Delicious Teeth-Friendly Fall Treats

At Arizona Smile Designers, our Cottonwood and Sedona dentists are proud to offer a number of helpful dental treatments, including endodontics and periodontics, to make sure that you achieve a healthier smile. We don’t only assist through our excellent treatments though – we’re just as capable of giving you the helpful advice necessary to make sure that you’re maintaining proper care of your teeth and mouth on a daily basis. For example, the foods that you eat can have a big effect on the health of your teeth – both positive and negative. For the benefit of your teeth, we’d like to give you a few recipes of some foods you can try out this fall season that are definitely what we would consider “teeth-friendly!”

Broccoli Cheese Soup

With this broccoli cheese soup recipe, you’ll get a sampling of some of the most teeth-friendly ingredients out there. The milk and cheese are packed with calcium, which will strengthen teeth and jawbones. The broccoli is full of fiber, which can stimulate your gums, produce saliva, and help clean your teeth. You can’t go wrong with this recipe!

Ingredients:

• ½ cup butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli
• 4 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 1 (1 pound) loaf processed cheese food, cubed
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 2/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup water

Instructions:

1. In a stockpot, melt butter over medium heat. Cook onion in butter until softened. Stir in broccoli, and cover with chicken broth. Simmer until broccoli is tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Reduce heat, and stir in cheese cubes until melted. Mix in milk and garlic powder.
3. In a small bowl, stir cornstarch into water until dissolved. Stir into soup; cook, stirring frequently, until thick.

Spinach and Strawberry Salad

Much like the previous recipe, this spinach and strawberry salad offers a great combo of appetizing and teeth-friendly ingredients. Spinach is a good source of fiber, which we previously mentioned is excellent for teeth. Strawberries are just as good for your mouth as they can help your gums become healthier and they can actually make your teeth whiter too.

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches spinach, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces
• 4 cups sliced strawberries
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• ¼ cup white wine vinegar
• ½ cup white sugar
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, toss together the spinach and strawberries.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, sugar, paprika, sesame seeds, and poppy seeds. Pour over the spinach and strawberries, and toss to coat.

Creamy Rice Pudding

If you’re looking for a delicious dessert that’s still teeth-friendly, try out this creamy rice pudding recipe. It’s light on sugar, yet heavy on all of the calcium needed for your teeth to stay strong. We recommend this the next time you’re craving a sweet treat.

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup uncooked white rice
• 2 cups milk, divided
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2/3 cup golden raisins
• 1 tablespoon butter
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

 

1. Bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan; stir rice into boiling water. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. In a clean saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk, beaten egg, and raisins; cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.

Contact Your Cottonwood and Sedona, AZ Dentists Today!

If you have any questions or comments for us, please don’t hesitate to contact us. If you’re interested in scheduling an appointment with your Cottonwood and Sedona, AZ dentists, feel free to give us a call at (928) 634-8610. We hope to hear from you soon – and we hope you enjoy these great recipes!