Eat Your Veggies Everyday, but Especially Today

For good oral health and even protecting your orthodontics appliances, there are foods Dr. Bailey doesn't recommend you eat and foods we tell you to avoid all togehter. However, one food group we promote consistently as being beneficial is vegetables.

Today, June 17th, is Eat Your Veggies Day. This day was created to promote including vegetable in your diet. Vegetables are an essential part of a healthy diet. We've all remember being told by our parents “you better eat your vegetable if you want to be strong”, well your parents were right. There are a large variety of foods included in the vegetable food group that are tasty and healthy

What foods are in the Vegetable Group? source: USDA
Any vegetable or 100% vegetable juice counts as a member of the Vegetable Group. Vegetables may be raw or cooked; fresh, frozen, canned, or dried/dehydrated; and may be whole, cut-up, or mashed.
Based on their nutrient content, vegetables are organized into 5 subgroups: dark-green vegetables, starchy vegetables, red and orange vegetables, beans and peas**, and other vegetables.

Here are some examples:

Dark-green vegetables

• bok choy
• broccoli
• collard greens
• dark green leafy lettuce
• kale
• mustard greens
• romaine lettuce
• spinach

Beans and peas

• black beans
• black-eyed peas 
• kidney beans
• pinto beans
• soy beans
• split peas

Red and orange vegetables

• acorn squash
• butternut squash
• carrots
• pumpkin
• red peppers
• sweet potatoes
• tomatoes

Other vegetables

• artichokes
• asparagus
• avocado
• bean sprouts

Today put down the sweets and pick up a healthy veggie! Leave us a comment letting us know what are your favorite or favorite recipes including veggie.

Cool Off on National Iced Tea Day

Summer heat is taking over, it’s now mandatory to keep a nice cold drink in hand. Today celebrates one of our favorite cool drinks, Iced Tea.  June 10^th is National Iced Tea Day!

Iced Tea is refreshing and tasty, but did you know Iced Tea has health benefits as well. Benefits include fewer calories than other drinks, more antioxidants and the removal of free radicals from your body. Black and green tea is full of antioxidants and compounds that have been shown to reduce the risk of some cancers, diabetes, and blood pressure. This summer cool-off with healthy Iced Tea drinks. 

Here are 3 healthy and refreshing Iced Tea recipes everyone will enjoy:

Fruited Iced Sun Tea

 recipe here

Iced Tea with Fresh Mint

recipe here 

Peach Mango White Iced Tea

recipe here

We’ve mentioned time and time again how we recommend removing soda from your diet, so Iced Tea is definitely a healthy way to quench your thirst and satisfy your taste-buds. Remember, your oral health benefits from you eating healthy and drinking healthy beverages. 

To find out where you could score free Iced Tea on June 10th click here

Ready for Fun in the Sun?

As you may have noticed this week we started our summer schedule. Starting this week until July 31^st our hours will be: Monday and Tuesday 9am-5pm & Wednesday and Thursday 7am-2pm. As the heat rises and schools start vacation, we truly know summer is upon us.

Have your summer all planned out? Is your entire family taking a memorable vacation? Or are you just taking things one day at a time? For those of you who don’t quite have your summer totally planned out we have some ideas for you. Here are 5 things you and your family can do at home to enjoy the summer.

Make a homemade “Slip n’ Slide”

A “Slip N’ Slide” is a fun type of water slide, but you don’t need a pool. This perfect for those blazing HOT days here in Surprise!  To create a homemade “Slip N’ Slide” is plastic tarp and a sprinkler. For full instructions on how to create this backyard water slide click here.

Backyard camping

Want to have fun under the stars with your family? How about camping at home? Grab a tent, sleeping bags and everything else you would take on a camping trip and head to the backyard. For backyard camping ideas click here.

Frozen treats for everyone

Turn your kitchen into a desert parlor. There’s not better way to beat the heat than with a refreshing Click here for a list of fun frozen treats, but make sure the treats are Ortho-friendly!

treats.

Sidewalk art

Grab some chalk and have fun drawing in the drive-way. Clean-up is easy, just grab the water hose and wash the art away when you’re done. You can purchase chalk at your local convenience store.

Tie-Dye clothing design

Give your old clothes new fun designs. All you need is shirts, dye and rubber-bands. For full instructions on how to create tie-dye clothing click here.

During your next appointment let us know what how you’ve been enjoying your summer and if you’ve tried any of these ideas.