Primal snacks for kid with braces?? page

[TamiO]

My 12 year old is getting his braces on next week and I'm trying to come up with Primal-friendly snacks. He LOVES beef jerky which is obviously out for the next 2 years. Nothing gooey or sticky, and nothing crunchy or hard like raw carrots that could snap off brackets
Any thoughts? He doesn't really like hb eggs.

What about Tanka bites? I've never had pemmican but the word 'bite' in the name makes me think these might be a good sub for regular beef jerky?? Are they super chewy?

Any thoughts are welcome, he's REALLY bummed about no beef jerky. Doesn't care much about candy or popcorn restrictions so I guess I must be doing something right in trying to make him a Primal kid!

[Crabbcakes]

My two kids-currently-in-braces cheat. Seriously. After he gets over the initial mouth pain, which in this house lasted a full month to get back to full jaw strength without soreness, just pull or cut the jerky into small bites and chew slowly. It is probably not what you wanted to hear, and I usually do not endorse breaking the rules of the ortho, but if you truly make the bites small and chew slowly, letting the moisture and enzymes of the mouth soften the meat, it totally works with jerky.

Otherwise, perhaps lots of breakfast sausage links or patties, bacon strips, or thin-sliced hard sausages if you can get your hands on some good stuff.

[primalrob]

apple slices with a little almond butter
avocado deviled eggs
nuts
bacon bits

i've seen the tanka bites, but never tried them. they seem small enough where even if they are chewy they probably won't damage his braces at all.

[lemontwisst]

I remember this weird 'powdered' (for lack of a better word) beef jerky from when I was a kid; you'd just jam a wad of it in your mouth and, voila - chewy, jerky goodness. What about tossing some jerky in a processor or something and pulsing it a few times so it's blasted into smaller, easier-to-deal-with bits (not until it's paste, ew)?
You could dry slices of fruit and veg into chips and make dips to go along with.
You could also take a homemade Lara bar recipe (just process dates with whatever add-ins he'd like - cocoa, coconut, bits of nuts, etc) and make them into bite-sized bits, too, but the dates could wreak havoc with his brackets...

[namelesswonder]

The brackets that I broke off were almost always on the top front teeth. Once, I remember, was from chewing on a remote (oral fixation much?). My parents made me pay for the replacement (I was good at saving money back then) after the first 3. If you cut up the jerky into bite sized pieces, I think it'll be fine. Just don't let him gnaw on any bones.

I also ate popcorn, chewed gum, & munch on ice. None of those things broke the brackets off. Just me being a dumbass.

[Suz]

Smoothies! Throw in only slightly thawed blueberries, some protein powder and a banana. Keep it chilly (even grind up ice) and it will add extra relief when his mouth is sore. We also found beef sticks from Cattaneo Bros (who make an amazing but tough beef jerky) are soft enough and make a great snack. Olives are a good option too.