Teen son ate an entire large container of Whole Foods smoked mozzarella pasta salad

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just thought of this thread because I made a double-batch of a much beloved baked pasta dish last night, and this morning I cut the leftovers into equal pieces and told the kids they were welcome to have theirs for breakfast or take it for lunch. If someone had come downstairs last night and eaten half of what was left, no matter how hungry they were, I would have been mad.

I can see being upset if you specifically said that everyone has their own leftovers.

In our house though, any 'unclaimed' leftovers in the fridge are pretty much a free for all. No rules. I don't care.

It seems pretty rude to take the majority of a particular coveted dish and not leave any for anyone else.

DP here. I am truly shocked how many posters don't agree this is rude. It's like serving yourself a huge portion at a family style meal before the dish has even made it all the way around the table.

I think it just depends on the culture in the family and what the norms are. If I were to buy something like this and I was planning to use to it for a meal, I would let my ravenous boys know it was off limits. This is because for the most part, anything in the fridge or pantry is fair game unless otherwise told. This is how it is in our family.

So if you buy a tub of ice cream, you have to specifically tell them not to eat the entire thing in one sitting? A carton of orange juice? Glad I don’t live there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I come from a family of 5 girls and 1 boy. Us girls always felt like we had enough to eat. We were thin. Years later my brother told us he was always hungry and would steal other kids lunches at school. We were shocked! We were middle class, but he considered us poor because he never had enough to eat. When he got a family of his own, he always bought lots of food so no one ever felt hungry. We had no idea he felt this way growing up in the same household. He said he expressed these feelings to my mother at the time, but she would tell him he had plenty and was just being greedy. He grew to be 6 feet tall and was athletic in school.

I feel so bad for your brother. He was legitimately suffering from hunger and called greedy. I’m sure your mom just didn’t know better.

My dad told us that once, when his mom was out of town, his widowed grandmother stayed with his family and cooked dinner for them. She cooked the same tiny portion of food for each person — only the amount she could eat. They didn’t want to be rude, but at the time, my grandfather was performing physical labor and my dad and his brother were teenaged athletes. They waited for her to go to bed for the night and then they made a second dinner because they were all so hungry.

This should be required reading for the posters on this thread.

https://www.apa.org/obesity-guideline/estimated-calorie-needs.pdf

I don't see where that chart says teenage boys have to get the calories from more expensive foods in limited supply, as opposed to making themselves a peanut butter sandwich, or one of a thousand other snacks that don't hoover up the rest of something set aside to be shared by others.

Limited supply? There was a whole second container.

Yes, two is not infinite. Are you okay?

But by that logic no one would be able to eat any food, because if anything other than an infinite supply is "limited" then "limited supply" applies to every food in the house.

Yes, "two" is not "unlimited." What is wrong with you?

So, to say that the kids can't eat anything that is in "limited supply" basically means they can't eat? I understand that you have "thousands" of snacks nin your house, but which of those are in "unlimited supply"?

Nope, not what I wrote, but of course you knew that.

"I don't see where that chart says teenage boys have to get the calories from MORE EXPENSIVE FOODS in limited supply, as opposed to making themselves a peanut butter sandwich, or one of a thousand other snacks that don't hoover up the rest of SOMETHING SET ASIDE TO BE SHARED BY OTHERS."

It's all there in black and white, still. Talking with you in real life must be just as excessively tedious as this.

Every post you make is gaslighting. “Are you OK?” “What is wrong with you?” Blah blah. You sound like a moron.

+1 Pretty sure it's OP. There is a lot of sockpuppeting on this thread.

DP here, not PP or OP. There are at least a few of us on this thread who think the behavior is absurd. I personally think it’s more lack of manners than too much food though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just thought of this thread because I made a double-batch of a much beloved baked pasta dish last night, and this morning I cut the leftovers into equal pieces and told the kids they were welcome to have theirs for breakfast or take it for lunch. If someone had come downstairs last night and eaten half of what was left, no matter how hungry they were, I would have been mad.

