! Using juice/water or yogurt with fruit blended together, you can create delicious frozen snacks that will cool down any kid.
What to Avoid and Why
Plaque is constantly forming on teeth. Frequent snacking of high sugar treats places a lot of sugary acids near the teeth and the plaque keeps it in place. Result? Tooth decay.
- Sticky foods like fruit leather, gummies, and candies, even if made with real fruit, are chock full of sugar and have the added disadvantage of sticking around on teeth. The cavity-causing bacteria will thank you but your teeth won’t!
- High fructose treats including many granola bars, cookies, and cakes.
- Pop and energy drinks are all tempting on a hot day or after a game of soccer but the energy they give your kids isn’t worth the sugar levels they are also giving them. Stick to water for cooling off.
But my Kids Won’t Eat That!
In theory, if they’re hungry, they’ll eat it. Of course, we’ve all met kids who defy that statement but, generally, it’s true.
- Have a picky water drinker? Give them ⅓ juice with ⅔ water in their water bottles. Over time, you will probably find that you can add less and less juice and they won’t object!
- Dealing with the ‘when’s dinner?’ whine? A great suggestion is to prepare a plate of crudites – raw cut up veggies – and serve that up as an ‘appetizer’ – your kids will get the veggies they need when they are still hungry!
Five Healthy Snack Ideas for Back-to-School
Here are five snack ideas that your kids will love and are good for their teeth:
- Apple Slices with Dip – Slice up some apples and pack them into a Tupperware container. If your kids like a little treat on the side, spoon some peanut butter or yogurt into a separate container. Younger kids will enjoy the dunking and scooping. And here’s a quick tip to stop the apple slices from turning brown: drip a few drops of a citric fruit (lemon, orange, pineapple) juice on the apple slices and toss to coat. The citric acid in the juice will stop the apples from turning brown.
- Fruit Smoothies – Sometimes kids don’t like to eat fruits straight up, but add in some fruit juice and yogurt and blast it through your blender for 20 seconds and you’ll have a fruit smoothie that is hard to resist. The best part is that you can use whatever fruits your kids do like so they’ll enjoy it all the more. And just to keep things on the healthy, try to use real juice and not fruit punches that can be full of extra sugar and artificial sweeteners.
- Cheese Cubes – Cheese not only helps with oral health but it’s full of calcium and protein, which is good for strong bones and teeth and energy for active bodies! But a recent study also found that eating cheese raises the pH of the mouth, making less favourable conditions for bacteria naturally found in the mouth, and increases the amount of saliva in the mouth that helps wash away loose food particles.
- Fruit & Nuts Snack Mix – This is a favourite for kids because you can tune it to what your child likes. Head out to the bulk section of your local grocery store and pick up an assortment of nuts, dried fruit, popcorn, pretzels, and granola and make your own snack mix. This type of snack will contain lots of protein for some good energy, and if you want to add a little treat then yogurt covered raisins or cranberries are sure to do the trick!
- Water, Water, and More Water! – Any questions? Kids need water to keep hydrated, and especially if they’re outside during nutrition break. But drinking water also helps flush food particles and harmful acids from the mouth, so drinking lots of water is also good for oral health.
Treats are Okay… Once in a While!
Like with everything else in life, treats are okay in moderation. It’s not a treat if you’re eating something every single day. School snacks, however, are a daily occurrence so for the sake of their teeth, and their overall body health, give them lots of the good stuff and save the treats for the weekend. When used sparingly, treats will count as dentist-approved back to school snacks too! But only when used sparingly!
We wish everyone a safe and happy return to school and a great year full of learning, new friends and memories that will last a lifetime!
Orion Dental offers a full range of dental services for the whole family. We love helping kids learn how to take care of their teeth, and can help with everything from regular checkups to braces to children’s dentistry. If you’re looking for a Milton dentist then call us at (905) 636 – 9770 or if you’re looking for a Scarborough dentist then call us at (416) 291 – 0306 to book a no-obligation consultation!
