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Healthy Snacks for Teens: Teens today have a fast lifestyle. Between their school, homework, sports, hanging out with friends and afterschool activities they hardly get enough time to have a wholesome meal. To top it all, teenagers love fast food, junk food and eating out. Most of the time you see them on the go, grabbing a burger or fries. Amidst this busy life of theirs, healthy food habits go for a toss.
However, it is certainly possible for teenagers to eat a few healthy snacks. If they have a hectic schedule, then health is of utmost importance. Packed lunch is not all that boring if you just make it a bit different and interesting from the usual.
With a few healthy and tasty snacks ideas, getting packed lunch to school can be fun.
Starchy carbohydrates can provide long lasting energy, so you should start the packed lunch with some of these. Try something different for a change instead of the usual bread: try pitas, bagels, bread rolls, wraps, ciabatta and baguettes.
Try to make some of them whole meal or multigrain. Even a mix of whole meal and white can be tried out. Now add some proteins to the meal.
Add some lean meat, fish, a few vegetables, fruits, and cheese. You can try certain ideas like cheddar cheese and apple slices or brie and cranberry sauce or jam too. Mozzarella and grilled peppers or cottage cheese with apricots will be just great. Try cooking chicken or turkey and add a little mustard, lettuce and tomato to it. You can also try tuna with green pepper, sweet corn, cucumber and tomato. Try giving your teenager at least five portions of fruit a day. Add some variety of fruits to the packed lunch. You need not always pick an apple or an orange. Try kiwi, mangoes, pears, melons, grapes or even dry fruits. Finally, end the lunch with something to drink. Water or milk is the best drink one can have. However, to compete with colas and other packaged drinks, you can add something that makes it more interesting. Try milkshakes and fruit juices. You can also make yogurt drinks or smoothies.
Make sure that you keep the packed lunch cool. Use some icepacks or a frozen carton of juice to keep it cool, or else you can find someplace cool in the school where the lunch can be stored. And finally, remember even if food is healthy it should still be in moderation. Encourage your teenager to have regular healthy meals and snacks. It is not healthy to overeat or skip meals, or to go for long periods without eating.
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