Recipes

It's time to celebrate Halloween but it doesn't have to be all about sweets!

Here are a few ideas of treats you can give to your child on Halloween to celebrate!

1. Jack-o-lantern Fruit Cups: Fill a hollowed out orange peel with various types of cut up fruit (apples, pears, grapes - anything your child loves!). To make it more fun, cut out a jack-o-lantern face in the orange peel.
2. Monster Apple Bites: Cut up slices of apples and fill with your child's favorite type of nut better (or alternative if your child has allergies). Then place a strawberry slice (for the monster's tongue), some type of seeds (for monster's teeth), and place some googly eyes! This makes for a fun "spooky" snack!
3. Mini Mummy Pizzas: Make your child's lunch on Halloween pizza, with his/her favorite ingredients! To give the "mummy" look, place slices of cheese in horizontal lines before baking.
4. Halloween Roasted Veggies: Make vegetables more fun by cutting them into fun Halloween shapes! Roast them in the oven for a healthy snack option.

These are just a few ideas on what you can do with your child. Just remember to make sure to brush your child's teeth after they have their sweet treat!

And don't forget, we are holding our annual Candy Buyback - your child can receive $1 per pound of candy they bring in (up to 5 lbs)!

Happy Holidays!! In this season of sweet treats, we wanted to give you some teeth-friendly treat options for the whole family! These super easy recipes can be made into a fun activity to do with your little one.

Reindeer Celery

1. Cut celery sticks into child-size pieces
2. Fill with your child's favorite nut butter (or alternative butter if your child is allergic to nuts)
3. Place pretzels for the antlers
4. Add googly eyes and red M&M to finish the face!

Grinch Fruit Kabobs

1. Skewer one green grape, then one slice of banana, then one whole strawberry, then one tiny marshmellow onto a wooden skewer!

All of these recipes are super simple to do! You can customize the ingredients to your child's taste as well.

We wish you and your family the happiest of holidays!

What greater way to celebrate Halloween than with tasty and healthy snacks? This is a fun recipe to do with your child that's interactive and yummy!

Monster Apple Bites

Ingredients

1. 2 Apples - any color of your choice! (We chose green apples).
2. 1/4 cup of nut butter - any butter of your choice if your child is allergic to nuts! (We chose peanut butter).
3. 1/4 cup of seeds - any seed of your choice that look like teeth! (We chose pumpkin seeds, but you can also use sunflower seeds).
4. 2-3 strawberries
5. Handful of sugar googly eyes - these are available for purchase from the bakery aisle

Steps

1. Quarter each apple to create the monster. Cut the middle out of the slice to create a mouth - doesn't need to be perfect because you'll be filling in the gap with your nut butter!
2. Coat the inside of the "mouth" with the nut butter.
3. Place seeds along the top of the "mouth" to make teeth.
4. Place 1 sliced strawberry inside of the "mouth" to create a tongue.
5. Dab each googly eye with a bit of nut butter to stick the eyes to the apple slice.
6. Ta-da! Monster apples!

Hope this brings your child happy smiles on Halloween!

It's summer time! The sun is out and the weather is heating up. What better way to cool down than with a cool refreshing recipe that will be fun to make for your kids? It's always hard to get children to eat more vegetables, but this veggie packed soup will allow you to sneak in all the nutrients that are great for your child!

Crunchy vegetables are the best for your child's teeth! As they chew, the hard texture will help prevent things from sticking to their teeth, making it less likely for your child to get cavities. Of course, this doesn't mean that they don't have to brush - we don't like having things stick to our teeth!

Also, if your child is a picky eater, this soup gives new sensations that will make it fun to eat! It's colorful from the different vegetables, it has crunchy and soft textures, and best of all - it's a soup that's cold! We hope this simple recipe brings some fun into your kitchen!

Summer Gazpacho

Prep time: 30 minutes
Total time: 2 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 4 large fresh tomatoes, peeled and diced (or 8 small fresh tomatoes)
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes (or 2 small fresh tomatoes)
• 1 cucumber, peeled and diced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced (can substitute for a green bell pepper if you do not want any spiciness)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

Directions

1. Combine diced tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, jalapeno, and garlic in a large bowl. Stir in salt, cumin, oregano, and black pepper.
2. Place cherry tomatoes, olive oil, lime juice, and balsamic vinegar in a blender. Cover and puree until smooth. Pour pureed mixture into the tomato-cucumber mixture. Stir to combine.
3. Place 1/3 of the tomato mixture back into the blender. Cover and puree until smooth. Return pureed mixture to the remaining tomato mixture. Stir to cobine.
4. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
5. Season cold soup with salt and black pepper to taste. Top with fresh basil. Enjoy!

Visit our Instagram page for an short instructional video of this recipe!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Muffins

Even as dentists, we all love a sweet treat every now and then. This is the perfect snack you can easily make with your child! The great news is - it only requires 4 ingredients and no special equipment! This healthier recipe is light and fluffy without using flour or refined sugar. What a great way to keep our kids healthy! This recipe can also be modified with any ingredients/toppings you would like. For our muffins, we chose to use peanut butter and chocolate chips, but you can choose sunflower butter and strawberries for a nut-free option! Even without the extra chocolate, the muffin is already naturally sweet from the ripe bananas, so no added sugar needed! Follow our instructions below to make some for yourself!

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes
Servings: 12

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of Peanut Butter (for family members that cannot have peanut butter, you can substitute with almond butter, cashew butter, or even sunflower butter or tahini for a nut-free option!
• 2 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup mashed) - you can mash the bananas with a fork!
• 2 whole eggs
• (Optional Add-ins): 1/3 cup of chocolate chips (you can substitute with 1 cup of fresh berries or 1/2 cup of dried fruit)

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a muffin tin with 12 muffin liners
2. In a medium bowl, combine the peanut butter, mashed banana, and eggs. Mix until smooth (you can mix by hand!)
3. Fold in optional add-ins.
4. Divide batter among the 12 muffin cups (you can use an ice cream scoop for even distribution)
5. Bake at 350 degrees F until the muffins have risen, feel firm to light touch in the center of the muffin, baking for about 20-25 minutes.
6. Allow muffins to cool for at least 30 minutes before removing from the pan.
7. Serve muffins at room temperature once cooled. Store in air-tight container in fridge for best shelf-life (can be stored for up to one week). Can also be frozen for up to 3 months in an air-tight container.
8. Enjoy!

Please go to our instagram page for a video of the recipe. Please continue to come back to our blog for more family-friendly recipes!