When your child moves away from home for the first time it can be difficult for you to ensure that they are still eating as healthy as they did at home.  But in this article we will provide a few eating healthy food tips that you can send with your teen when they leave to go to college or university.

1. Ensure that they eat a good breakfast.  Studies carried out have shown that those who skipped breakfast underachieve while studying.  So if they do not have time to sit down and enjoy a meal then get them to grab a bagel or a piece of fruit and some juice instead.  It is quite easy for them to keep such items in their dorm room.

2. Since most teens like to eat fast food, show them how to choose their food more wisely.  For example when ordering a pizza get one with half the cheese on it.  Also limit the amount of high fat food they have by reducing the number of times they have fries, fried chicken etc. Most fast food restaurants these days do have some healthier alternatives.

3. Get them to keep healthy snacks close at hand so if they get hungry while cramming late for an exam the next day they won’t be tempted to go to the vending machine down the hall.  They could keep a stock of fresh or dried fruit, pretzels, unbuttered popcorn, rice cakes or whole wheat crackers handy.  If they happen to have a refrigerator in their dorm room they could get some raw vegetables which they can then dip in to either low fat yogurt or cottage cheese.

4. Make sure that they eat plenty of foods rich in calcium.  People in their early 20’s need to build up a store of calcium in their bodies in order to prevent them getting osteoporosis later in life.  If they happen to dislike milk, then get them to have low fat yogurt, low fat cheese and plenty of green leafy vegetables as part of their diet.

These are just a few of the eating healthy food tips that your child may want to include in their diet when they move away from home or go off to college.

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