They go home hungry after a morning of lessons, open the fridge … and there, disappointment! In front of a shelf filled with leftovers or vegetables to pre -will, your teenager prefers to fall back on bread, cookies or a wave of chips. Not really ideal for crossing the afternoon without a bar. As the dietitian nutritionist Alexandra Murcier recalls, “Committed to himself, a teenager tends to snack rather than to prepare a real meal“. Hence the importance of anticipating his meals, to facilitate his task and help him eat properly. Good news, simple solutions exist
Why anticipate teenal lunch?
Anticipate your teenagers maybe add a little to your mental load. However, this is often the only way to make sure they are full of good nutrients, and do not just snack snacks and ultra processed products. Especially since their needs are changing.
Thus, a teenager has a high calorie need: around 2,700 kcal/day for a 12-13 year old boy, and 2,100 kcal/day for a girl. Lunch must bring 35 to 40 % of these contributions, or 735 to 1,080 kcal. Their meals must also contain:
- Complete starchy foods at each meal : pasta, rice, quinoa, wholemeal bread … “They ensure lasting energy and avoid cravings at 4 p.m. “indicates Alexandra Murcier;
- Varied proteins : meat, fish, eggs, but also legumes (lentils, chickpeas, red beans). “”They participate in muscle growth “;
- Iron“particularly important in girls to compensate for losses related to rules “. They are found in red meat, but also in legumes;
- Calcium and omega-3 : For solid bones and a fit brain. They are found in dairy products, cheese, milk, but also in salmon or sardines;
- Fruits and vegetables : essential for fibers, vitamins and minerals.
Of course, there is no point in looking for the perfect balance with each meal. As Alexandra Murcier reminds us, “This food balance is done over several days, even on the week”.
What to leave them for lunch concretely?
But relying on your children, what does that mean? No need for sophisticated recipes. The idea is to bet on quick dishes to warm up, assemble or already ready. Dishes to make the previous evening for example.
Our expert advises several simple, but complete ideas:
- A ready -made salad ready in the fridge : full rice + tuna + corn + cherry tomatoes + cheese cubes;
- A unique warming dish : for example, complete tuna pasta + grated carrots, with natural yogurt and an apple;
- A homemade sandwich : wholemeal bread + white ham + salad + cheese, accompanied by a fruit;
- A part of quiche prepared the day before + green salad;
- A homemade tacos : full wrap + red beans + cucumber + chicken dice;
- A veggie option : Quinoa + Chickpea + avocado + Edamame.
- A Croque-Monsieur To put in the oven + crunchy raw vegetables.
Practical tip: prepare a starchy base (rice, pasta, quinoa) in quantity the day before. It will be enough to add a protein and a few vegetables for a full meal in less than 5 minutes.
Your Special Teen Race list
A well-thought-out pantry is also the key so that your teenager always finds a real lunch, mixed quad you have not had time to think about it. And draw something other than chips. Here is what you can leave:
In the refrigerator
- White ham, eggs (hard or raw cooked);
- Salads of ready -to -use salad;
- Dairy products (including grated Gruyère);
- Fresh fruits (apple, banana, pear, grapes);
- Raw vegetables already cut (carrots, cucumber, cauliflower)/
In the cupboards
- Tuna preserves, corn, red beans, peas, lentils;
- Pasta, rice, quinoa;
- Full mie bread or wraps;
- Individual compotes, dried fruits, cereal bars.
Freezer
- Portions of homemade dishes to be reheated in the microwave;
- Raw vegetables.
In addition, to get him used to assembling the proportions, you can also do your shopping together or make him participate in the preparation of his meals upstream.