Junk News: Healthy Substitutes for the Junk We Love!!
This is a great article from “young Chicago authors,” that lean towards the High School crowd. The only point I would like to make is that you need to be very specific with teens at times, especially since they are prone to hear what they want to hear OR will figure out ways to go around what you say.
Take this quote for instance:
“If there are so many available junk substitutes why aren’t people eating them? Although there are many substitutes for junk food, it’s hard for us to break away from bad habits. I don’t expect that right after you read this you’re going to throw all the junk food out of your house, but gradually try to eat healthier food more often.”
This is great for teens (and adults) to understand. It makes us think about all of our habits and do our own work to help ourselves.
Now take a look at this:
“For lunch, try making your own salad. It’s cheaper than buying a lunch and it tastes even better if you make it the morning of. You can add tasty ingredients like mandarin oranges and dried cranberries, both of which are sweet yet healthy.”
Now making a salad for lunch is a great idea! It’s great for a teen to learn how to be independent with their food choices anbe serious about health. The only issue is that the author needs to specify to be careful with salad dressing!! Salads aren’t unhealthy!! But too much salad dressing can add to calories and at times have ingredients that aren’t conducive to health. Since most teens (and adults) are sugar & salt fanatics, they will practically drown the poor salad with dressing to make sure that it tastes just the way they like it! Not a healthy move!!
Overall, I love this article!! It gives just the right amount of information and leaves questions in the reader’s mind. Questions that the reader will have to answer for him or herself. You can always find a Health Coach (such as myself) to help you answer all your questions and allow you to DO RIGHT FORYOURSELF!!
Always remember…the next time you consume junk, make sure it’s Healthy Junk!
