Don’t get caught out by the back to school rush – keep these healthy lunchbox ideas in mind when packing your child’s lunchbox to ensure you are protecting their teeth all day long.
Maintaining optimum oral health is more than just brushing your teeth a couple of times a day. At Caroline Springs Dental, we recommend an active maintenance routine at home partnered with regular check-ups as well as eating a range of nutritious foods and steering clear of added sugars. To help you get back into the back to school routine, we’ve compiled some healthy food tips to keeping your family’s teeth healthy and strong.
DAIRY FOODS
It is widely known that dairy helps develop strong bones but did you know the calcium present in milk and dairy promote healthy teeth development? Certain cheeses also carry a particular enzyme that is beneficial is staving off bacteria in the mouth which is the cause of plaque build-up and decay. While dairy is beneficial we recommend keeping away from highly processed cheeses and flavoured milk as the sugars are damaging to teeth.
Why not try these:
- Cheese sandwiches are a bit more interesting than the regular spreads. If your child doesn’t eat their sandwich try flattening the bread and rolling it around sliced cheese and carrot for home-made ‘sushi’
- While flavoured yoghurt is generally full of added sugars and unnatural flavours, natural yoghurt is full of healthy bacteria for digestion and calcium for strong teeth and bones. If they like it a bit sweeter add some natural honey or frozen berries.
- Cubes of cheese are a delicious snack for morning tea – team with fresh crunchy veggies or simply on their own
FRUIT AND VEGGIES
Don’t shy away from adding vegetables to your child’s lunchbox. There are plenty of fresh, crunchy snack size vegetables that can be taken directly from the fridge into the box with no prep. Fruits and vegetables are full of healthy vitamins and minerals to keep the whole body fit and strong. Snacking on crunchy veggies will also help keep teeth clean in between brushing and many of them include enzymes that combat decay.
If you don’t think you’ll be able to get your kids excited about veggies try these tricks:
- Make eating fruit and veggies fun by making kebabs. Pop pieces of apple, melon and strawberry onto a paddle pop stick and for a veggie version try pieces of cucumber, cheese, carrot and cherry tomatoes. Just like salad – only fun!
- Include snow peas, green beans, cherry tomatoes or slices of carrot and capsicum as an easy snack. Add a small pot of hummus or cream cheese to add extra flavour.
- Try baking recipes that include hidden veggies such as slices and eggy muffins
LAST NIGHT’S DINNER
We understand how hectic school mornings can get. Trying to find time to pack a nutritious lunch for your children amongst all the last minute running around can be extremely difficult. More often than not last night’s dinner is packed with protein, vitamins and minerals to keep young bodies thriving as well as protect growing teeth. Even if you only have some sections left these are better snacks that a packet of biscuits or chips.