For many teens and their parents, it's a struggle to eat healthy foods and find a diet that is convenient as well as nutritious. Like most people, teens want to eat what tastes good, and it's not uncommon for them to reach for fast foods or cookies instead of fresh items that provide greater health benefits. However, there are diets for teens that satisfy nutritional requirements and are easy to follow.
Food Pyramid
The United States Department of Agriculture recommends the traditional food pyramid for healthy teens and adults. The pyramid has five main food groups: grains, vegetables, fruits, lean proteins and low-fat or nonfat dairy products. Together, the variety of foods from each group provides the vitamins, minerals and nutrients that teens need to stay healthy. Additionally, the diet is easy to follow because it focuses on foods that are already in most people's homes. Common meals such as spaghetti, pizza and stir fries all have a place in the food pyramid diet. When following the food pyramid, teens should aim to limit desserts and high-fat items and focus on choices with more nutrients, such as whole grains.
Vegetarian Diet
Vegetarians do not eat meat, which can sometimes make their diet of choice tricky because they need to hunt for main-course alternatives when primary dishes involve meat. However, the Mayo Clinic notes that vegetarianism can be a healthy way to eat and, with well-balanced choices, easily satisfy nutritional requirements for kids and teens. Convenient, quick-cooking meat substitutes such as beans, lentils, legumes, tofu, tempeh and seitan make preparing vegetarian meals easy, and since most snack foods are meat-free, teens don't have to worry about finding alternatives. Kids Health recommends munching on trail mix, fresh fruits and vegetables, peanut butter, yogurt or hummus with pita slices.
Whole Foods Diet
According to Texas Tech University's School of Medicine, a whole foods diet includes as few processed foods as possible. Instead, it focuses on eating items that are in or close to their fresh, natural states. Usually, teens and adults who follow a whole foods diet get most of their calories from vegetables, fruits, whole grains, dairy products and natural and organic meats. Since they don't rely on convenience foods, whole foods diets often involve more cooking than other diets, but the ingredients tend to come together quickly, so the meals are simple for even inexperienced teens to make. Whole foods snacks, such as fresh fruit, vegetable slices, peanut butter and bread, fruit, and vegetable juices and tea, are nutritious, quick to prepare and easy to eat on the go.
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