Recommended healthy snacks for teenagers

Give priority to categories with “no added sugar/salt, low processing, and high nutrient density.” The top three options that you can’t go wrong with if you close your eyes are original nuts, no added freeze-dried/fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, and sugar-free yogurt. As long as they are qualified products produced by regular manufacturers, the fraud rate is less than 5%.

I have been in the nutrition clinic of the pediatric care department for almost three years, and every week I meet about ten parents who come to consult with half a bag of school snacks. They either complain that their children refuse to eat regular meals after eating snacks, or they worry that their children are vitamin deficient even though they have taken various nutritional supplements. When asked if they drank two packs of spicy sticks and a cup of iced milk tea on the way to school, the nutrients would have been lost to the empty calories.

Not long ago, a mother argued with me for twenty minutes, saying that freeze-dried fruits and vegetables are all filled with additives and are not as healthy as giving her children an apple every day. I didn't refute directly, I just asked her if the apple she packed for the baby last week was brought back intact and rotten, and she was silent for a moment. In fact, there is no standard answer to this matter: qualified additive-free freeze-drying uses vacuum freeze-drying technology, and the retention rate of dietary fiber and vitamins can reach more than 90%. It does not take up space in a schoolbag and is not afraid of being crushed. For children who find it troublesome to eat fruits and would rather be hungry until their stomach hurts than eat fresh fruits, it is definitely a much better choice than an empty stomach. ； If your child loves to eat fresh peaches and cucumbers, then of course there is no need to waste money on freeze-dried ones. Just put the washed fresh fruits in them. There is no need to follow the trend and buy internet celebrity models.

There are also people who insist on the high fat content of nuts, fearing that their children will gain weight after eating them. The most exaggerated parent I have ever seen only allowed a 14-year-old boy to eat 3 almonds a day, and the child was so greedy that he stole the walnuts from his deskmate. In fact, teenagers are in a critical period of brain development. The unsaturated fatty acids in nuts are not "excess calories" at all. Eat 15-20g a day, which is about the amount of a small handful in the palm of your hand. Choose the original flavor and do not buy the salt-baked or honey-coated ones. On the contrary, it can help maintain blood sugar stability. You will not be so sleepy in the third class in the afternoon that you are nodding like pounding garlic. Last time, a sophomore student in high school reported to me that he used to eat fried potato chips when he was hungry during class break. After eating, he would suffer from acid reflux or become more sleepy. After switching to nuts as snacks, he was able to concentrate even more on the mock exam.

Oh, by the way, when choosing sugar-free yogurt, don’t be dazzled by the “children’s yogurt” and “fruit yogurt” on the package. Remember to turn to the ingredient list and look at it: the first is raw milk, followed by lactic acid bacteria. The real sugar-free yogurt does not have white sugar, fructose syrup, or jam added. If you feel it is too sour, cut two strawberries yourself or sprinkle some blueberries into it. The sugar content is more than half less than buying ready-made ones with fruit pieces added. Some people also say that fortified yogurt with added DHA and calcium is an IQ tax. It depends on the situation: if your child can eat deep-sea fish two or three times a week and drinks enough milk, then there is really no need to spend more money. ； If your child hides away from fish when he sees it, and his calcium intake has never been up to standard, there is nothing wrong with buying this fortified version to supplement some nutrition. You don’t have to listen to what others say and deny it.

To put it bluntly, don’t believe in the gimmick of “children’s snacks”. I have seen children’s biscuits with cartoon Peppa Pig printed on the packaging. The sodium content is higher than that of ordinary soda crackers. A child’s daily salt intake will be reduced by one-third. There is also the kind of fruit peel that is said to be "added-free". If you turn to the last line of the ingredient list, you will most likely see the shadow of white sugar. Just listen to the marketing talk. If you really want to judge whether it is healthy, you still have to read the ingredient list and nutritional label.

Last time my niece came to my house, she looked at the plain walnuts in my drawer and frowned and said they were not delicious. I sprinkled her with a little bit of unsalted seaweed and mixed it with her. She ate half a plate with her bowl in hand and said it was better than the crispy fragrant rice sold at the school entrance. You see, you don’t actually have to force your children to eat things that “you think are healthy.” It’s much more effective to put a little thought into adjusting the seasoning than to follow them and repeat a hundred times, “This is good for the body.”

Finally, to be honest, there is no need to treat snacks as a scourge. Teenagers have a fast metabolism, and it is normal to be hungry between classes and after exercise. As long as you don’t eat snacks as meals, the amount of snacks you eat every day should be controlled within 10% of the total energy throughout the day. Occasionally, it’s not a big deal to have a craving for fried skewers and a cup of milk tea. It is better than holding back and not eating, instead saving money to secretly eat all at once.