- Parents can serve nutritious meals at home, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein.
- Encouraging healthy snacking with foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds can help teens stay nourished.
- Providing a nutritious breakfast with healthy proteins like eggs or oatmeal, whole grains, and fruits is essential.
- Nutritional supplements can help fill any nutritional gaps, but consult with a doctor or nutritionist first.
- Dental health is also important for good nutrition, as poor dental health can lead to serious health problems.
As a parent, you are responsible for ensuring your children are well-fed and receiving the proper nutrition they need to grow healthy and happy. But as your children enter their teenage years, providing them with the essential nutrients they need to thrive can become more challenging.
Teens have busy schedules, are more independent, and may prefer less healthy food options. However, good nutrition is crucial for their physical and emotional development. In this blog, you will learn essential tips to ensure their teens get all the nutrition they need.
Serve nutritious meals at home.
One of the most effective ways to ensure your teen receives proper nutrition is by serving nutritious, balanced meals at home. This means incorporating the following foods into their diet:
Fruits
Fruits are a great source of fiber and vitamins that are essential for good health. Encourage your teen to eat a variety of different types of fruits, including apples, bananas, oranges, pears, and grapes.
Vegetables
Vegetables are packed with essential nutrients like vitamins A and C, which can help maintain healthy skin and eyesight. Serve a variety of veggies at every meal, including broccoli, cauliflower, kale, carrots, and tomatoes.
Whole grains
Whole grains contain essential complex carbohydrates that provide energy throughout the day. Offer your teen whole grain breads, pasta, and cereals such as quinoa, oats, and brown rice.
Protein
Protein is essential for building and maintaining strong muscles. Serve your teen with lean forms of protein such as fish, poultry, beans, and tofu at least twice a week.
By serving nutritious meals at home, you can help ensure your teen is getting the essential nutrients they need to grow healthy and strong.
Encourage healthy snacking.
Snacking is a habit that many teens indulge in between meals, but it’s essential to encourage healthy snacks to keep them nourished throughout the day. Encourage your teen to keep healthy snacks like fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds on hand. These foods are packed full of important nutrients like fiber, vitamins, and minerals, which are essential for growth and development.
Make breakfast a priority.
Breakfast is often referred to as the most important meal of the day and for a good reason. Breakfast helps replenish your teen’s body with the energy and nutrients needed to start their day off right. Without it, your teen may feel sluggish and have a hard time concentrating on schoolwork. Ensure that you provide a nutritious breakfast that includes healthy proteins like eggs or oatmeal, whole grains, and fruits.
Provide nutritional supplements.
Sometimes, it can be challenging to ensure that your teen is getting all the essential nutrients they need from food alone. Providing nutritional supplements, like B vitamins, Vitamin C, and Omega-3s, can help fill those nutritional gaps. Consult with your teen’s doctor or a nutritionist to determine which supplements would be most beneficial for your teen.
Mind their dental health.
It’s also important to remember that nutrition isn’t just about what your teen eats but also how they take care of their teeth. Poor dental health can lead to serious health problems later on in life, so it’s essential to encourage regular brushing and flossing. Ensure your teen visits the dentist every six months for check-ups and cleanings.
A good dentist will also be able to help your teen address any dental issue that might make eating difficult for them, thus cutting down on their nutritional intake. For example, chewing and breaking down food can be difficult if your teen is missing many teeth. A dentist can provide replacement teeth solutions such as dentures in such cases. Dentures are a great way to ensure your teen has full, healthy teeth so they can eat their recommended daily nutrients. Dentures are relatively easy to maintain and can be a great way to improve your teen’s nutrition.
As a parent, it’s your job to ensure your teen gets the nutrition they need for healthy growth and development. By serving nutritious meals at home, encouraging healthy snacking habits, making breakfast a priority, providing nutritional supplements as needed, and paying attention to their dental health – you can help ensure that your teen receives all the essential nutrients they need daily. With these tips in mind, you can feel confident knowing that you are helping provide them with good nutrition during this important stage of life.
