It’s not just little ones that can cause us stress at mealtimes, so too can our teenagers.

“They’re eating me out of house and home!”

“I don’t know if they’re getting the right nutrition.”

“They’re eating out of the house and I’m sure they’re choosing foods I wouldn’t want them to eat at home.”

“Their tastes are changing and things they were eating they no longer enjoy.”

These are some of the common issues I’ve been hearing recently so I sought the expert help of Clare Moran and Fran Taylor. Clare joined us in my Making food go further Facebook group and Fran in my Stress-free family mealtimes Facebook group to talk about teen nutrition.

We learned that:

• The energy needs of teens are as high as adults so they will likely be eating as much food as us, if not a little more – though they need to remember to follow their hunger and fullness cues
• A balanced and varied diet is necessary with some extra attention to be paid to oily fish for omega 3, iron (especially for girls), calcium, vitamin D and vitamin B12
• Most of us, not just our teens, aren’t eating enough fibre and they need protein at each meal and snack
• Just as with younger children, show your teen how to turn a snack into a mini meal to improve the quality of the nutrition
• Lower sugar cereals, bread, pasta and noodles are good to have on hand for them to eat at any time of day – with some added protein, fruit and veg
• Make it easy for them to see and pick up more nutritious options by having it out, prepared and readily available (batch cooked muffins, flapjacks, plenty of bread products etc.)
• We need to consider what our mealtimes boundaries and values are as a family so we can role model whilst still allowing them more freedom – for example, we eat together as a family at this time and we eat the same meal
• We need to be aware of our own relationship with and language used around food to be able to support our teens to avoid dieting.

Head on over to the groups to watch the lives on replay and learn more about these tips as well as other ways to support your teen’s nutrition.