Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Healthy Teen Treats

Nowadays teens have so many options food wise. However they will be what they are -teenagers who go for everything and anything unhealthy How do parents get them to eat the proper food? Make all those veggies and fruits fun. They can still have great flavor but this time it comes with a lot of hidden antioxidants, minerals and vitamins.

All kids love crunch, They go made for anything that makes some kind of noise.Potato sticks and chips fit that description perfectly. The one problem - they're not good,thanks to all that salt, fat and starch.Think about making the healthier Brussels sprouts and/or kale chips. These are easy to make and they can be flavored with sea salt or fiery cayenne pepper for some jolt.Popcorn is another "safe" snack however researchers have found that  the air popped kind is the best because it doesn't have a coating of transfat laced product that most kernels have.Pretzels are good but instead of the regular kind think of serving whole wheat. The same for tortilla chips. Some brands offer whole wheat and with salsa, it makes the ideal snack.

What about meals? Teens have certain tastes as well, rooted in childhood favorites. Easy enough too. Think about changing over to whole wheat spaghetti and turkey meat balls instead of the regular " white "kind with beef meatballs.Pizza can be made as well with whole wheat flour. Sub in veggies as opposed to cheese for something different or even grilled chicken mixed with a rich tomato sauce. Mexican food is one of the healthiest cuisines and a teen favorite. Chicken or fish tacos are fun and easy to make.Just nix the sour cream and go easy on the guacamole.Add more of a choice of veggies like pepper strips or for something different asparagus spears. They get a fun meal but with more vitamins and antioxidants added.

Teens can eat fun and healthy at the same time.Introduce healthy foods in fun ways and they'll forget about the junk. Seriously. They will.

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