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Back to School: How To Pack “Teeth-Friendly” School Lunches

Published on Sep 12 by Daniel Guidera under Kids

School is back in session!

That means the kiddos are back in action and need to stay fueled with brain and teeth friendly foods.

While it’s important to pack a healthy lunch, it’s more important to pack something healthy your child will eat and not trade for Twinkies and Coca-Cola.

bananas

The Right Kind of Fruit

Getting the recommended fruit servings is important, but some are better for you than others.

While grapes are tasty, their high sugar content doesn’t make for the best fruit serving. A banana has an added kick of potassium and is more filling with less sugar. Apples are a great source of fiber and vitamins. If your child’s mouth is a little sensitive from new teeth coming in or a recent cleaning, there’s nothing wrong with giving them applesauce. Just make sure it’s natural with no added sugars.

Try: Bananas     Avoid: Grapes

Vegetables for Kids Lunches

Vegetables Are Excellent

Vegetables are filling, healthy, and one of the best things you can give your child.

Use a cookie cutter to make boring cucumber slices into clouds or hearts. Set up a little vegetable scene they can eat that includes broccoli trees, radish bushes, and a baby carrot boardwalk onto a (small!) ranch dressing lake. No added sugar in the ranch of course.

Try: Cucumbers and broccoli    Avoid: Potatoes, fries and sugary dressings

Whole Grains and Cheese

Keep your breads and grains to 100% whole wheat whenever possible.

Milk and cheese are generally good as long as they are low fat and low sugar.

There are studies showing aged cheeses actually could be good for your teeth!

Swiss and Cheddar are both good choices and are easily cubed, sliced, or cut into fun shapes that will appeal to your child.

Try: Whole grain and Swiss cheese     Avoid: Flavored milk and heavily processed

Make Your Own Fun Packs

There are a huge array of snacks and prepackaged lunches out there trying to make your life easier when packing lunches, but with a small amount of time and some prep work, you can pack a healthier version of Lunchables or even Fruit Rolls Ups.

Check out some of the websites that inspire creative homemade lunches that don’t take much longer than packing a boring sandwich and apple. Pinterest is a great resource for ideas on snacks that are healthy and better for your teeth.

Drinks: Water Is Best

What your kids drink is as important as what they eat. Just like adults, it is recommended that they don’t get your calories from beverages. Most juices, even those that are 100% juice, contain so much sugar that the bad outweighs the good nutritional value you would get from them. One whole orange is a much better fruit choice than a 6 oz. serving of 100% orange juice. Flavored sports drinks are also packed with sugar and aren’t meant for little bodies sitting in school all day. Save those for the soccer field or basketball practice.

While water is the best thing you can pack in your child’s lunch to drink, if they won’t drink it and will instead go get themselves a sugary beverage that water will be for naught. Try flavoring your water at home. Use mint leaves, lemon, cucumber, or fruits like watermelon or raspberries to give the water some flavor without adding sugar or empty calories.

Good habits start at home. If your kids are encouraged to drink water at home, they are more likely to drink water when they aren’t with you at school.

Your dentist will thank you, too!

All that sugar in processed drinks not only damages sensitive tooth enamel; it can also mean cavities during your child’s next visit!


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