Pretzels dipped in chocolate and served in moderation are an alternative to chocolate cookies.
Get your teen to eat better by preparing her a variety of grab-and-go finger foods. You will need to prepare the finger food ahead of time in order to successfully replace processed foods like chips, frozen pizza and snack cakes. Most important, make individual packages that contain salty, sweet or savory finger foods to meet all of your teen's needs.
Fruit
Core an apple and then fill the empty space with a mixture of cinnamon and hazelnut spread. Slice the apple into rings for a fresh and flavorful sweet treat. Spear strawberries, mozzarella cheese balls and kumquats with a wooden skewer for a memorable kabob your teen will devour. Or try feeding your teen bruschetta topped with peaches, strawberries, bananas and vanilla yogurt.
Chicken
Wrap buffalo chicken and mozzarella cheese with a puff pastry before baking this spicy treat. Place in baggies he can grab from the refrigerator or freezer and easily warm up. Prepare baggies of chicken slices from the deli, cheddar cheese, baby carrots and a small container of ranch dressing. Teens can wrap the meat around the cheddar and dip in the dressing.
Snacks
Wrap bacon around cream cheese filled jalapenos and bake in the oven for a salty snack. Put snack-sized portions in microwavable dishes so she doesn't have to do anything other than warm it. Loaded twice-baked red potatoes are simple snacks teens can pop in their mouths on their way to work, while pears dipped in cream cheese are an easy snack to take to a sport's meet. Try sandwiching lemon-flavored whip cream and blueberries between sugar biscuits for a sweet and tart snack at home. An alternative to ice cream is a small cup of frozen Greek yogurt and fresh blueberries.
Wraps
Fill spinach-flavored tortillas with pieces of turkey, apples, alfalfa sprouts and mustard; bundle like a burrito. Make pinwheels out of taco and cheese filled tortillas, or tortillas spread with humus, bean sprouts, tomatoes and lettuce. For a sweeter wrap, brush melted butter and cinnamon sugar on a flour tortilla before putting honey and peanut butter in it.
Other
Make a cone out of sliced roast beef and fill it with a mixture of rice, carrots, corn and sweet-and-sour sauce. Grill pineapple and shrimp, then stack and pin together with a toothpick. Bake breaded chicken tenders and serve with a ginger peach sauce. One of the easiest to prepare for a teen is a nacho bar in a container: Place tortilla chips and cups of taco meat, lettuce, sour cream, cheese and tomatoes inside a large container for home or on the go.
Tags: your teen, cream cheese, cheese filled, finger foods, , with mixture