It’s never too early to introduce the joy of tooth-friendly cooking and baking to your kids!

Teaching your children to cook and bake are skills that can last a lifetime, and it’s never too early to get your children involved in the kitchen! These times shared in the kitchen can create core memories for you and your children, and they can also enforce the idea of proper and healthy eating habits that include tooth-friendly foods. If you’re looking for some dentist recommended recipes, read on to learn more about some favorites of the Pediatric Dental Specialists’ staff!

Starting With A Warm Drink

On chilly nights, it’s nice to curl up with a warm drink and join together as a family to read a book. While hot chocolate might be a popular choice, it can be full of sugar and unnecessary calories. If you are looking for a more health conscious choice, pick a warm tea!

Tea comes in a variety of flavors, and you can customize your drink as you wish, like spicing it up with some cinnamon or adding a touch of sweetness with honey. If you are looking for a tea that may have benefits for your health, green tea can help fight off bacteria and acid that can cause cavities. Green tea can also reduce inflammation, including of the gums. Black and green tea also have fluoride, which is a natural occurring mineral that helps to build the enamel on your teeth.

Appetizing Appetizer and Snacks

If your kids are always hungry, they might appreciate a fun snack or two between meals to tide them over.

One tooth-friendly, kid-favorite snack is an apple. An apple is considered one of nature’s toothbrushes because the flesh of the apple is fibrous and can help swipe away bacteria and plaque buildup on teeth. You can pair the apple with a nut butter for an added dose of protein.

Looking for something a little more hands on? Make a cheeseball snowman! Roll grated cheese into balls and stack them on top of each other. Add in pretzel stick hands for an extra crunch. Cheese is a great tooth-friendly snack because it is full of calcium, which is important for growing strong bones and strengthening the enamel on your teeth. Make sure you look for low-fat cheese. If you are looking to add to your cheese snowman, you can use grapes cut in half as hats, and a piece of string cheese makes a great scarf. The possibilities are endless!

Another simple but delicious snack is ants on a log. Celery is another tooth-friendly food that acts as a toothbrush because of its fibrous texture. Have your children help spread a nut butter onto the celery stalk and add raisins on top as ants. Looking for a variation on this snack? Try using cream cheese or hummus as an alternative to the nut butter.

Stewing Up Something Delicious

After a day of hiking or playing outside, what sounds better than coming home to a warm bowl of soup or stew?

Soups and stews are perfect dishes to add lots of vegetables and lean meats, all of which are healthy foods. You can have older children help to cut fresh vegetables for the stew, and little ones can help measure amounts with measuring cups. You can also have your children help to pick out the vegetables and meats, allowing for a custom creation each time.

Add a slice of whole wheat toasted bread on the side, and a soup or stew can be a completely balanced meal that everyone can enjoy. The best part? Leftovers taste just as great the next day!

Baking A Healthy Dessert

Sometimes it’s good to end a meal with a dessert, but if you are looking for something more on the healthy side, oatmeal cookies can be a fan favorite. This recipe for healthy oatmeal cookies replaces half of the butter with applesauce, a popular and healthy cooking hack, and substitutes sugar for honey.

If you’re looking for other healthy add-ins to your cookies, swap chocolate chips for dark chocolate chips, because dark chocolate is full of antioxidants. You can also add in some chopped up nuts, which are tooth-friendly because of their crunch. They clean teeth as you chew and are also full of protein and other vitamins and minerals that are good for overall health.

Tooth-friendly Cooking Is All About Choosing Healthy Options And Making Memories

Time in the kitchen is perfect for making memories and teaching children about nutrition. This time can also be used to showcase better options for a healthier lifestyle, like showing your children low-fat and sugar-free versions of other foods. You can teach your children some baking hacks, like using applesauce as a substitute for fat, like oil and butter, in most recipes.

A healthy lifestyle will only benefit you and your children in the long run, so get cooking and get creative in the kitchen by creating healthy recipes as a family! We love to hear about your favorite recipes and what you’re excited about cooking for dinner, so let us know your suggestions when you come in for your next dental checkup.