I can see being upset if you specifically said that everyone has their own leftovers.

In our house though, any 'unclaimed' leftovers in the fridge are pretty much a free for all. No rules. I don't care.

It seems pretty rude to take the majority of a particular coveted dish and not leave any for anyone else.

DP here. I am truly shocked how many posters don't agree this is rude. It's like serving yourself a huge portion at a family style meal before the dish has even made it all the way around the table.

OP regularly buys 2 containers of this pasta salad. Her son is 13. He’s grown up frequently seeing this in the fridge and eating it. He doesn’t pay for the groceries so he has no idea what it costs. He’s never been given a limit on how much of it he could eat. One night he was really, really hungry and he ate a bunch of it.

I’m a 51 year old woman who does the grocery shopping for my whole family. I know what Whole Foods charges for these types of prepared foods. I can’t afford a huge calorie splurge, like eating a pound of pasta after dinner — nor could I fit it in my stomach. I would never do what OP’s son did, but I can see how he did it without his being a selfish jerk. He was a hungry kid who didn’t view the pasta salad as a rare or precious resource.

Then shame on OP for raising a kid with no manners or common sense. Does he not understand he isn’t supposed to eat the whole package of Oreos or the whole tub of ice cream either? Hogwash, it’s common sense.

He ate half the pasta salad in the house. I doubt he viewed pasta salad as junk food, like Oreos or ice cream, so he probably didn’t anticipate mom getting upset about his lack of moderation.

If you buy a tub of hummus for your family of 5, is the expectation that everyone gets 20%? If one family member doesn’t like hummus, does everyone else anticipate eating 25%? If one of you just doesn’t feel like hummus for a while, does their share sit in the fridge for weeks because no one else would dare eat it? Most families are not doing this kind of meticulous accounting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just thought of this thread because I made a double-batch of a much beloved baked pasta dish last night, and this morning I cut the leftovers into equal pieces and told the kids they were welcome to have theirs for breakfast or take it for lunch. If someone had come downstairs last night and eaten half of what was left, no matter how hungry they were, I would have been mad.

I can see being upset if you specifically said that everyone has their own leftovers.

In our house though, any 'unclaimed' leftovers in the fridge are pretty much a free for all. No rules. I don't care.

It seems pretty rude to take the majority of a particular coveted dish and not leave any for anyone else.

DP here. I am truly shocked how many posters don't agree this is rude. It's like serving yourself a huge portion at a family style meal before the dish has even made it all the way around the table.

OP regularly buys 2 containers of this pasta salad. Her son is 13. He’s grown up frequently seeing this in the fridge and eating it. He doesn’t pay for the groceries so he has no idea what it costs. He’s never been given a limit on how much of it he could eat. One night he was really, really hungry and he ate a bunch of it.

I’m a 51 year old woman who does the grocery shopping for my whole family. I know what Whole Foods charges for these types of prepared foods. I can’t afford a huge calorie splurge, like eating a pound of pasta after dinner — nor could I fit it in my stomach. I would never do what OP’s son did, but I can see how he did it without his being a selfish jerk. He was a hungry kid who didn’t view the pasta salad as a rare or precious resource.

Then shame on OP for raising a kid with no manners or common sense. Does he not understand he isn’t supposed to eat the whole package of Oreos or the whole tub of ice cream either? Hogwash, it’s common sense.

He ate half the pasta salad in the house. I doubt he viewed pasta salad as junk food, like Oreos or ice cream, so he probably didn’t anticipate mom getting upset about his lack of moderation.

If you buy a tub of hummus for your family of 5, is the expectation that everyone gets 20%? If one family member doesn’t like hummus, does everyone else anticipate eating 25%? If one of you just doesn’t feel like hummus for a while, does their share sit in the fridge for weeks because no one else would dare eat it? Most families are not doing this kind of meticulous accounting.

