Healthy eating is a way of balancing the food that we eat in order to keep our bodies strong, energized and well nourished. Below are some guidelines which should help to provide guidance to healthy eating for a teen. It is important to remember that when you eat well you are nourishing your body and giving it the fuel it needs to thrive in these active years.

Healthy eating is a great way to ensure that you have energy all day long as well as getting all the necessary vitamins and minerals that your body needs while you are still growing. A big plus is that by eating a healthy diet you will be able to maintain a healthy weight. Obesity is a big problem these days for teenagers. These tips will help teens lose extra weight and feel great about themselves!

Every teen should aim to have 3 healthy meals each day (morning, afternoon and evening). For active teens, a couple of snacks are also called for. Here are some tips in insuring that those meals and snacks are healthy ones:

1. Make sure that your teens don't skip meals. In fact, you will be better able to insure that your teens eat well if you plan the meals and snacks they will have ahead of time.

2. Teach your teen how to prepare simple healthy foods by grilling, stir frying, microwaving, baking and boiling instead of letting them deep fry everything. Also try to get them to use fresh or dried herbs and spices in order to add flavor to their food instead of adding butter, margarine or gravy to their meals.

3. Wherever possible remove the fat from meat and skin from poultry and try to get them to eat more fish as well.

4. Get them to cut down on the sugary drinks. Although a big source of empty energy (they contain lots of energy in the form of calories that a body needs) they do not have either vitamins, minerals, protein or fiber that a growing body needs. Instead try and get them to have sugar free drinks, water or flavored waters instead of their usual preferred drink.

5. Make them slow down their eating and get them to pace and relax themselves so that their meals last at least 20 minutes. It takes 20 minutes for the body to feel that it is full. Make sure that they sit down at the table to eat their meals and snacks, rather than grabbing them and eating them on the way to their next activity.

What is important to remember when planning healthy eating for a teen is that there are no good or bad foods and all foods can be part of a healthy eating regime for your teenager.