7 Tips for Braces Friendly Lunches that are Healthy
Making sure you have a stain-and-cavity-free smile once your braces are off depends entirely on you! Taking care of your teeth now means that they will thank you once you get the braces off- you want them to look their best.
And consider this: cleaning your teeth after you eat is important, but the effects of good habits also have a lot to do with what you eat.
This is especially true while you have braces. Be extra-conscious of eating tooth-friendly foods, and stay away from foods that will damage your brackets. Doing this will keep your teeth looking amazing and at their best once you get your braces taken off.
Packing your own food is a great start. If you want to know all the braces friendly lunches that are still healthy, we are here to help! Plus, for those with pediatric braces who might be picky eaters, we made sure that they tasted good too. Let us get started!
Keep Your Smile Healthy By Packing Great Lunches
Eating on-the-go can be problematic. In the morning, grabbing a donut is much easier than making an omelet! But taking the time to think through what you are eating for lunch is really important for both your oral and overall health.
Whether you are planning your own lunch or you are the one making lunch for your kids to take to school, keep these three smile-friendly lunch tips in mind. Healthy food gives you more energy and will not harm your teeth- there are many reasons to pack these lunches!
1. Switch Out The Troublemakers
Chewy, sweet foods like gummies or dried fruits like Craisins can be really bad for your teeth because they stick to everything! This includes your brackets, wires, and between your teeth- making it hard to clean out later. For a sweet treat, choose sliced fresh fruit or even a little bit of chocolate.
Processed, starchy crackers or chips are problematic as well. When chewed, they stick to your teeth and turn into sugars very quickly. Try to opt for whole grains instead—or even better, some healthy nuts or seeds. Just be sure that whatever you pick is not too hard! Tough foods can be harmful to braces.
If you want to eat nuts then be sure they are not going to be hard enough to cause damage to your teeth. Remember, if you are craving something like peanuts, then you can always have some peanut butter instead. As a bonus, peanut butter has a lot of protein packed into one serving.
2. Reconsider What You Drink
Soda and sports drinks are bad news for your teeth, and NOT recommended while you are wearing braces. Some fruit juices are loaded with sugar and acid as well. When you drink something full of sugar, then you are also putting your teeth at risk of decay.
When the naturally occurring bacteria in your mouth react with the sugar, they create an acidic environment that erodes the enamel on your teeth- not something that you want to happen too often!
Consider milk or water instead. Chocolate milk may be a good option too. It offers protein and almost half of your daily calcium. Plus, it has a flavor that many people can easily enjoy.
Keep in mind that water is always the best drink for your body. When you are dehydrated, it makes getting through the day a very difficult task. Plus, drinking water can help any food stuck in your braces become dislodged- plenty of reasons to drink a glass now and then!
3. Use Natural Scrubbers
Did you know that certain foods actually help your teeth? For example, yogurt and cheese can cut acidity, making something like fruit juice less harmful. And then some great fruits and vegetables scrub your teeth when you eat them and get rid of built-up sugars and starches from your lunch.
These include celery, apples, carrots, cucumbers, and pears. Although, you want to be sure to eat the harder foods carefully so that you do not damage your braces. You can always cut them into smaller, bite sized pieces. Or you could steam your veggies for a healthy (and easy to chew) side dish.
4. Try Soft Meats
Some types of meat can be tough and harder to chew with braces on. If you still want to bring some meat in your lunch, then you should try to bring softer meat. This would include lunch meats, chicken, tuna and other fish, or meatballs.
There are a lot of different recipes that you could make from these soft meats. For example, you could try making tuna or chicken salad for your lunch. That would go great with some grapes or other fruit!
We all crave a good hamburger now and then, but we know that they can be hard to chew in braces and not the healthiest option for us. It can be all too easy to get one from a fast food place when lunchtime rolls around.
However, you could always give a veggie burger a try instead- the patties are made from plant based materials, making them easier to chew than a traditional burger. Tofu is another wonderful option to consider and much healthier than some of the alternatives.
5. Try More Soups
Soup is one of those foods that come in a wide variety- you could make a different one to eat every day of the week if you wanted! What we love about soup, is that it is easy to make a large batch ahead of time to pack in your lunch and eat as leftovers.
When cooked thoroughly, the ingredients in soups become very soft and easy to chew, even while wearing braces. Plus, you can put as many healthy vegetables into the pot as you like! Overall, soup is a great type of food to eat healthy with braces on.
6. Drink More Smoothies
Smoothies are the perfect braces snack- they have yogurt or milk and mashed ingredients that can be swallowed easily. Like with soup, you can make a large batch of your favorite smoothie flavor and then store it in the freezer.
By the time lunch comes around, a smoothie that was frozen solid at the start of your day would be thawed enough to drink easily. There are a ton of different recipes for you to test out, so you can be sure that you will never be bored!
7. Add More Eggs
There are so many different ways to make an egg- hard-boiled, omelets, scrambled, and way more! The best part? Eggs are very soft once cooked, meaning you can eat them easily with braces on.
You can add them to salads, or even boil a bunch at once to have as snacks over the week- there is a lot that you can do with eggs! Plus, they are healthy and packed with nutrients and vitamins.
In short, eggs are an essential part of any healthy and braces friendly lunch! Plus, a case of them is also fairly cheap at the grocery store, meaning you can have a lot of them if you need them.
Conclusion
Those were all of our tips to pack healthy lunches while you have braces! Eating hard foods is out of the question, as they can damage your wires or brackets. Be sure that you are cutting your fruits and veggies small enough so that your teeth are not damaged.
Eating healthy does not need to be hard with braces. If you make sure to take the time to make delicious recipes, you will be sure to enjoy cooking over getting take out as well. Braces friendly lunches can also be as easy or as hard to prepare as you would like.
If you are searching for braces in New Jersey or braces in Upper Freehold, then be sure to stop by and give us a visit!