If I buy two tubs of hummus, I don’t expect one person to eat an entire one alone in one sitting. If I buy a bag of 6 peppers from Costco, I don’t expect 3 to vanish one night after dinner. Same with tubs of Greek yogurt or whatever other “health food” you want to propose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just thought of this thread because I made a double-batch of a much beloved baked pasta dish last night, and this morning I cut the leftovers into equal pieces and told the kids they were welcome to have theirs for breakfast or take it for lunch. If someone had come downstairs last night and eaten half of what was left, no matter how hungry they were, I would have been mad.

I can see being upset if you specifically said that everyone has their own leftovers.

In our house though, any 'unclaimed' leftovers in the fridge are pretty much a free for all. No rules. I don't care.

It seems pretty rude to take the majority of a particular coveted dish and not leave any for anyone else.

DP here. I am truly shocked how many posters don't agree this is rude. It's like serving yourself a huge portion at a family style meal before the dish has even made it all the way around the table.

I think it just depends on the culture in the family and what the norms are. If I were to buy something like this and I was planning to use to it for a meal, I would let my ravenous boys know it was off limits. This is because for the most part, anything in the fridge or pantry is fair game unless otherwise told. This is how it is in our family.

Yes, and most parents within means, have a strong maternal imperative to keep their growing children well fed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just thought of this thread because I made a double-batch of a much beloved baked pasta dish last night, and this morning I cut the leftovers into equal pieces and told the kids they were welcome to have theirs for breakfast or take it for lunch. If someone had come downstairs last night and eaten half of what was left, no matter how hungry they were, I would have been mad.

I can see being upset if you specifically said that everyone has their own leftovers.

In our house though, any 'unclaimed' leftovers in the fridge are pretty much a free for all. No rules. I don't care.

It seems pretty rude to take the majority of a particular coveted dish and not leave any for anyone else.

DP here. I am truly shocked how many posters don't agree this is rude. It's like serving yourself a huge portion at a family style meal before the dish has even made it all the way around the table.

OP regularly buys 2 containers of this pasta salad. Her son is 13. He’s grown up frequently seeing this in the fridge and eating it. He doesn’t pay for the groceries so he has no idea what it costs. He’s never been given a limit on how much of it he could eat. One night he was really, really hungry and he ate a bunch of it.

I’m a 51 year old woman who does the grocery shopping for my whole family. I know what Whole Foods charges for these types of prepared foods. I can’t afford a huge calorie splurge, like eating a pound of pasta after dinner — nor could I fit it in my stomach. I would never do what OP’s son did, but I can see how he did it without his being a selfish jerk. He was a hungry kid who didn’t view the pasta salad as a rare or precious resource.

Then shame on OP for raising a kid with no manners or common sense. Does he not understand he isn’t supposed to eat the whole package of Oreos or the whole tub of ice cream either? Hogwash, it’s common sense.

He ate half the pasta salad in the house. I doubt he viewed pasta salad as junk food, like Oreos or ice cream, so he probably didn’t anticipate mom getting upset about his lack of moderation.

If you buy a tub of hummus for your family of 5, is the expectation that everyone gets 20%? If one family member doesn’t like hummus, does everyone else anticipate eating 25%? If one of you just doesn’t feel like hummus for a while, does their share sit in the fridge for weeks because no one else would dare eat it? Most families are not doing this kind of meticulous accounting.

If I buy two tubs of hummus, I don’t expect one person to eat an entire one alone in one sitting. If I buy a bag of 6 peppers from Costco, I don’t expect 3 to vanish one night after dinner. Same with tubs of Greek yogurt or whatever other “health food” you want to propose.

I wouldn’t expect it either, but if I had a teenage son going through a growth spurt and he was ravenous, I wouldn’t be upset with him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just thought of this thread because I made a double-batch of a much beloved baked pasta dish last night, and this morning I cut the leftovers into equal pieces and told the kids they were welcome to have theirs for breakfast or take it for lunch. If someone had come downstairs last night and eaten half of what was left, no matter how hungry they were, I would have been mad.

I can see being upset if you specifically said that everyone has their own leftovers.

