Eating healthy food is extremely important, especially for kids and teenagers who are still growing. As they get older, your child is going to have increasing control over what they eat - particularly when they are away from you at school every day. With hectic schedules it can seem difficult to find time to choose healthy food options. There is always time for your health if you make it a priority and give it a bit of thought. These are the lessons we want to instill in our children and teens so they take these habits with them throughout their lives. Just by packing a few quick and easy healthy items each day, you can stave off temptations of less healthy options. These small “good choices” each and every day can make a big difference in their health over their lifetime.
Just what will an on-the-go teenager take (and actually eat) for lunch that is healthy, if given the choice? What better way to find out, than to ask them? The following is a list of ideas for teen lunches taken from a chat forum where teens were asked just that –
“What do you like to take for a healthy lunch?”
Apples, oranges, bananas, grapes, peaches, cherry tomatoes and dried fruit packs are easy and fast to pack.
A wrap or sandwich made with a wholegrain tortilla or bread, filled with low fat ham, turkey or chicken, rice, cheese, veggies, or beans. Lowfat dressing/mayo or mustard.
Lots of teens replied that they love to take a salad to school for lunch! Weekend prep is key to making that possible on a busy school morning. Here are some other great ideas for teen lunches if you take a little time to prepare the weekend before:
Chopping veggies like carrots, celery and peppers into sticks make quick snack options. Try dipping them in peanut butter or hummus for some extra protein and a bit of fun.
Chop those same veggies a bit smaller along with mushrooms, cucumbers, avocados (with a bit of lemon so they don’t brown) and romaine. Store in air tight containers for easy to throw together salad ingredients any day of the week. Cherry/grape tomatoes are already bite size and ready to go!
Boil eggs and/or chicken and slice for a more substantial and filling salad ingredients.
Use tiny bowls with lids or cosmetic bottles for low fat dressings or vinegar or lemon juice and olive oil.
Pre-bag nuts (cashews, peanuts, almonds), seeds (sunflower, pumpkin), dried fruits and granola, so they are easy to grab on the run.
Pre-chopping fruits like watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, pineapple, and strawberries makes it easy to grab a bowl of fresh fruit with a yogurt and a snack bag of granola.
The following were ideas given for quick and easy lunch ideas that are not necessarily ‘healthy’, but are a ‘healthier alternative’ when you want to splurge on a treat….
Pretzels and air-popped popcorn are great crunchy/salty snacks.
A few squares of dark chocolate or a handful of dark chocolate covered raisens or nuts are a better choice for that chocolate craving.
100 calories snack packs are convenient and great for portion control.
As you can see, they have about the the same needs and desires as most busy adults. They want ease, convenience and variety. Make it easy for them by making sure there are ingredients available, help them prepare them ahead of time if necessary and there is a good chance your teen will be happy to take some healthy food options to school with them!
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