Healthy Eating as a Teenager

I am very excited to present to you my very first guest post (well non-family guest poster that is). I am very happy to have the lovely Alex here today! Without further ado…

Hello all! This is Alex from Spoonful of Sugar Free. Thank you so much, Ann Claire, for giving me the opportunity to write a guest post.

Teenagers are notoriously known for their bad eating habits: burgers, french fries, pizza, soda, chips, and sugar-loaded candy galore! Schools across the country are trying to keep their teens healthy by replacing the vending machines’ sodas and chips with the seemingly “healthy” vitamin waters and baked chips. The difference between the “healthy” and not healthy is extremely slim, and it is not helping the teens as much as the schools would like. Crazy statistics like in the list below may scare some to change:

One in every three teenagers are overweight or obese;
One-third of U.S. adults will have diabetes by 2050 (unless something drastic changes)

There is hope!

A small percentage of teens are actually moving towards healthy eating habits. Like Ann Claire and myself, many adolescents are starting to enjoy healthy lifestyles. There are lots of blogging teens out there who enjoy spreading the message of good, healthy food. Together, we are building a strong base for our future, and trying to prevent ourselves from developing cancer or other serious diseases.

Now go and enjoy some healthy food (like the recipe below) and spread the word about healthy eating!

Well…Not the prettiest cookies, but definitely one of the tastiest!

Chocolate Chunk Monster Cookies

~This recipe can be gluten-free if using gluten-free oats. It is also vegan, dairy-free, and of course, sugar-free! Makes about 30-35 cookies

Ingredients

3 very ripe bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons coconut oil (or olive oil works, too)
2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup finely chopped almonds
1/2 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
4-5 ounces 100% dark chocolate bar (Found in the baking section in the grocery store. I suggest Baker’s chocolate or Ghiradelli unsweetened)

Preheat oven to 350*. Mash the bananas, and mix in the other wet ingredients. Then add the dry ingredients and mix until well-incorporated. Next, chop the chocolate bar into small chunks and mix into batter. Drop Tablespoons-full of dough onto a cookie-sheet about 1/2 inch apart. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the bottoms of the cookies are golden brown.

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14 thoughts on “Healthy Eating as a Teenager”

YUM! This looks so good! Annnd I think I have all the ingredients in my cabinet right now. I want to try this! The only thing is, I usually like things pretty sweet. Do you think I could add some stevia to this?

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theflourishingfoodie on December 14, 2010 at 2:31 am said:

I have yet to make them, but I see no reason why you couldn’t! Also, if you wanted it sweeter you might try using chocolate that is sweetened. Enjoy!

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spoonfulofsugarfree on December 14, 2010 at 12:23 pm said:

The sweetness from the cookies come from the bananas, but you can totally add stevia if you want!

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you said it girl!!
and YUMMY those cookies look FAB

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Thanks for this opportunity, Ann Claire!

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theflourishingfoodie on December 15, 2010 at 9:47 pm said:

No, thank you for writing this wonderful post!

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The cookies do look delicious…. and Alex I didn’t realize you are a teenager? How old are you? I follow your blog, and I know you are a local blogger… but way to go being healthy!!!

I was a very healthy teenager, but it was college that got the best of me.

I’m very happy to have survived it and got back on the healthy path afterward.

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spoonfulofsugarfree on December 16, 2010 at 1:51 pm said:

Haha…yeah! I am 17…so I’m almost out of the house but not quite I don’t really like posting m age all over my blog because I don’t think it is necessary! Age is only relative….

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- Carolyn [Eat Well. Live Well. Be Well] on December 16, 2010 at 7:22 pm said:
  
  I completely agree. I was always ‘mature’ for my age, and I married someone 16 years older than me. So, no it doesn’t matter… just an interesting fact.

Loved this post, Alex!! I agree 100% with everything you said!! I hate how schools think they’re being healthy by having baked chips instead of regular, they’re still chips! And it’s not really healthier!!

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The cookies look delicious! I love this post. It is so important for people to know that eating fresh whole foods is so much healthier than the “healthy” snacks out there. I love the message you are sending out!

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