In our house though, any 'unclaimed' leftovers in the fridge are pretty much a free for all. No rules. I don't care.

It seems pretty rude to take the majority of a particular coveted dish and not leave any for anyone else.

DP here. I am truly shocked how many posters don't agree this is rude. It's like serving yourself a huge portion at a family style meal before the dish has even made it all the way around the table.

I think it just depends on the culture in the family and what the norms are. If I were to buy something like this and I was planning to use to it for a meal, I would let my ravenous boys know it was off limits. This is because for the most part, anything in the fridge or pantry is fair game unless otherwise told. This is how it is in our family.

Yes, and most parents within means, have a strong maternal imperative to keep their growing children well fed

False equivalence. Well fed does not need to equal eating more than a reasonable amount of one thing. Again, it’s just common manners, which are clearly lacking!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I come from a family of 5 girls and 1 boy. Us girls always felt like we had enough to eat. We were thin. Years later my brother told us he was always hungry and would steal other kids lunches at school. We were shocked! We were middle class, but he considered us poor because he never had enough to eat. When he got a family of his own, he always bought lots of food so no one ever felt hungry. We had no idea he felt this way growing up in the same household. He said he expressed these feelings to my mother at the time, but she would tell him he had plenty and was just being greedy. He grew to be 6 feet tall and was athletic in school.

I feel so bad for your brother. He was legitimately suffering from hunger and called greedy. I’m sure your mom just didn’t know better.

My dad told us that once, when his mom was out of town, his widowed grandmother stayed with his family and cooked dinner for them. She cooked the same tiny portion of food for each person — only the amount she could eat. They didn’t want to be rude, but at the time, my grandfather was performing physical labor and my dad and his brother were teenaged athletes. They waited for her to go to bed for the night and then they made a second dinner because they were all so hungry.

This should be required reading for the posters on this thread.

https://www.apa.org/obesity-guideline/estimated-calorie-needs.pdf

I don't see where that chart says teenage boys have to get the calories from more expensive foods in limited supply, as opposed to making themselves a peanut butter sandwich, or one of a thousand other snacks that don't hoover up the rest of something set aside to be shared by others.

Limited supply? There was a whole second container.

Yes, two is not infinite. Are you okay?

But by that logic no one would be able to eat any food, because if anything other than an infinite supply is "limited" then "limited supply" applies to every food in the house.

Yes, "two" is not "unlimited." What is wrong with you?

So, to say that the kids can't eat anything that is in "limited supply" basically means they can't eat? I understand that you have "thousands" of snacks nin your house, but which of those are in "unlimited supply"?

Nope, not what I wrote, but of course you knew that.

"I don't see where that chart says teenage boys have to get the calories from MORE EXPENSIVE FOODS in limited supply, as opposed to making themselves a peanut butter sandwich, or one of a thousand other snacks that don't hoover up the rest of SOMETHING SET ASIDE TO BE SHARED BY OTHERS."

It's all there in black and white, still. Talking with you in real life must be just as excessively tedious as this.

Every post you make is gaslighting. “Are you OK?” “What is wrong with you?” Blah blah. You sound like a moron.

+1 Pretty sure it's OP. There is a lot of sockpuppeting on this thread.

Nope. Sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just thought of this thread because I made a double-batch of a much beloved baked pasta dish last night, and this morning I cut the leftovers into equal pieces and told the kids they were welcome to have theirs for breakfast or take it for lunch. If someone had come downstairs last night and eaten half of what was left, no matter how hungry they were, I would have been mad.

I can see being upset if you specifically said that everyone has their own leftovers.

In our house though, any 'unclaimed' leftovers in the fridge are pretty much a free for all. No rules. I don't care.

It seems pretty rude to take the majority of a particular coveted dish and not leave any for anyone else.

DP here. I am truly shocked how many posters don't agree this is rude. It's like serving yourself a huge portion at a family style meal before the dish has even made it all the way around the table.

