We bring you a guest post today, compliments of two young men who have been members of a nutrition club, study nutrition, and haven’t had soda in over a year.
Miles Rouzer, with additional research by Willie PateSeniors at Dos Pueblos High School
Now that school has started back up, I am here to offer some advice to those teens who might be struggling to keep their resolutions about eating more healthfully, especially at school.
Now THAT'S a mad grip of tangerines!
But this isn’t about trash-talking school lunches, because I want this to actually be read in less than four hours. Teens actually do want to eat food that’s good for them, not just pizza, chips and sodas every day. So…what are some good things to pack as a snack or lunch?
The absolute best thing to bring is a mad grip (aka a handful) of tangerines! Not only are they delicious and nutritious but you can waste some precious minutes of class time in an attempt to peel off the skin in one whole piece!
A nicely rounded healthy lunch would look something like this:
* peanut butter and jelly (from the local farmer’s market) mashed between two pieces of whole wheat bread (makes one heck of a fine sandwich)
* banana
* Planters NUT-rition mix
* finish strong with a delicate cherry pie LaraBar
If you want to be known as a gourmet chef, try this one out for size:
* the night before cook up a batch of quinoa and a vegetable medley of some sort (stir fry also works, and I actually prefer it), then just microwave that goodness at school or carry a microwave to school in your backpack – LOL
* those Juicy Juice boxes go great with this
* a snack with this could be a Zbar, which are actually really dank (translation: awesome)
Everything looks good when it's in a vending machine
Another lunch that I make quite often:
* turkey jerky for snack
* turkey sandwich, with turkey from your local deli of course, with some fresh lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese. Feel free to add homemade bacon to this. Just kidding! Unless you do that kind of thing…
* some apples, which helps get your body enough fiber without making you have to eat that horrid “fiber sticks” old-person cereal instead of Cap’n Crunch in the morning
* lastly, there are some interesting pouches called Mashups Squeezable fruit that you can eat to get a straight injection of healthfulness
A bit like a fruit smoothie, but not exactly
I know that many people think teens just eat junk, but we actually like stuff that’s good for us too. Except shrimp; I hate shrimp. And here’s a little hint for adults – if you put healthy stuff into the school vending machines, that’s what we’ll eat. And we are also concerned about our future. I bring this up because I found out about a cool company called H.U.M.A.N. Healthy Vending (helping unite man and nutrition). It’s a company that places healthy vending machines in schools (and other places) and gives 10% of the proceeds back to charitable causes that fight obesity and malnutrition. Some of the snacks they sell are mentioned above, so you know it’s regular food that kids eat. Some of the snacks were definitely not me.
Anyway, I hope parents are reading this too, so you’ll know to buy us healthy food for us to pack in our lunches.
Giveaway: Thanks to Healthy Vending, we have one sample pack of healthy snacks to give to one lucky reader. Named in Entrepreneur Magazine as a “Top 100 Brilliant Company” and in Forbes Magazine as one of “America’s Most Promising Companies,” they are on a mission to put healthier food options in front of consumers. For your chance to win the sample pack pictured here, put a comment below and (if you’re on Twitter) send out a tweet mentioning this giveaway via @healthyvending. Let us know in the comments that you’ve sent the tweet. If you want to find them via Facebook, they are at H.U.M.A.N. Health Vending. Contest ends midnight PST, Friday, Jan. 20. We’ll notify the winner on Saturday, Jan. 21.
Do You Want to Win All This Healthy Food?
If you’re a student, what are some healthy foods you pack for your lunches?
Photo credits: norwichnuts, RevolutionFoods, healthyvending
Congratulations to Emily at Family and Live in Las Vegas, the winner of the healthy snacks sample pack.
