Some Simple Healthy Breakfast Ideas for Kids with Braces

Once kids have braces on, they shouldn’t be eating various hard, sticky, gummy, and otherwise potentially damaging foods. It’s never convenient to have more limitations on what kids can eat—especially the particularly picky ones. So, as part of our endless attempts to be as helpful as possible, we thought we’d offer a few healthy breakfast ideas for kids with braces.

No matter what they eat, though, it’s important to remind your child about properly cleaning their teeth and braces after they eat. Even the most braces-friendly foods can gunk up the hardware.

Braces-Friendly Breakfasts for Kids

• Eggs are soft, packed with nutrients, and satisfying. There are plenty of easy ways to prepare them, including scrambled, fried, hard boiled, and omelets. And of course you can add soft veggies like tomato, spinach, cooked bell peppers, or others that your child eats to scrambled eggs or omelets. A side of whole wheat toast (without grains or seeds, as these can lodge behind braces brackets and wires) and maybe a turkey sausage link, and a glass of OJ and you’ve got one of the best healthy breakfast ideas for kids with braces served up.

• Whole grain pancakes or waffles with a light application of syrup and some soft fruit like berries or banana slices are a great option. You can make them when you have time to prepare breakfast, or buy them frozen for convenience. Just remember to stick with whole wheat or other whole grain batters or products that don’t contain small grains or seeds that can get stuck behind the brackets and wires of braces.

• Oatmeal is another healthy whole grain breakfast option. Homemade or packaged oatmeal that’s light on the added sugar is best; cinnamon is a healthier way to sweeten it up and make it more appealing to children. Soft fruits like berries or banana slices, or even small pieces of apple, work well in oatmeal for added flavor and nutritional value that’s not risky for the braces.

• Yogurt and fruit parfait has protein, calcium and vitamin D for strong teeth, fiber, and plenty of other vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other nutrients. A lightly sweetened vanilla yogurt is a good option for kids, and all sorts of fruit work well with it. If your child likes cottage cheese, you can use it instead of yogurt as an alternative for a little variety.

• Fruit smoothies with milk or yogurt, a variety of fruits, and maybe even some secret kale your child never has to find out about are a nutritious, filling breakfast option that feel more like a dessert to kids. Frozen fruit works well, is more cost-effective, and the cold beverage can even help relieve oral discomfort from new or newly adjusted braces.