I think it just depends on the culture in the family and what the norms are. If I were to buy something like this and I was planning to use to it for a meal, I would let my ravenous boys know it was off limits. This is because for the most part, anything in the fridge or pantry is fair game unless otherwise told. This is how it is in our family.

Yes, and most parents within means, have a strong maternal imperative to keep their growing children well fed

False equivalence. Well fed does not need to equal eating more than a reasonable amount of one thing. Again, it’s just common manners, which are clearly lacking!

OP’s son’s appetite is increasing and it’s not going decrease for quite a while. If he needs more calories now and in the next several years, she needs to provide him with more food, and he may need more servings of various foods than the rest of the family does. OP can decide which things she buys more of (doesn’t have to be pasta salad), but she needs to communicate to her son which things he’s expected to share equally and which things he can go to town on. Telling him to just eat the same amount of food as everyone else isn’t the solution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growth spurt. We’ve had entire containers of raspberries not make it to the fridge. Remind him there are other people in the house who would like to have treats too.

We buy two containers of this specific pasta salad each WF shopping trip. It's lasts about 4-6 days because the rest of us just take a little bit as a side item for lunch or maybe a snack. It seems at the very least uncivilized to hoover an entire container. Even if he's hungry, it's overboard, right?

You shop at WF, you have money. Why not buy enough to satisfy the family. Posts like this show how messed up some people are around food.

I can't tell if you all are just being mean just for sport. You think we should just add 7x 1lb $11.99 each large containers of WF smoked mozz pasta salad to the shopping list so a 13 year old boy can binge eat one before bed every night? This is extremely indulgent and rude to the rest of the family.

I would not buy so little of a family favorite that each member could only take just a “little bit as a side item” for snack or lunch.

I find complaining about WF prices while shopping there for indulgent items to be silly.

Pasta salad is not a meal. Eating over a pound of cold pasta salad is not normal. A small, snack-sized portion to nosh on is the appropriate amount. Delis have those tiny quarter pound containers, that's an appropriate amount to snack on. A 1lb container is four times that size.

You are either not a parent or have tiny ice skating daughters.

No wonder why most Americans suffer from disease when American parents rationalize anti-social gluttony. It’s not normal or humourous for a child who has already eaten dinner to then sneak binge eat 2,000 calories of pasta salad before bed. It’s anti social behaviour which leads to teasing, bullying, depression, obesity, diabetes, knee and hip replacements, cancer and heart disease.

A pound of pasta salad is not 2,000 calories unless it is full of mayo

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just thought of this thread because I made a double-batch of a much beloved baked pasta dish last night, and this morning I cut the leftovers into equal pieces and told the kids they were welcome to have theirs for breakfast or take it for lunch. If someone had come downstairs last night and eaten half of what was left, no matter how hungry they were, I would have been mad.

I can see being upset if you specifically said that everyone has their own leftovers.

In our house though, any 'unclaimed' leftovers in the fridge are pretty much a free for all. No rules. I don't care.

It seems pretty rude to take the majority of a particular coveted dish and not leave any for anyone else.

DP here. I am truly shocked how many posters don't agree this is rude. It's like serving yourself a huge portion at a family style meal before the dish has even made it all the way around the table.

I think it just depends on the culture in the family and what the norms are. If I were to buy something like this and I was planning to use to it for a meal, I would let my ravenous boys know it was off limits. This is because for the most part, anything in the fridge or pantry is fair game unless otherwise told. This is how it is in our family.

So if you buy a tub of ice cream, you have to specifically tell them not to eat the entire thing in one sitting? A carton of orange juice? Glad I don’t live there.

I mean they are ravenous but they wouldn't eat an entire tub in one sitting. Maybe a pint though. Ha! And no they would not drink a carton of orange juice in one night but over the course of 2 days or so they would. They are more into calorie dense food for the gains. Like the WF Pasta Salad.

[Anonymous]

And while I expect a certain standard of respectful behavior and 'manners' from my boys in our home, eating a tub of pasta salad in one sitting is not on the list of my personal etiquette concerns.

