Two sons 12 and 15. They eat everything mentioned above and about the only thing I noticed that would satisfy their appetite between lunch and dinner is a huge protein shake.

We also do lots of nut butter (almond, peanut and some nutella) on toast, apples and strawberries. Calories and fiber galore there.

For people who have steak loving kids like me and can't afford filet 3x a week this is what I have done recently and it's been a huge hit. I buy an Eye of the Round roast, its about $15-20 for a 3ish pound roast. season liberally with salt/pepper/garlic powder, roast at 500 for 15 min then turn down to 325 until it reaches 130-135. Takes about 1 hour. Let it cool and slice very thin, I slice it as we need it. My kids eat it for roast beef sandwiches, steak and cheese sandwiches and just to snack on/have for dinner.

one thing to make sure of if you get the larger recipe cooked make sure the leftovers aren't eaten at midnight when that was the next nights dinner. Label and announce they get that for dinner only both nights

Anonymous wrote:Mine both work out (lifting), so it’s all about the protein. They stir fry chicken with carrots and broccoli, make homemade meatballs (usually Asian) and bake boneless chicken breasts in the oven with some garlic salt, pepper and chicken stock. We go through rice really quickly. They love homemade soups and huge pots of chili. I buy the 30 pack of eggs and they make them for breakfast and keep hard boiled eggs for snacks. They don’t often eat sweets, bread or junk, except for the protein smoothies they make. It costs a small fortune to feed them, but they eat very healthy, so I don’t complain (very often).

This sounds like my older DS, who plays a D1 sport. His coach is very strict about nutrition, so in season they eat lots of baked chicken, baked or steamed fish, lentils, beans, quinoa and rice, with tons of fruits and vegetables. He makes smoothies all the time, and omelettes with loads of peppers and onions. Plus an ungodly amount of avocados. When he’s home and far from the coach’s watchful eye, he craves steak, baked potatoes, mac&cheese, and Chipotle burrito bowls, but the rest of his diet is still quite healthy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The best thing I did was teach my sons how to cook. They are very good at making themselves dinner.

Interesting, but off topic.

I have three sons, the youngest is now 17, and I think their ability to cook kept them from eating easy to grab, processed crap all day. As early teens they started making themselves breakfasts during the summer when they were home and I was at work, they'd have enjoyed good breakfasts, instead of three bowls of Fruit Loops or a box of Pop Tarts.

As older teens, also in the summer when their schedules were lighter, they were each assigned one night a week to cook dinner. They started off doing our typical family recipes, but eventually branched out and tried their own ideas. Some were gigantic misses, but it was fun to watch them take pride in putting dinner on the table.

OP, I don't have teen boys (have three girls), but through pandemic I have been cooking for a household of up to 10 people every single day, so that might come close to what you're facing. I work a very demanding job but I also try to eat healthy. A couple of rules/standbys that help me.
(1) Easy health bulk carbs. We make a full rice cooker of rice whenever we're eating rice (that is 3 cups of raw rice) and we finish the whole thing. A lot of sweet potatoes, we usually do 6 large at a time, but you might need more. I also do a loaf or two of no-knead bread a week. But with three teen boys you could probably go through a large loaf a day. Teach them how to make it. All of these items a teen can do and they take less than 5 mins to prepare.
(2) always do more meat, someone will eat the leftovers. We now roast two chickens (4-5 lbs each) at once. Two or three racks of ribs, etc. Or grill two family packs of chicken thighs. pork shoulder in the instant pot also a favorite. With boys the leftover meat will undoubtedly be eaten that day or tomorrow as a snack. For things like chicken I chop up leftovers and freeze about two pounds to a bag. Same for pork shoulder. It can then go to tacos or quesadillas easily. We never cook less than 2 lbs of meat at a meal --so at least 2 lbs of fish, we use two of the costco bricks for burgers, so that's over 2.5 lbs.
(3) We have fajitas or tacos at least once a week. each kid can take one piece of the meal (do the onions/peppers or make the guac, or whatever). that way if you have just your family or also a couple friends over it's the same amount of work. The two pack of flour tortillas (2 packages of 18 tortillas each) is our go-to.
(4) Use the oven for veggies. A lot less work than stir frying or steaming and it's hard to fit enough in a pan, with the volume you need. WE usually do two pans of roast broccoli or cauliflower for a meal. that's an easy thing for a kid to do, too. And then also have a salad. We buy the family pack --five heads of romaine lettuce--each week.
(5) two pans for casseroles. One is not enough. When we do enchiladas it is two 9 x 13 pans in the oven. And then a large can of beans plus fixins. We don't finish both pans but you probably would.
(6) we buy 18 eggs or two dozen every time we shop, we don't even check, we just do it, because we will eat them. Also the egg white cartons can help make things healthier and also save time.

Good luck!

I'm lucky to have girls. They cook dinner many nights. They eat like grown men though and are shaped like #2 pencils.

My 13 makes some staples: chicken stir fry, lentils with lettuce wraps, stuffed peppers, shrimp scampi, enchiladas, burgers, meatloaf, chicken parmesan, sometimes she will do breakfast for dinner. My 12 year old makes spaghetti and meatballs, sheet pan meals, quesadillas, chilli. They usually each cook 2 meals a week. The 3 other days I will do a turkey breast or a ham, lemon chicken, lamb chops. jambalaya.

Mine both work out (lifting), so it’s all about the protein. They stir fry chicken with carrots and broccoli, make homemade meatballs (usually Asian) and bake boneless chicken breasts in the oven with some garlic salt, pepper and chicken stock. We go through rice really quickly. They love homemade soups and huge pots of chili. I buy the 30 pack of eggs and they make them for breakfast and keep hard boiled eggs for snacks. They don’t often eat sweets, bread or junk, except for the protein smoothies they make. It costs a small fortune to feed them, but they eat very healthy, so I don’t complain (very often).

I just want to say kudos to you for recognizing teens, at least some teens, have different food needs than adults. My husband goes through phases where he eats extreme (only salads...only) and then glares at my son when he eats. I feel like I have to walk on glass if I buy anything fun to eat. All it is teaching my son is to hide his eating. So glad to hear you are not doing that!

We also double recipes here. I try to keep beans (I make them from dried), hard boiled eggs, cut up fruit, veggies, hummus, cheese sticks on hand as well. My son really loves salad and stir fries so we do a lot of those, too.

I'm a single mom to two teen boys. I double almost all recipes. Fish is the only meat we eat and when making a meal I need 3lbs.

Anonymous wrote:This is all such good advice! Let's keep it going ... it's reminding me of the thread where everyone kept telling the OP she had to cook more, more, more.

I was thinking the same thing. I’ll never forget “10 chicken legs for 6 people”. Lol

Great thread. My son also eats after dinner. First dinner with us, then multiple snacks between 7-10pm - pbj, cereal, hummus, ice cream, fruit.

My son loves cereal and waffles. He eats one or both every day. He doesn't really eat a ton at meals but he eats 2-3 dinners. One at dinner time, one at 8-9pm and sometimes he will eat in the middle of the night. He's kind of like a pregnant woman. I used to wake up at night to eat when I was pregnant with him. Lol.

Anonymous wrote:The best thing I did was teach my sons how to cook. They are very good at making themselves dinner.

Interesting, but off topic.