By: Joshua Cortez
To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art. –La Rochefoucald
Teenagers are often subject to making the decision of consuming a school lunch or packing a lunch. Often school lunches are the easier choice. However, these school lunches may not provide the student with the proper nutrients they need for better learning and academic
performance, or for overall health. To the blind eye these school lunches may seem like fine choices, but compared to school lunches around the world, it is evident that American school lunches are falling behind. Most of these offer an abundance of factory-farmed animal products and heavily processed foods such as pizza, tater tots and French fries. Despite the nutritional changes add and strengthened through the nation school program passed by Congress in 2010, it is true that school lunches can be improved. Some schools are taking steps towards a healthier process and better options for their students including salad bars, healthy snacks in snack machines, and an overall improved access to healthier foods. While it is difficult, the best option is to pack your own lunch. As a high school student I was part of the system, buying school lunches and thinking two slices of cheese pizza was good enough to keep me going through classes. As an athlete, I remember ending classes and already being hungry before practice started. It was difficult to find the energy to perform well, despite knowing that I would have to get through an hour long practice and homework before getting another meal. It wasn’t until my senior year of high school that I decided to make a change and start packing my own lunch. Luckily for me, I had a nutrition class and resources such as college programs that brought nutrition students who taught us about healthy options and quick and easy meals. I remember talking to a professor who was doing her research on childhood obesity. She was so interested in why so many of us settle for school lunches. My answer was that it was easier, but to be honest I never thought about putting the effort into making my own lunches. They taught us how easy it was to prepare a salad, a ham sandwich with lettuce and how affordable it can be. The purpose of this blog is to convince you teenagers that you don’t have to settle for the conventional school lunch. That you have the opportunity to start eating healthy now. Below are some resources that you can use to pack your own healthy lunch and start making the choice to be healthy and live a healthy life.
https://www.myrecipes.com/quick-and-easy/packed-lunch-ideas-recipes#greek-chopped-salad-grilled-pita
https://laurenslatest.com/50-school-lunch-ideas-healthy-easy/
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Nutritional Health for Teenagers 