Swap Out These Foods for Healthier Teen Eating
Is your teen wanting to eat healthier and feel better? Or, are you concerned with unhealthy foods your teen is eating and want to make changes at home?
Unfortunately, many teen-favorite foods can also be among some of the unhealthiest available. Big brands of processed breakfast, snack and dessert foods often engineer their products for greater appeal to teens’ desire for stronger, more intense flavors, with the goal to keep consumers coming back for more.
The result is teens are eating highly processed foods and can have difficulty stopping or eating more natural, whole foods because the flavors don’t hit their “bliss point” (a scientifically studied pleasure reaction in the brain), the same as manufactured foods.
In order to make the break, many teens and parents alike will completely cut out and deprive themselves of the offending foods.
Deprivation can cause greater cravings for teens and can lead to overeating, hiding and eating food in private, or other unhealthy eating behaviors
Switching to a healthier version will have less negative effects on their body, they’ll feel better, and it’ll allow them to still enjoy a food they like without guilt or shame
Swapping out teaches teens how to enjoy food by choosing healthier versions and not feeling guilt and deprivation.
Teens can still have a favorite snack or dessert food and not feel singled out from the rest of the family or their friends. Being different can sometimes be the absolute worst for a teen.
Outright elimination of favorite foods at home can cause teens to seek out on their own, defeating your efforts.
But, here’s the good news, eating healthier doesn’t have to be about eliminating foods your teen likes. Instead, it is possible to help them focus on swapping out favorite foods with healthier versions. Then, if necessary, reducing the frequency or amount they’re eating.
Rather than edit and completely remove certain unhealthy foods from a teen’s diet in an attempt to improve eating, swap out the most unhealthy foods for a more gradual and healthful approach.
Teens can learn more in this episode of the Healthy Teen Life podcast: 3 Types of Foods to Swap Out Now.
Share it with your teen. It helps increase their understanding of the foods they’re eating and how to make conscious decisions to improve food choices by swapping out for healthier ingredients.
Foods to Swap Out At Home
for Better Health
Sugar:
It’s effect on our bodies has been studied significantly and it’s never good. So much of our packaged, pre-made foods purchased at the grocery store today are loaded with added sugars.
Sugars to avoid:
The main types of sugar you want to avoid are
white table sugar and brown sugar
corn syrup and sweeteners, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
fruit juice concentrates
sugar additives ending in "ose" (dextrose, fructose, glucose, lactose, maltose, sucrose).
Teen favorite packaged foods to consider changing out that often include these types of sugar:
Sports and energy drinks, sodas, juices like fruit drinks, and flavored coffee drinks. But also watch out for flavored waters and even kombucha. All can have a significant amount of added sugar
Bars: granola, energy, workout, breakfast, and snack bars - often made with sugar alcohols and syrups, milk chocolate, and highly-processed oils.
Flavored Yogurts, and Desserts – these often contain considerable amounts of processed sugar with minimal fiber and beneficial nutrients. Ice cream often has high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) which is a highly processed and unhealthy form of sugar.
Research has shown that sugary drinks in particular, are a significant contributor to an increased chance of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes because they can be consumed frequently and in fairly large amounts. Many people don’t factor it into their food intake and consequentially aren’t aware of the sugar impact.
Consistent intake of sugar can cause: inflammation, blood sugar instability, insulin resistance, gut dysbiosis.
How it manifests in your teens body:
Brain – brain fog, poor focus, reduced attention span, moodiness, anxiety, depression
Body – low energy, jitters & crashes, weight gain, type II diabetes, fatty liver disease, joint pain, cavities, acne,
Gut – bloating, discomfort and eventually can lead to more chronic conditions
But sugary foods are not the only culprits, also consider upgrading these other foods:
Baked Goods, Instant Breakfast Foods, and White Pasta
This includes foods like white or wheat breads, regular white flour pasta, muffins, croissants, scones, cookies, cakes, and even instant oatmeal. Many of these contain sugar or white flour, are processed and broken down into their simplest forms for smooth texture, making them low in fiber which quickly converts to sugar in the blood stream. Plus, most contain processed vegetable and seed oils which are known to contribute to weight gain and other health factors.
Packaged Snack Foods
This includes chips (crisps), crackers, cheese puffs, pretzels, etc. Essentially snacks that aren’t derived from a whole food or, are highly processed to create. These typically are produced with vegetable and seed oils, and are high sodium. Ingredients you’ll want your whole family to avoid.
What You Can Do
At home & with your teen
Focus on the foods that your teen eats the most in terms of amount and consistency. Start swapping those foods out to a healthier version or for a whole food, like a vegetable or whole fruit they enjoy.
Look for packaged favorites that have less ingredients, use plant oils like olive-oil or avocado oil, are low sodium, and have little to no added sugars.
Many teens eat foods out of convenience and ease. Store-bought packaged snack foods are popular because they cut out prepping and preparing, allowing instant gratification.
Help your teen learn the value of preparing their own foods and make it a combined effort. Prep fruits and vegetables in advance so they’re ready to go. Or buy pre-cut from the grocery store.
Bake at home with healthier sugar options like monk fruit sugar, stevia, maple or date syrup, or fruit like apple sauce (no sugar added), mashed bananas, or berries.
When purchasing favorite foods at the grocery store, choose higher fiber and whole grains for baked goods or snacks.
Reduce the number of different snack foods in the house and upgrade the ones you do keep by purchasing healthier versions. In doing so, you’ll all eat healthier, feel fuller and more satisfied (fiber), and you may save money by eating less processed snack foods.
Yes, this may take some homework and time to figure out healthy alternatives but the health of your teen, and your family, is the ultimate benefit and totally worth it.
Empower Your Teen
Finally, for optimal results, engage your teen in the process. Let them know you want to switch to healthier options for the whole family and would love their help in finding and selecting foods they’ll like.
The more you engage with your teen on prep, cooking and baking with healthy options, the more likely they are to enjoy and embrace it long-term. Teens are beginning to make food choices on their own, having them involved is a great opportunity to teach healthy habits while showing you value their input and choices. It’ll help your teen feel involved and know they have a voice in making healthy changes versus being forced and feeling picked on or bad about their eating.
Share and have your teen listen to the Healthy Teen Life podcast, they’ll learn why and be empowered to make healthy decisions for their body and health.