I'm having trouble keeping everyone fed.
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Anonymous
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Teenage boys are black pits. Teenage athletes even more so - they likely need 3-5 thousand calories a day. I see that you're weary of carbs - athletes are really the only people who have legitimate reason to eat loads of carbs. I wouldn't hold back on letting your teenage athletes eat tortillas & rice - that should be part of their diet. Also - a can of black beans, especially when served without rice, feeds about two people.
I haven't read all nine pages, but I hope you're planning to see a nutritionist if all these responses haven't convinced you that your sense of what's reasonable needs to change. |
Anonymous
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OP, why do you feel like a failure? It sounds like you feel you are failing because your kids are big eaters. That is normal! Good! It is much less expensive to toss multiple boxes of pasta down their gullets than to order pizza, no? A pound of pasta or a can of beans costs about a buck on sale. Is it that you don't think pasta is healthy? Or that you don't like to cook that much food because it makes you feel anxious? A pound of meat is a lot of meat for your size family only if you have money or environmental concerns, in which case yes, you are right. But if that is your concern you now need to substitute, and double down on the pasta and cheese and tomato sauce to make up for stretching the meat.
How about you imagine you are cooking for two dinners at once, and see if they eat it all? I imagine they will. And then they won't want pizza afterwards, and you'll save money! I also think you need to toss those boys into the kitchen to make some food for themselves. How about they make dinner for the family at least once a week? |
Anonymous
I think that's a good plan. Don't depend on whether the meal looks like a lot of food in your grocery cart. Make dinner. Write down how much you made. If there aren't any leftovers, plan to increase the meal by half next time. Repeat until you have leftovers. |
Anonymous
Well what you "feel" had proven to result in hungry kids so I suggest you follow the 9 pages of advice you have received. It's frustrating following this thread because you are not giving your kids enough food. End of story. Make more FOod= your kids won't be hungry= you will not feel like a "failure." |
Anonymous
OP, even when you're dieting, the standard recommendation is that your serving of protein with dinner should be four ounces; if you're not dieting, if you're male, especially if you're a non-dieting teenage boy, you need a larger portion than that. Your pound of ground beef, split 5 ways for you family, is a little over 3 ounces per person. You're not giving anyone even a minimum standard portion of protein, not even yourself or your youngest child, let alone your teens. |
Anonymous
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I am so confused by this and can't believe OP is for real.
Are you a blended family by any chance? Did the older kids just come into the picture? I can't fathom not knowing how to feed for children after this many years. Did you just recently become responsible for feeding a family of 6? Was a nanny or someone else doing the cooking and shopping before? How is this just now becoming an issue for you? |
Anonymous
+1 The boys aren't tweens, they're well into teenage-hood. Maybe they've always had pizza for second dinner and OP just noticed. |
Anonymous
It doesn't matter how you feel. 1 lb of meat isn't very much for a family of 6 with 2 teenage athletes, a husband, and 2 smaller kids. You should serve at least 1/3 lb meat/per person. The teenagers will eat more and you can eat 2 oz. When you serve meat that is on the bone, you just adjust up so that the 2 lbs you cook is for eating. |
Anonymous
+1 I have two teenage boys who both are in sports 10 hours a week. They eat between 2500 and 3000 calories each and every day. |
Anonymous
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Either you are feeding them bird sized portions (not enough for seconds/thirds for everybody), or they dont like your food.
Would they order pizza after a taco night? After hamburgers on the grill? After chicken wings and steaks on the grill with mashed potatoes? |
Anonymous
| Honest question OP - do you have a history of an eating disorder / food insecurity / weight struggles / unusually slow metabolism compared to friends? |
Anonymous
And when I say taco night, I mean at least SIX tacos for each of the guys - plus a side dish of beans and rice. |
Anonymous
They need calories!!!!! |
Anonymous
They have always been big eaters but I used to be in grad school and dh cooked all the dinners. He never likes to complain about stuff because he doesn't want to start an argument. I wouldn't argue but he always thinks I'll freak out when he tells me something. I would like to address the eating disorder thing. I do not have one, and I do not have food issues. I would never restrict food from my daughter because I think she is too heavy. That's terrible and there's never an excuse to do that to a child. I want them to all have healthy associations with food. I will start making double the food and buying more fruit and bread to have on the table as well |
Anonymous
My 2 boys, who eat lunch at school, still drink 3 gallons of milk a week. |