The Best Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Diet for Teenagers

A healthy breakfast for a teenager, along with lunch and dinner, promotes normal development. Avoid skipping meals, especially when it comes to breakfast for kids.

It's no secret that teenagers eat a lot, especially active teenage boys. During the teenage years, however, it's important that you eat a well-balanced, nutritious diet that will promote normal, healthy development. Proper nutrition is key, as is the importance of not skipping meals, especially when it comes to breakfast for a teenager. Ideally, a teenager should be eating breakfast, lunch and dinner every day.

Proper Teenage Nutrition

Ideally, you should be getting these calories from nutrient-rich foods such as:

• lean protein
  
• fruit
  
• vegetables
  
• low-fat dairy products
  
• whole grains

Teens have some very specific dietary requirements. A healthy daily diet for a teen should include between 45 and 60 grams of protein, 1,200 mg of calcium and between 12 and 15 mg of iron.

Breakfast for a Teenager

It's become something of a cliche, but there's a lot of truth to the old adage about breakfast being the most important meal of the day. A busy teen may be tempted to skip breakfast, but this is a bad idea. If you skip breakfast, you're depriving your body of nutrients you need to function at peak capacity throughout the day. Eating a healthy breakfast for kids will "jump-start" your metabolism and may prevent you from the temptation of overeating later in the day. Examples of healthy breakfast foods include yogurt, whole-wheat toast with some peanut butter, eggs and breakfast cereal. If you're really pressed for time, even grabbing a piece of cheese, a granola bar, a piece of fruit or a handful of nuts is preferable to skipping breakfast entirely.

Read more: Healthy Diet Tips for Girls Aged 11 to 16

Bring Lunch From Home

You'll probably eat a more nutritious lunch if you bring a packed lunch from home instead of relying on the school cafeteria's offerings. An even worse choice is to have a quick lunch from a fast-food restaurant, most of which serve food that is high in fat and low in nutritional value. Bringing a homemade lunch to school gives you control over what you'll be eating, and you can ensure that the food you eat for lunch will provide you with the energy you'll need to carry you through the afternoon.

Read more: School Lunch Ideas for High School Athletes

Keep a Dinner Schedule

Consistency is important when it comes to dinner. If you know that dinner will be at the same time every day, you may be less likely to fill up on unhealthy snacks and junk food. Although teens will gravitate toward junk food, there are healthier alternatives. For example, instead of fast-food french fries that are deep-fried in oil, serve oven-baked fries. You can also substitute grilled chicken for fried chicken or processed chicken nuggets. Most important, always include a vegetable as a side dish, whether it's a leafy green salad or steamed broccoli or cauliflower.