With all of the options for food and snacks available today, it’s become hard to find simple options that are health-friendly snacks, or which support a health-conscious lifestyle. And when you’re young, developing health-friendly eating habits is a critical part of ageing well.
Across the United States, you can find fast-food restaurants on every corner. And combined with the mass-marketed brands which produce food options that aren’t conducive to proper health, this can create a recipe for developing poor nutritional habits at a young age. However, by becoming knowledgeable of health-friendly dietary choices, you can begin building the foundation of health-supporting nutritional habits.
Thankfully, there are many options for teens and young adults to choose from when attempting to develop a health-friendly lifestyle. And many of these choices come in the form of health-oriented snacks and supplements.
In the following, we’ll explore a few of these healthier snacks and other options that you may choose to incorporate into your daily nutrition.
4 Health-Friendly Snacks and Nutrition Tips for Teens and Young Adults
Multivitamins & Mineral Support
Taking care of your nutritional needs is important for all ages. But teenagers and young adults need to ensure that these needs are being met in order to help maintain a healthy body. And sometimes poor food choices can be the main reason for a lack of nutrients
Multivitamins can support a health-friendly diet and lifestyle. And some of the most critical components of a multivitamin come in the form of antioxidants.
Antioxidants help to fight off the free radicals. And these often come in the form of Vitamin E and Vitamin C, though there are many others. However, in order to lay the building blocks for healthy ageing, antioxidants should be a part of daily nutrition, especially during youth.
Nut Mixes
Believe it or not, trail mix is a simple and easy snack solution for any teen or young adult. These are not only cheap, but they can also be bought pre-made, or you can make your own out of a few different ingredients according to your own tastes and preferences.
For example, the following ingredients are great sources of vitamins, minerals, and powerful antioxidants, and great for trail mix to take on the go:
- Almonds
- Dried cherries
- Cashews
- Dark chocolate chips
- Pine nuts
Trail mix is popular for those who live an active lifestyle. And if you’re on the go, running between school and team sports, or if you’re a college student and you need a snack before you head off to your part-time job, mixing up a bag of trail mix is a great way to keep your vitamin and mineral levels in check.
Granola Parfait
If something sweet (or savoury) is what you’re looking for, a granola parfait can give you a sweet treat while also offering a nutritional quality that’s hard to beat. And there are many ways for making a granola parfait.
A popular recipe for a nutritional granola parfait includes the following ingredients:
- Crushed almonds
- Cooked oats
- Dried cherries
- Dried or frozen berries (your preference)
- Greek yoghurt
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Maple syrup (optional)
You may notice that the ingredients listed above also have many nutritional properties for fortifying your body with essential vitamins and minerals, as well as abundant calcium and antioxidants. And instead of having that scoop of ice cream, or a fattening pastry, a homemade granola parfait is an excellent solution.
Fortified Cereals
Cereals can provide a nutritional balance to begin the day. But, contrary to popular belief, cereals aren’t only limited to breakfast. You can have a bowl of dry cereal for a snack, or with milk for added calcium and Vitamin D at any time of the day.
Though there are a plethora of cereals to choose from, you’ll want to stay away from sugary cereals, or those which contain high amounts of food colouring, marshmallows, and the like.
The best cereals to choose from offer a variety of complex carbohydrates and a range of vitamins and minerals. Ideally, Vitamin D fortified cereals are great for health-friendly diets, as these work to support optimal bone and muscle growth. And this is something that all teens and young adults should focus on when looking for healthy snacks to eat.
Nutrition is important for people of all ages. And poor dietary choices do not offer any sort of quality nutritional benefits. As such, the more knowledgeable you are about developing health-supporting dietary habits, the better off you’ll be as you grow into an adult.