[Anonymous]

My teen ate an entire container of hummus last night with a thing of those snack sized cucumbers they have at Harris Teeter right now. I am not mad at all. I noticed the tub in the trash and made a mental note to buy 2 containers of hummus next time I go to the store.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growth spurt. We’ve had entire containers of raspberries not make it to the fridge. Remind him there are other people in the house who would like to have treats too.

We buy two containers of this specific pasta salad each WF shopping trip. It's lasts about 4-6 days because the rest of us just take a little bit as a side item for lunch or maybe a snack. It seems at the very least uncivilized to hoover an entire container. Even if he's hungry, it's overboard, right?

You shop at WF, you have money. Why not buy enough to satisfy the family. Posts like this show how messed up some people are around food.

I can't tell if you all are just being mean just for sport. You think we should just add 7x 1lb $11.99 each large containers of WF smoked mozz pasta salad to the shopping list so a 13 year old boy can binge eat one before bed every night? This is extremely indulgent and rude to the rest of the family.

I would not buy so little of a family favorite that each member could only take just a “little bit as a side item” for snack or lunch.

I find complaining about WF prices while shopping there for indulgent items to be silly.

Pasta salad is not a meal. Eating over a pound of cold pasta salad is not normal. A small, snack-sized portion to nosh on is the appropriate amount. Delis have those tiny quarter pound containers, that's an appropriate amount to snack on. A 1lb container is four times that size.

You are either not a parent or have tiny ice skating daughters.

No wonder why most Americans suffer from disease when American parents rationalize anti-social gluttony. It’s not normal or humourous for a child who has already eaten dinner to then sneak binge eat 2,000 calories of pasta salad before bed. It’s anti social behaviour which leads to teasing, bullying, depression, obesity, diabetes, knee and hip replacements, cancer and heart disease.

A pound of pasta salad is not 2,000 calories unless it is full of mayo

A pound of pure mayo is barely 3,000 calories, there's no way a pound of pasta is going to be 2,000 calories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just thought of this thread because I made a double-batch of a much beloved baked pasta dish last night, and this morning I cut the leftovers into equal pieces and told the kids they were welcome to have theirs for breakfast or take it for lunch. If someone had come downstairs last night and eaten half of what was left, no matter how hungry they were, I would have been mad.

I can see being upset if you specifically said that everyone has their own leftovers.

In our house though, any 'unclaimed' leftovers in the fridge are pretty much a free for all. No rules. I don't care.

It seems pretty rude to take the majority of a particular coveted dish and not leave any for anyone else.

DP here. I am truly shocked how many posters don't agree this is rude. It's like serving yourself a huge portion at a family style meal before the dish has even made it all the way around the table.

I think it just depends on the culture in the family and what the norms are. If I were to buy something like this and I was planning to use to it for a meal, I would let my ravenous boys know it was off limits. This is because for the most part, anything in the fridge or pantry is fair game unless otherwise told. This is how it is in our family.

Yes, and most parents within means, have a strong maternal imperative to keep their growing children well fed

False equivalence. Well fed does not need to equal eating more than a reasonable amount of one thing. Again, it’s just common manners, which are clearly lacking!

OP’s son’s appetite is increasing and it’s not going decrease for quite a while. If he needs more calories now and in the next several years, she needs to provide him with more food, and he may need more servings of various foods than the rest of the family does. OP can decide which things she buys more of (doesn’t have to be pasta salad), but she needs to communicate to her son which things he’s expected to share equally and which things he can go to town on. Telling him to just eat the same amount of food as everyone else isn’t the solution.

While her son may require more food at this time, he can still be limited on some things, such as the pasta salad. I’m sure OP didn’t have a barren frig and pantry. He could have had a serving of pasta salad and also made him self a quesadilla or PB sandwich or scrambled eggs tuna sandwich. I’m sure OP wouldn’t care if he had some pasta salad then ate 2 PB sandwiches. It isn’t a matter of if he can eat or not. Teens are lazy and they want to eat want is the easiest and tastiest thing with least amount of effort.