Snack time is one of the best ways to fight the winter blues. After all, there’s nothing quite like getting cozy by the fireplace while you share some tasty treats with your family. But for parents of kids with braces, it can be a bit tricky finding braces-friendly snacks their kids will enjoy.
Many go-to winter treats can be too hard on braces, especially foods with crunchy nuts or sticky candies. Some of the worst winter foods for braces include popcorn, gingerbread cookies, peanut brittle, and taffy. While these foods are often attached to fun memories, they can damage the wires and get stuck in the brackets of braces, potentially setting your child back on their progress.
However, that doesn’t mean you’ll have to skip the winter snacks altogether! Here are great ideas your kids will love and that are safe for their braces.
Open-Faced Nutella Banana Sandwich
While many whole fruits will be off-limits while your kids have braces, especially crunchy fruits like apples or pears, bananas are soft enough to eat. It also helps that they’re tasty and go great with other foods! Adding a thin layer of Nutella will add some nice sweetness to this snack as well. Be sure to choose a type of bread without seeds or nuts and keep it untoasted.
Quiche
This savory food is a great braces-friendly snack for cold days when you just want to wrap yourself in a blanket and enjoy a slow morning. As long as you don’t overcook the crust, quiche tends to be soft enough to eat with braces. And you can make all kinds of quiche with different vegetables, meats, and other fillings. Just be sure to include ingredients that won’t be too hard to chew. You can also make mini-quiches that are the perfect size for a snack.
Snickerdoodle Hummus Is a Unique Winter Snack
While the traditional snickerdoodle cookie can be a bit too hard for braces, you can still make your kids a tasty snickerdoodle treat they’ll love. Add some chickpeas, almond butter, cinnamon, and sugar (or maple syrup) to a food processor and you’ll have a sweet, wintery dip your kids will love. Be sure to get some whole wheat pita bread so your kids have something healthy and soft to dip into the snickerdoodle hummus.
Hot Cider
Okay, this is less of a snack and more of a sweet drink, but it’s a staple winter food that will have your kids feeling warm in an instant. Heat up an apple cider base and squeeze some lemon juice into the mix for a citrusy burst of flavor. Cinnamon sticks add a bit of spice and are a fun garnish for this and other hot drinks.
Of course, when your kids enjoy their tasty winter snacks, be sure they keep up with their cleaning routines and brush with toothpaste afterward. And if they have Invisalign, make sure they remove their aligners before eating or drinking anything other than cool water.
To learn more about eating with braces and to see if orthodontic treatment is right for your kids, contact Smith Orthodontics and schedule your free consultation today!
