5 TOOTH FRIENDLY WINTER SNACKS
This is the thinking behind our tip to eat dessert straight after dinner rather than an hour later as a separate snack— it counts as part of the same sitting. The same logic applies to rainy-day baking. Baking with your kids is a brilliant holiday activity, and we ' re not here to ban it. But tasting the batter, eating a warm biscuit from the oven, and then having another one an hour later are three separate sugar hits. Have your baking session, enjoy the results together at afternoon tea time, and then that ' s the sweet quota for the day.
Hot chocolate deserves a special mention in winter. A standard hot chocolate made with flavoured powder can contain a surprising amount of sugar, and the warm liquid coats every surface of the mouth.
When it comes to indoor activity centres, the canteen is often the hardest battle. Fruit pouches, flavoured milk, muesli bars with yoghurt coating, and packaged snacks that seem " healthy " are often full of hidden sugars.
Read labels when you can or better still, pack your own snacks for the day.
5 TOOTH FRIENDLY WINTER SNACKS
1. Cheese and water crackers— Cheese is genuinely protective for teeth. It stimulates saliva and contains calcium that helps remineralise enamel. Water crackers have very low sugar content.
2. Water— The only thing children truly need daily. Avoid fruit juices, sugary hot drink mixes and cordial.
3. Apple slices with peanut butter— The crunch of fresh apple helps clean tooth surfaces while peanut butter provides protein to satisfy hunger longer and reduce grazing.
4. Vegetable sticks with hummus— Carrot, celery, and cucumber are low in sugar and high in crunch. Chewing fibrous vegetables stimulates saliva flow, which is the mouth ' s natural defence against decay.
5. Plain popcorn— A surprisingly tooth-friendly snack when it ' s air-popped and unsweetened. Low in sugar, satisfying, and a great movie-night alternative to lollies.
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