I’m a graduate student and I used to catch all kinds of crap from my lab-mates when I’d come in at the beginning of the week and stock my mini-fridge with milk, apples, mandarin oranges, and anything else healthy that I could eat quickly. I also run during lunch on nice days. I had the last laugh when the new grad lab students all gained weight by the end of the first semester and I lost. Several of them are now trying to be like me now
Jess K recently posted..BCOR Bootcamp, Here I Come!
That’s a funny story, Jess. I remember when I was an undergrad and the commons food was full of fattening grease. I convinced them to put out the cereal for me in the evenings. Everyone else gained weight and I didn’t. I was so pleased with my cereal solution!
Great suggestions! I love packing a lunch
Victoria Runs recently posted..Telling Loved Ones YOU Want to Get Healthy
Me too. I haven’t purchased a lunch in over 5 years. I don’t like the added salt, fat, etc., nor do I like paying $6 for a wrap! My money is going toward my kids!
AlexandraFunFit recently posted..Don’t Be Still My Beating (Omron) Heart (Rate Monitor)
I love the example of cooking up quinoa the night before for an impressive lunch the next day. I had not thought of that.
I’ve been enjoying cooking with quinoa recently. I will roast some red peppers and onion and chop up roasted chicken and then toss altogether for a quinoa meal full of veggies and protein. I also like to mix in fresh basil.
Thanks again for a great post!
Nice! As a mom who packs three school lunches everyday I am always in need of some new ideas for healthy lunches.
Julia Russo recently posted..What Is the Best-Tasting Greens Drink?
Wow, 3 lunches? You probably have some great healthy ideas. Please let us know what you pack that your kids will eat.
My kids are super picky, don’t like sandwiches, and are not big meat eaters so it can be a challenge! I start with a bottle of water, add some fruit – apples, strawberries, clementines, then either a yogurt or string cheese, whole grain crackers or a granola bar, and then a couple of cookies. That’s pretty much it with some variation!
Julia Russo recently posted..Greens Powder – The Benefits of Eating Raw without the Hassle
Great Perspective… Back when i was in School we just ate whatever! haha So its cool to see the conversation is now on the minds of the students. Great Write Up!
chris D recently posted..Crossfit Open 2012 Announcement
So true, Chris. I know a lot of teens, and they are really with it. They want to be healthy and at their best. I love teens and their enthusiasm for life!
AlexandraFunFit recently posted..Does Working Out Suck?
I like healthy food! I still work at the dining commons on campus which means I often want snacks in between the time slots that it’s open. Ones that are healthy and free would be ideal for this poor student!
I so agree with you Chelsea. When I was an undergrad I talked the people at the commons into letting me eat cereal for breakfast because the dinners were so greasy. With that trick I managed to avoid the freshman 15!
AlexandraFunFit recently posted..Don’t Be Still My Beating (Omron) Heart (Rate Monitor)
Yeeei for healthy food! Another lunchbox idea … Cucumber, lime, chili powder like tajin mmmmm!
You know, that sounds really tasty.
AlexandraFunFit recently posted..C-c-c-cooking with Ch-ch-ch-chia seeds!
Totally agree! I am a BIG proponent not of losing weight but of eating healthier. I actually get a little sad when I visit my kids at school during lunchtime and I look down the lunch table piled with all sorts of junk! Not sad for my kids, of course, but sad for the rest of the kids! Eating healthier is a lifelong decision – thanks for sharing this giveaway!
Crystal @ Surviving a Teacher’s Salary recently posted..Top 5 Tips on How to Be a Savvy Frugal Shopper – PLUS a Box Tops STEAL!!
Yes, I’m glad my eldest is a healthy eater at 17. My 15 year old still just wants junk. But he’ll come ’round!
AlexandraFunFit recently posted..Do Pilates and Yoga Improve Strength? Free offer for right answer!
Great suggestions, I would love to win this for my son!
Melissa recently posted..Give the Gift of Organization from Rubbermaid!
You betcha! The bag o’ swag has some good stuff in it! Just tell me your son is not over 30 and still at home picking through your good stuff.
