Healthy Fast Food Recipes for Teenagers
Did you know that the first fast-food establishment emerged in the United States and consisted of self-service food by paying at a machine? This type of food is characterized by being cheap and fast to consume and prepare. However, it’s usually unhealthy. Therefore, we want to suggest preparing healthy fast food recipes for teenagers as they’re used to these establishments.
Moreover, the popularity of fast food has been increasing due to lack of time and stress of everyday life. However, we must take into account that fast food is made of ultra-processed products, containing multiple ingredients that make it rich in calories, trans fats and sugars.
Therefore, frequent consumption has been associated with the appearance of health problems, such as weight and body fat gain, increased cardiovascular risk, and diabetes.
Would you like to know some tricks to create fast, tasty, and attractive recipes in the shortest time possible? Check out the delicious recipes below.
Tips for making healthy fast food recipes
When you go to a fast-food chain, you’ll notice that most of the dishes are hamburgers, sandwiches, fajitas, pizzas, and fried foods. The first step to making them healthy is to choose quality ingredients. Do you want to know how to do it?
- Substitute white bread and flour for the wholemeal version, or use almond, oat, or chickpea flour.
- Include a great variety of vegetables, if possible, fresh. If not, buy them canned or ready to eat.
- Always have canned fish and preserves on hand.
We also advise you to use the oven instead of frying. Once you have these tips in mind, let’s move on to the recipes.
Healthy fast food recipes
Homemade pizza, one of the recipes for healthy fast food.
Ingredients
- 3 1/4 cups wholemeal flour.
- 1 cup of water.
- 5 rounded teaspoons of fresh yeast.
- 2 spoonfuls of virgin olive oil.
- Salt.
- Natural tomato sauce.
- Oregano.
- Mozzarella slices
- 1 zucchini
- Sliced mushrooms.
- 2 medium carrots.
- 1 big can of tuna.
Instructions
To make your homemade pizza crust, first mix the flour, the yeast, the water, the oil, and the salt in a bowl until everything is well mixed. Then, cover it with a cloth and let it rest for 20 minutes until it doubles in volume.
In the meantime, wash and scrub the zucchini and carrots under the tap to remove any remaining soil. Then remove the tips and cut everything into slices of the same thickness. Then, drain the oil from the tuna and put the tomato sauce to boil at medium-low heat.
Finally, stretch the dough with a roller, give it a circular shape and place it on a tray on baking paper. When you have it ready, spread the tomato with a spoon, leaving the edges free.
Add oregano on top and bake it for 2-3 minutes at 350 ºF (180 ºC) in the preheated oven. This way, you’ll get the dough to stick. After this time, place all the vegetables and tuna throughout the dough and finally bake everything for 10-12 minutes at 450 ºF (230 ºC).
Chicken fajitas or textured soy strips with peppers and onions
Ingredients
- 3-4 whole-grain wraps.
- Half chicken breast or textured soy strips.
- 1 medium red bell pepper.
- 2 green peppers.
- A quarter of an onion.
- Virgin olive oil.
- Salt and pepper.
- Oregano to taste.
Instructions
First, wash the peppers and cut them into strips one finger wide. Then, chop the onion julienne style. Next, heat oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion. When it starts to brown, add the peppers. Remember to stir from time to time.
Meanwhile, cut the breast into strips, season it with oregano and brown it in another pan with a little olive oil, so that it doesn’t stick. If using the soy strips, brown them on both sides. To finish, mix all the ingredients, distribute them in the pancakes, and roll them up. Serve a couple per plate.
Homemade chicken fajita.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of cooked chickpeas
- 2 handfuls of arugula.
- 5-6 cherry tomatoes.
- 1 medium carrot.
- One soup spoonful of tahini.
- 1 spoonful of lemon juice.
- 2 spoonfuls of olive oil.
Instructions
- First, wash the tomatoes and carrots. Then, grate the carrot and cut the tomatoes in half. Next, place the ingredients one by one in a bowl without mixing them.
- Finally, prepare the vinaigrette by mixing the tahini, lemon and oil in a small bowl with some sticks until it has emulsified. Pour it over with a spoon.
The advantages of eating healthy fast food recipes
In short, now you’ll be able to enjoy these delicious healthy fast food recipes with your teens without putting your health at risk. Right now is the ideal moment for you to step into the kitchen together and experiment choosing healthy and quality ingredients.
In addition, they’ll give you the energy you need throughout the day and provide the recommended amount of fiber, vitamins and minerals. We encourage you to try them with your children and create your own recipes
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Ultra-processed Food Intake and Obesity: What Really Matters for Health-Processing or Nutrient Content? Curr Obes Rep, 6(4):420-31.
- Santos Costa, C; Del-Ponte, B; Formoso Assunçao, M C, Silvia Santos, I (2018) Consumption of ultra-processed foods and body fat during childhood and adolescence: a systematic review. Public Helath Nutr, 21(1): 148-59.
- Chef Bosquet. Fast Food Saludable: Disfruta de la comida sin remordimientos (1 ª edición, 2020). Editorial Grijalbo.