Daily Ramblings: Tips for Packing Food for Active Teenagers

Thursday, August 22, 2013

My third guest in my Back2School Bentoing Blog Series is Kathy from Eclectic Lamb. I asked Kathy to be a guest here because I love her straight forward approach to making lunches. I have an active high school boy who always seems to be hungry, so these tips are very helpful! Tips for Packing Food for Active Teenagers

I have some special teenage boys in my life. Their school day is long with sports practice and games after school. They were my consultants and testers for all of the lunches and snacks shared here. My teenagers bring a packed lunch and snack everyday. Some teenagers may not want to bring a packed lunch to school. The opinion of my teen consultants is that when you bring food from home you can count on something good to eat.

Quantity: For teenage boys it is all about the amount of food.
Variety: Provide an assortment of food tailored to their taste.
Leftovers: Plan dinner leftovers such as rice, pizza, potatoes, and pasta.
Collaborate: Work with your teen when designing their lunches.
Experiment: Try new food in limited quantities.

Lunch Ideas Pizza Tarts, Banana, Celery with Blue Cheese Dressing, and Buffalo Wing Pretzel Crisps

Onigiri (rice balls filled with black beans, cheddar cheese, and salsa), dried seaweed, hard boiled eggs, Boston lettuce leaves, black pepper, pineapple, and sugar snap peas

Twice-baked potato bites, strawberry Greek yogurt with frozen blueberries, carrot, and pistachios

Homemade pretzels, Babybel cheese, Cheddar cheese sticks, Mozzarella cheese sticks, black olives, and green grapes

English Muffin Veggie Pizza (make your own) - 3 toasted English Muffin halves, cream cheese mixed with a little ranch powder, Mozzarella cheese, sugar snap peas, almonds, sliced red pepper and carrots