I'm having trouble keeping everyone fed.

[Anonymous]

I just started reading this forum and hadn't seen this post before. We have four children ages 7,6 4 and 1. I read this entire thread and started taking notes a couple of pages in. It is really helpful to see how people feed hungry teens without resorting to a lot of processed food. I am so glad people took time to give thoughtful responses, meal plans, and grocery lists in this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hello,

Op here!

Things have been going well. Everyone is well fed. We actually have one of my son's friends staying with us for the week so I have been making extra food. Usually I'm really concerned about waste but everything is getting gobbled up.

That's awesome op! I thought of this thread just recently. My mom visited us and she's the opposite. She cooks too much. I had to get rid of excess food

when this happens, I freeze or repurpose for lunches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op again

My eldest sons play soccer and ice hockey 3x a week. Anytime I try to give them a soup for dinner they freak out and basically refuse to eat it. Last week I made 10 chicken legs for dinner. Every last one was eaten in about 25 mins. When I feed them till they are full, it's like preparing a meal for an army. They managed to eat 10 potatoes worth of mashed potatoes the other day. I cooked a rack of ribs and they were still hungry after.

You have 4 kids (at least) including 2 teenage boy athletes plus you and your DH and you only made 10 chicken legs? You're not making enough food. My 7 year old (who weighs 50 lbs) can eat 2-3 chicken legs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op again

My eldest sons play soccer and ice hockey 3x a week. Anytime I try to give them a soup for dinner they freak out and basically refuse to eat it. Last week I made 10 chicken legs for dinner. Every last one was eaten in about 25 mins. When I feed them till they are full, it's like preparing a meal for an army. They managed to eat 10 potatoes worth of mashed potatoes the other day. I cooked a rack of ribs and they were still hungry after.

You have 4 kids (at least) including 2 teenage boy athletes plus you and your DH and you only made 10 chicken legs? You're not making enough food. My 7 year old (who weighs 50 lbs) can eat 2-3 chicken legs.

Please read the whole thread before you comment. We don't need to repeat the conversation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op again

My eldest sons play soccer and ice hockey 3x a week. Anytime I try to give them a soup for dinner they freak out and basically refuse to eat it. Last week I made 10 chicken legs for dinner. Every last one was eaten in about 25 mins. When I feed them till they are full, it's like preparing a meal for an army. They managed to eat 10 potatoes worth of mashed potatoes the other day. I cooked a rack of ribs and they were still hungry after.

You have 4 kids (at least) including 2 teenage boy athletes plus you and your DH and you only made 10 chicken legs? You're not making enough food. My 7 year old (who weighs 50 lbs) can eat 2-3 chicken legs.

Wow I agree. Me DH and my 4 year old can eat 10 drumsticks and 10 potatoes. You aren't making enough food. I'd say 4 drumsticks a person plus 2 large baking size potatoes per boy plus another side plus salad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op again

My eldest sons play soccer and ice hockey 3x a week. Anytime I try to give them a soup for dinner they freak out and basically refuse to eat it. Last week I made 10 chicken legs for dinner. Every last one was eaten in about 25 mins. When I feed them till they are full, it's like preparing a meal for an army. They managed to eat 10 potatoes worth of mashed potatoes the other day. I cooked a rack of ribs and they were still hungry after.

You have 4 kids (at least) including 2 teenage boy athletes plus you and your DH and you only made 10 chicken legs? You're not making enough food. My 7 year old (who weighs 50 lbs) can eat 2-3 chicken legs.

Wow I agree. Me DH and my 4 year old can eat 10 drumsticks and 10 potatoes. You aren't making enough food. I'd say 4 drumsticks a person plus 2 large baking size potatoes per boy plus another side plus salad.

Can we please avoid the rerun theater? OP learned a good, if hard lesson about the needed quantity months ago. She's come back to update. I applaud her. She was a bit slow catching on, but to her credit she really did.

[Anonymous]

One thing that helps is making sure to have filling snacks for after school. Soups, breakfast burritos, chicken breast sauteed in olive oil and served over cooked rice, egg salad sandwiches. Mine eat a meal a couple of hours before dinner. Then they eat dinner.

[Anonymous]

Oh dear God. Please. No. Let this thread die.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh dear God. Please. No. Let this thread die.

Please tell me you're also 16:56 and 17:34!! That would make your comment even more amazing than it already is.

[Anonymous]

Off topic, but if you are making the family dinner, your kids should be cleaning up every night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend with teenage boys cooked a turkey last weekend to make sure there was enough food. That seems like a good idea.

This year I finally remembered to pick up a couple frozen turkeys cheap after the holidays. My teens would be happy if we made a 20 pound turkey every couple of weeks.

[Anonymous]

OP, teen boys eat A LOT. My son was a D1 defensive tackle so he is a bit of an outlier, but he would eat 10 chicken legs in one sitting then look around for the rest of the food. Salmon, broccoli and pasta would not be nearly enough for him unless there was a large quantity of each and he would still want more protein. I kept stuff on hand that he could easily find and eat. Roasted chickens from Costco were good. I would cut them up and put in a ziploc bag. Hummus with pita chips and baby carrots, Kind bars, turkey or beef jerky, and pulled pork (I would make a huge batch in the slow cooker), and meatballs (again, made a huge batch weekly) were almost always in the fridge for snacking. I kept a huge bag of pizza rolls in the freezer for junk food cravings. If push came to shove, I would tell him to use his protein powder and make himself a shake. They need a lot of protein to feel full, if they're not getting it they will always feel snacky. Costco was my go to place to shop because they sold quantities that were sufficient for DS and his friends.

[Anonymous]

We need a 'zombie thread' disclaimer when people resurrect a 5-year-old thread. OP's kids probably don't even live at home anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We need a 'zombie thread' disclaimer when people resurrect a 5-year-old thread. OP's kids probably don't even live at home anymore.

True. Maybe the OP will do an update!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We need a 'zombie thread' disclaimer when people resurrect a 5-year-old thread. OP's kids probably don't even live at home anymore.

Sort of my fault. There was a new thread about an OP trying to figure out how much to feed her kids, one of whom was a teenage boy and I told her she should come back and read this thread...and I linked it. I bet someone clicked on the link and decided to resurrect the thread.