1. ™
Healthy Ideas for Middle and High School Students September 2011
Henrico School Nutrition Services
Timothy E. P. Mertz, Director
FAST
TAKES TV-free are becom-
Televisions
dining
Healthy habits
ing more common in restaurants. The beginning of the school
Yet watching TV while you eat may year is the perfect time to
lead to overeating— and it can keep remind your teen or tween
your family from chatting while you about healthy eating. Here
eat. Consider choosing restaurants are a few ideas.
without televisions, or ask the host-
ess to seat your family as far away Practice portion
from a TV as possible. control
Point out the serving size
Lighten the load information on food labels.
Heavy back- Your teen might be surprised
packs can by the amounts. For example,
cause neck, a serving of cereal is usually ½–1 cup.
shoulder, A serving size of your child’s favorite fruit (star fruit, kumquats) for him to
and back crackers is much less than a bowlful. Idea: taste. Tip: He may need to try one sev-
pain. To Offer small servings at meals. You might eral times before he likes it.
distribute cut half a steak into pieces rather than
weight Choose the cafeteria
putting the whole steak on the plate.
evenly, your child should use both Eating breakfast at school is a good
shoulder straps (wider straps are bet- Munch more vegetables way to avoid the morning rush at home
ter). Encourage her to leave books in and fruits and enjoy extra time with friends. Suggest
her locker or at home when she can. Teens need 4 –5 servings of vegetables that your teen select cold cereal with fat-
and 3 – 4 servings of fruit a day to get free milk and fruit or a hot entrée like
?
Did You Greek yogurt contains their fill of nutrients. Talk with your whole-wheat pancakes. Also, look over
Know more protein and less child about easy ways to fit in vegeta- lunch menus together, and pick out the
sugar than regular varieties. This bles, like having two servings at dinner healthiest items (baked chicken, green
added protein not only provides and lunch instead of just one. Every vegetables, brown rice). Or he can visit
nutrients that will keep your teen’s week for a month, bring home a new the salad bar (and take just a little low-fat
body strong, it will help him feel dressing) or have a turkey sandwich.
fuller, too. Pick up the nonfat plain The power of the plate
variety, and stir in fresh berries to
add flavor but no extra sugar. Getting a healthy diet can be easy. How? Suggest that your
child think about food choices based on how much room
Just for fun they take up on her plate. Share these new guidelines
from the USDA:
Q: How can you tell the difference
between a can of ●●Half of the plate should be vegetables and fruits.
chicken soup ●●Grains should account for a little more than one-
and a can fourth of the plate. And whole-grain options, like
of tomato brown rice and whole-wheat pasta, are recommended.
soup?
●●Proteins such as chicken and beef are kept to a little
A: Read the less than one-fourth of the plate.
label!
●●Add fat-free or low-fat milk, cheese, yogurt, or other dairy product.
Note: See www.choosemyplate.gov for more information.
© 2011 Resources for Educators, a division of CCH Incorporated This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

2. Teen Food & Fitness™ September 2011 • Page 2
Life lessons playing her best.
Encourage her to
of sports
budget her time care-
fully so she can fit in
practices and games
Sports can teach your child so much around schoolwork,
more than how to throw a ball or make a other activities, a job,
basket. They can build character traits and family time.
that will spill over into all parts of her life.
Whether she’s on a team or competes indi- Perseverance. Your
vidually, she’ll be learning… youngster won’t start
off running a six-mile race — she’ll work up to it. And there
Responsibility. Sports help your teenager learn to keep will be times when her team loses or she doesn’t perform as
commitments to coaches and teammates — and herself. Other well as she’d like. These are opportunities for your child to
players count on her to do her part by showing up and practice working hard and keeping at it. Suggest that she track
her progress or put in extra time on drills, for example.
Respect for her body. It’s important for your teen to take
ACTIVITY Add care of her body. She’ll find that getting enough sleep and eat-
CORNER muscle ing right will help keep her strong on and off the field.
Strength training builds muscle,
speeds up metabolism, and improves
overall health. And your child doesn’t Q Family dinner
need a lot of fancy equipment or a gym & Q: Now that school is back in session, I’m won-
membership to get started. Share these
suggestions: A dering how Istaysmake sure that having din-
ner together
can
a priority. Any ideas?
●●Sit-ups and push-ups are a great way A: It can be difficult to fit family meals into
to start working muscles. Begin by doing everyone’s busy schedules. To help keep up this
8–10 repetitions of two or three sets, habit, schedule dinner as you would other activi-
resting in between. Try to do these every ties. Having it a little later — say, at 7:00 instead
other day. of 6:00 —may work better for your family. Also, try writ-
●●Pick up 3- or ing down meal choices a week in advance so you can pick up what you need with
5-pound weights one trip to the grocery store. If planning for a week sounds overwhelming, plan and
at a sports store or shop for three meals at a time.
garage sale. Start Finally, involve the whole family. Your teen could be in charge of making dinner
with simple exercises once a week. A younger child can help make a salad and set the table.
such as biceps curls to Idea: Consider eating “out” on certain days by taking a picnic to the park.
increase muscle defini-
tion in the arms. Gradually use heavier
In the
K tchen Egg-cellent ideas
weights (10-pound) and increase the
number of repetitions. You might talk to
your gym teacher for pointers and exer- For an inexpensive —and conve- pan. Add 1 cup chopped vegetables
cises to do at home. nient—source of protein, try these (mushrooms, onions, spinach), and
●●Getting the technique right is critical egg entrées. top with ½ cup low-fat shredded sharp
when strength training. Check out exer- Scrambled egg pocket. Heat cheddar cheese. Bake for 40 minutes.
cise videos. They can guide you through 1 tsp. olive or canola oil in a sauté pan Sunny egg sandwich. Melt 1 tsp.
performing muscle-building exercises the over medium-high heat. Whisk 2 eggs butter in a skillet on medium heat.
right way. and add to pan. Stir until set. Tuck the Crack 1 egg over the sizzling butter.
O U R P U R P O S E eggs and diced green pepper Cook until the white and
To provide busy parents with practical ways to promote into a whole-wheat pita half. yolk are both solid. With
healthy nutrition and physical activity for their children.
Easy egg quiche. Pre- a spatula, place the egg
Resources for Educators, on a piece of toasted
a division of CCH Incorporated heat the oven to 350º.
128 N. Royal Avenue • Front Royal, VA 22630 Whisk 4 eggs, ½ cup whole-wheat bread.
540-636-4280 • rfecustomer@wolterskluwer.com Top with a tomato slice
www.rfeonline.com flour, and 1½ cups nonfat
Teen Food & Fitness™ is reviewed by a registered dietitian. Consult milk, and pour into a and another slice of
a physician before beginning any major change in diet or exercise.
lightly greased 9-inch pie bread.
ISSN 1935-8865
© 2011 Resources for Educators, a division of CCH Incorporated