Healthy Ethnic Foods for Teens Going Back to School

Healthy ethnic foods make it easy to feed your teens who are headed back to school. Foods from other cultures are competing with the traditional fast food fare teens usually eat, and there are many nutritious and low-calorie options. These are some ideas for breakfast, lunch and break time that your adolescents will love.

Healthy Ethnic Breakfast Foods for Teens: Asian Edamame Soup

Too many young people skip breakfast meaning they go back to school without having eaten for over 10 hours. To encourage your teen to eat a good breakfast, try soup as an alternative to conventional breakfast fare. You can use whatever you have on hand and adapt the recipe to any dietary needs. It's best to sit down to eat, but your child can even pour it in a mug and drink it when rushed.

For a quick Asian soybean soup, microwave a cup of Whole Foods frozen organic edamame without the shells along with a sprinkling of white corn. Meanwhile, add a cube of low sodium bullion to 2 cups of boiled water. Add 1/3 teaspoon of chili paste and frozen orange juice concentrate for flavor. Pour the bullion over the vegetables to serve and refrigerate any leftovers.

Healthy Ethnic Lunch Foods for Teens: Mexican Black Bean and Cheese Burrito

Beans are always a relatively cheap and nutritious staple, and black beans are especially popular. They're packed with high quality protein, fiber, and anti-oxidants. Adolescents love the smoky flavor and they even hold their shape well for bag lunches.

Cold burritos make an easy lunch. Cut a flour tortilla into quarters to make it easy to eat without spills. Fill with black beans, salsa, and shredded Monterey Jack cheese. Put it in a sealed plastic container in your child's school lunch pack.

Healthy Ethnic Break Foods for Teens: Middle Eastern Doogh

Doogh is a minty yogurt drink that's ideal for a simple but hearty snack. A cold container of bottled doogh can help keep your child's lunch cold, or you can make your own and pour it into a thermos. Just blend one cup yogurt with one cup water and season with fresh mint, salt and pepper.

Globalization is making foods from many different world cultures more popular, and making the ingredients easier to find even if you don't live in a big city. This back to school season, there are lots of options for serving your teens healthy ethnic foods.