Tooth-Friendly Holiday Treats
The holidays are full of delicious foods that are often bad for your oral health. But never fear! Here, we’ll give some great ideas for teeth-friendly holiday treats.
Gingerbread Cookies
It might be surprising to find cookies on this list, but gingerbread cookies are a healthier option for your oral health because they do not require as much sugar as most cookies. For example, when you make sugar cookies you have to use more than a cup of sugar. Gingerbread cookies, on the other hand, only call for about half that amount of sugar. Ginger is also an anti-inflammatory while gingerbread is high in fiber.
Oatmeal Cookies
Another cookie that is a tooth-friendly holiday treat, oatmeal cookies also contain much less sugar than most cookies. Additionally, many health conscious recipes actually call to substitute the sugar for applesauce, which lowers the overall sugar content and keeps the cookies more moist for longer.
Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin pie is a teeth-friendly holiday treat because pumpkin is high in fiber and vitamin A. This means that pumpkin actually helps to strengthen tooth enamel and keeps gums healthy. Like the cookies above, pumpkin pie recipes often don’t call for too much sugar as compared to other holiday pies. Just be careful how much whipped cream you’re putting on top!
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are a great holiday treat that won’t hurt your teeth because they are naturally sweet without being packed with sugar. They are also high in vitamin C and A which help to maintain healthy gums. But if you are making a sweet potato casserole, be sure to avoid the marshmallows and brown sugar.
Cheese Reindeer
Now onto the savory treats. Cheese is a great snack for your teeth because it’s full of calcium that helps to strengthen tooth enamel. What’s even better, you can make it into a cute reindeer. All you have to do is cut cheese into a triangle to make the face, use black olives for the eyes, pretzels for the antlers, and a round chunk of red pepper for the Rudolph nose. How cute is that?
Christmas Tree Frittata
Another cute holiday treat that is teeth-friendly is a Christmas tree frittata. First, get a silicone tree mold–you can buy these at cooking stores or online around the holidays–to make tiny tree frittatas. Simply combine eggs, spinach, and cheese and put the mixture in the mold, pop it in the oven for about 10 minutes, and voila! Eggs are high in vitamin D which helps keep the bones in your mouth strong, cheese is high in calcium which strengthens enamel, and spinach is high in vitamins and minerals that are great for your oral health.
Visit Us This Holiday Season!
Another great way to keep your teeth healthy around the holidays is by coming in for a routine checkup and professional cleaning. Give us a call today to schedule an appointment!