Teenagers!

Question for parents of 14 to 18 year olds:  Is anything easy with this age group?!  I have some tips to make meeting their energy needs easy for YOU!  These days not too many people have time to make everything from scratch – Martha Stewart has a team of people to help her be efficient.  I only have me – here’s what I have learned:

Teenage boys need over 3000 calories per day.  Girls need about 2300 calories.  Keep it simple.

Eat breakfast.  Kids this age sleep a lot so they may have to eat walking to the bus.  There is nothing that is written that you need to have eggs or cereal or a traditional breakfast.   Make a sandwich the night before.  Grab & Go!  How about a slice of pizza?   Try the trailmix recipe from my article on 9-13 year olds with a glass of milk.  Ask your teenager what they would like, but “nothing” is not the answer you are looking for (or candy, cookies or other junk).  There are “bars” out there that are okay – but they tend to be too expensive, in my opinion.

Pack a snack.  I love fruit because it comes in its own package:  apple, banana, a bag of grapes, etc.  They can have a quick munch between classes.

Make it a healthy lunch.  Add carrots & hummus.  Believe it or not, chips are not horrible.  Just a few at a time a few times each week is OK.  I’m not a fan of juice – I’m a flavored water kinda girl.  This will help avoid that early afternoon crash that comes with too much sugar all at once (and not enough protein & healthy fats).

We covered after school snacks.  Now it’s time for a healthy dinner.  Yes, probably a snack after that too…!