KymberlyFunFit recently posted..Push-ups for Patriots
I don’t have to pack my dd’s lunch yet, but I plan to and love all the ideas you suggested, thanks!! Would love to win that prize pack.
Hanan recently posted..My New Year’s Resolution with Purex & Jockey
Hi Hanan! See what a nice mommy you are. We had to pack our own lunches as kids, so I pretended to be surprised when I brought out the cookies. I admit – kinda pitiful to fake that our mom packed our lunches. She had 5 of us after all. You are entered!
KymberlyFunFit recently posted..Does Working Out Suck?
tweeted: http://twitter.com/LilacCityMomma/statuses/157871077450727424
Hanan recently posted..My New Year’s Resolution with Purex & Jockey
Two entries for Miss Hanan too!
AlexandraFunFit recently posted..Don’t Be Still My Beating (Omron) Heart (Rate Monitor)
Great tips , such a great concept healthy vending machines. I’d love to see how they worked out at our schools.
I tweeted https://twitter.com/#!/aawhitehead/status/157871469207097344
Thanks for tweeting and commenting! That’s two entries for you Missy Amber!
KymberlyFunFit recently posted..Healthy School Lunches
When I was in HS, we ONLY ate out of the vending machine. WE had about 20 machines to choose from, so that’s what we ate. Looking back it was AWFUL! I wish these healthy vending machines were around back then.
Jen recently posted..Free Disney Store Disney Princess and Friends Craft Event This Weekend
Heck, when I was in high school vending machines were just being invented. Ok, maybe I am exaggerating. I remember seeing apples in machines as a teen and thinking “what the heck? Why would I spend my babysitting money on that??!!”
KymberlyFunFit recently posted..Don’t Be Still My Beating (Omron) Heart (Rate Monitor)
I never worried so much about the ingredients of school lunch, as I did those diabolical old ladies with the hair nets that were cooking it up. Like a scene from MacBeth, almost. How I’d shudder when on June 25th, one of them would say to me “See you September, Pooley! Bwahahaha!”
Healthful food can taste great – get a better group of cooks. Great article. Thanks
Gerald recently posted..bean bags for kids
This is awesome! WE love pouches in this house – if you put them in the freezer it is like an instant smoothie! Tweet! https://twitter.com/#!/FamilyNLifeLV/status/158611725996933120
Emily (faliLV) (@FamilyNLifeLV) recently posted..Fitness and Life Lessons from Tim Tebow? | Fitness Friday
I love that the moms are rocking the entries here! We want our kids to be healthy, that’s for sure.
AlexandraFunFit recently posted..Does Working Out Suck?
What a great post! I hope my kids think this way when they are teenagers! This doesn’t just apply to teenagers, though, this also applies to adults. I wish we had vending machines with healthy snacks at work. I usually bring my lunch and snacks, but some mornings are just so busy I don’t have time to pack everything. It would be great if I could get a healthy snack from the vending machines on those days.
LeeAnn recently posted..Rylie’s 4th Birthday: The Party
First of all, thanks for reading our article! And secondly, the first step in bringing about a revamp of vending machines may be to start to attempt to have them in job or office settings, good idea! By the way, at my school, it would probably be healthier to go pick some tree leaves than get a school snack.
OOoooh I want healthy vending machines in our office!! Today everyone was all atwitter because they started serving Combos. Ugh.
ModernSauce recently posted..I think it’s time to beat this one-trick pony to death.
You have great information and I am glade someone is talking about food and schools. There is no reason kids can’t eat good food in school …Thank you so much!!
Jim Eating Good Food recently posted..Transitional smoothies
These school lunches are so nice !! Way better than those stupid junk foods !! Trust me !!
Approximately half of the population of most teens are truly affected by having a balance diet, for during this age there are so much that you want to it but most of it are raw foods and junkies. And as parents you can’t barely stop them from refraining nor cease from eating that kind of food, and the less that you can do is keep reminding them of unlikable results of it.
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