If your family's Christmas Eve traditions involve leaving out some mince pies for Santa and carrots for his reindeer, this might come as a bit of a revelation.
Considering Santas reindeer fly 316 million miles in just 32 hours, I think we can all agree they very much deserve a treat, but a reindeer expert (yes, really) has now warned against leaving carrots out for Rudolph and team.
Why? Well, because it turns out that for the most part, raw carrots cannot be digested by reindeer.
Phil Endsor, otherwise known as 'The Reindeer Whisperer,' recently explained to
Netmums:
"For years, children around the world have been leaving carrots out for Santa’s reindeer believing it’s their favourite treat, but this is a huge misconception."
Are you surprised? I am shook. I mean; even Sven (you know, in Frozen) eats carrots!
"Carrots aren’t part of their natural diet and reindeer struggle to digest them because they don’t have any incisor teeth on their upper jaw," Endsor explains.
"We’ve never seen any of the reindeers we look after eat one!’
Yikes.
What snacks should we leave out for the reindeer then?
According to Endsor, there are plenty of alternative treats you can leave out for Rudolph, Dasher, Dancer and the rest of the gang before going to bed this Christmas Eve.
Luckily, the reindeer expert has now teamed up with Sainsbury's to come up with a delicious recipe guaranteed to be loved by all eight magical reindeer.
And don't worry – I know we don't have Sainsbury's here in Ireland, but this reindeer-friendly treat you can totally whip up in your own kitchen.
The simple three-step method doesn’t require any cooking or baking and combines rolled oats, cranberries, maple syrup, button mushrooms, flaxseed and a pinch of chilli powder to help Rudolph’s nose glow.
According to Endsor, this concoction will, 'provide Santa's reindeer with the strength they need to keep going on their journey'.
Well, consider us enlightened.
