Healthier Fast Food: How to Get Your Teen to Eat Better

Salad combo meals? Fresh fruit to go? Is fast food part of your teen's routine? If so, you can teach him to choose wisely when he grabs fast food with friends after school.

First try to get your teen to eat breakfast then he won't be so apt to feel the need to snack during the day. Try to set up a no-fuss "buffet" in the kitchen for teens to help themselves. Put out items like whole-grain cereal, fruit and cereal food bars, mini-bagels, low-fat cream cheese, apples, and melon chunks. Offer low-fat or fat-free milk and 100% orange juice in small containers so they can be taken out the door.

Tip: to start your teen's day off right and speed up his metabolism, remind him to eat within an hour of waking up.

Keep a steady supply of low-fat granola bars or trail mix in your teen's backpack. These are great choices for hallway snacking in between classes if the school allows. A healthy snack of string cheese and crackers is great to nibble a half hour before practice begins.

Encourage your teen to consider how fast food fits into his weekly diet. For example, if he knows he's hitting the drive-thru for dinner, he might have extra vegetables at lunch time. If he ends up with an unplanned fast food meal, he should try to eat more fruit the next day. If it's the after school snack he's after, a selection full of calcium is best.

Most fast-food chains print nutrition information on their Web sites or in brochures at their restaurants. Sit down with your teen and look over the information together. Discuss what foods are best for him to eat. The veggie wrap and side of rice or corn on the cob (450 calories) might suddenly become more appealing than the 700 calorie double bacon cheeseburger.

Your teen can make just about any menu item healthier. He might ask for a grilled chicken sandwich without mayonnaise. He could even add veggies such as lettuce, tomato, pickles to his burger. As for fries... suggest he get the smaller size.

Tip: teenage boys should have 12mg and girls 15mg of iron each day. Iron can be found in meat, beans, dark green vegetables such as spinach and kale. Fortified cereals and pastas are good sources of iron as well. Vitamin C helps our bodies soak up more iron so suggest to your teen to combine fruits with vegetables like strawberries on a spinach salad or sliced bananas to a baked sweet potato.

Mention to your teen about not ordering "the usual" but keep his choices diverse. Suggest he try items such as burrito salad bowl, grilled fish sandwich or even try creating a meal of side items such as a baked potato with salsa. Give him coupons or a gift card to fast-food places that serve subs, rise bowls, or veggie burgers since he might now try these places on his own.