Healthy snacks for teenagers
You have teenagers and all they eat is fries with cheese and gravy? There are healthy snacks for teenagers that you can make to help their brains and their bodies sustain throughout the business of daily life. The question is: what are these snacks and how do you get your teen interested in them?
Teens are different
Teens are different from kids and adults. As opposed to kids, they have some money in their disposal and the freedom to buy themselves snacks at the school cafeteria. You know, that pizza, hot dogs, and macaroni cheese that school cafeterias offer?
They are not adults because they really feel immortal. They are going to live forever, and so the argument about eating healthy usually falls on deaf ears. Healthy snacks for teenagers are something abstract, a last priority. The first priority is to keep up with their social life and fill their bellies enough to be able to do that.
That’s why it should be the first priority for us, parents.
Food affects teens’ mood, social life, and performance at school
Food can cause fatigue and depression or alleviate those syndromes. Food can cause acne and weight gain, and their social life and self-image suffers in turn. Providing healthy snacks for teenagers is something parents can do to help them face the challenges of the teen years more successfully.
Five healthy snacks for teenagers
Let’s look at six healthy snacks for teenagers, great alternatives to white bread, fries and turkey with gravy sandwiches.
- Boiled potatoes with babaganoush, hummus or tzaziki
- Easy! Air-popped popcorn with flax oil and sea salt or natural seasoning
- Whole wheat sandwich with almond butter, marinated tofu or canned herbed salmon, and veggies on the side
- Fruit and veggies with a dip
- Easy! Sweetened applesauce (such as Mott Fruittations) with granola
- Bran blueberry muffins or healthy oatmeal cookies.
- Whole wheat tortilla wrap with hummus, mushrooms, greens, and veggies. Something like this:
These choices require some preparation, but its very rewarding and reassuring thought of your teen getting their omega-3s.
Though some of these snacks get only four stars on the scale of five for health benefits, they are four stars ahead of normal snacks that teens are wasting their money on. And this means a big leap, not even a baby step!
Getting teens to eat healthy snacks
Knowing what to prepare is only half the battle. By their nature, teenagers can be contrary and picky. However, if you simply pack them lunch saying, “now you can use your money at the mall for clothes or shoes, or whatever” you may find you get no questions about the ingredients - instead, just a resounding smile. Most teens have other things that they want to use their money for, and you’re offering them a perfect solution.
Give it a try.
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