Both teens skip breakfast and have a big breakfast at 11am. They make it themselves. Bagel, scrambled eggs, sausage patties (come frozen), or pancakes or waffles. Works for me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I use more convenience foods for lunch than some (flame away) but am tired of cooking lunch!!!!

Pasta (I cook it the night before, toss with EVOO and refrigerate), jarred sauce and frozen meatballs they can add/fix themselves at lunch

Frozen chicken tenders and bagged salad. Again they can fix themselves and they actually like salad. Sometimes they chop the tenders into the salad.

Boxed/canned soup with grilled cheese. They can make it themselves.

Quesadillas- we eat a lot of Mexican food so always have good stuff- they make their own

Frozen pizza sometimes

Hotdogs. Microwave. I usually have buns etc and they often experiment with odd toppings.

dinner leftovers (of course)

They mostly feed themselves. I’ll keep an eye on something in the oven or make a grilled cheese etc if they don’t have enough break time- if they ask.

They don’t like cold sandwiches- never have..

No reason for anyone to flame away. You gotta do what you gotta do! I can only praise you for that! Sure, my grandma cooked for us, but that is what she did! Fed a family of 6 to 8 people, used wood for fire until almost 1980! It took her a good part of the day to cook it all up! She also had chickens and pigs and a garden. Somehow people today are trying to be the best homemakers bcs we have a washing machine!! and a range!! But, we also work, and are now having to basically keep our kids at home while we work! My mom went to work and came home to a made dinner and kids fed by grandma and a half day in school. Society is insane, let's force mom to be Betty Crockers and Madeline Albrights at the same time! No, thanks.

+1

Anonymous wrote:My 7 year old is making his own lunch, I think your kids should be taking on some of this work.

Nobody asked for your opinion about what our kids should or should not be doing. Mind your own business and do what is best for you and your family. How other people manage is their business.

Anonymous wrote:I use more convenience foods for lunch than some (flame away) but am tired of cooking lunch!!!!

Pasta (I cook it the night before, toss with EVOO and refrigerate), jarred sauce and frozen meatballs they can add/fix themselves at lunch

Frozen chicken tenders and bagged salad. Again they can fix themselves and they actually like salad. Sometimes they chop the tenders into the salad.

Boxed/canned soup with grilled cheese. They can make it themselves.

Quesadillas- we eat a lot of Mexican food so always have good stuff- they make their own

Frozen pizza sometimes

Hotdogs. Microwave. I usually have buns etc and they often experiment with odd toppings.

dinner leftovers (of course)

They mostly feed themselves. I’ll keep an eye on something in the oven or make a grilled cheese etc if they don’t have enough break time- if they ask.

They don’t like cold sandwiches- never have..

No reason for anyone to flame away. You gotta do what you gotta do! I can only praise you for that! Sure, my grandma cooked for us, but that is what she did! Fed a family of 6 to 8 people, used wood for fire until almost 1980! It took her a good part of the day to cook it all up! She also had chickens and pigs and a garden. Somehow people today are trying to be the best homemakers bcs we have a washing machine!! and a range!! But, we also work, and are now having to basically keep our kids at home while we work! My mom went to work and came home to a made dinner and kids fed by grandma and a half day in school. Society is insane, let's force mom to be Betty Crockers and Madeline Albrights at the same time! No, thanks.

My 7 year old is making his own lunch, I think your kids should be taking on some of this work.

Anonymous wrote:If you are in MoCo, school lunches are free for all kids 18 and under and we’re encouraged to pick them up. Lately there have been deli sandwiches, chicken, mac and cheese, fruit, veggies and dip, and tons of milk and juice. We get them a couple times a week and it definitely makes life easier.

+1

My neighbors are doing this. Pretty well-off people too. Listen - this is hard. Even the easy has become hard. Whatever keeps you sane, do that. MCPS is handing out pretty decent fare and if it allows you a small break ...then go for it.

I am a SAHM and I have teens and a spouse who is working remotely. I am able to swing home made meals for the family and do the grocery because I have the time for it and I am not also logging in to work or taking care of small kids.

Call your nearest school (does not matter how old your kids are or in which mcps school), let them know the student id of your kid and they will tell you to come and pick uo the food. I am frankly very touched and impressed with the food distribution that MCPS has done.

My 12 year old is so picky right now he's driving me nuts. He's always been picky but it seems to be getting worse. He asks for chips and cake all the time. Im like "when do we ever have cake on hand if its not a birthday?!?" He eats protein; chicken, steak, fish, shrimp and some fruit. He will eat buffalo wings, meatballs and maybe some pasta, tacos. He will not eat anything with cheese other than pizza, no potatoes, no rice, basically the only carbs he eats are cereal and toast. Refuses to eat cold sandwiches anymore or even hot ones which he did for awhile. He at least used to eat salad or carrots and ranch but doesn't anymore.

SO for lunch he usually has cereal, he will snack on chips during the day. I usually try and get him to drink a smoothie for breakfast while in class, to at least get some yogurt and fruit in him. Dinners are usually a protein and some fruit, and he will eat those leftovers for lunch sometimes.

Im also very burned out with food ideas and cooking and I cook for a living!!! My 9 year old will eat literally anything. The other night we had crab cakes, creamed spinach, baked potatoes and steak. She ate everything he just ate steak.

Maybe I will try to experiment with more frozen meals/snacks. see if he likes something new

Anonymous wrote:18:27 again. Really just a comment. DH went to Costco last weekend and tried to buy protein bars, thinking they would be good for breakfast and easy to eat before class. 45 were gone in 3 days. How is that even possible? Both are really thin.

My DS has decided he likes my granola bars. I eat one each morning so one box will last a week and a half. He must have eaten two boxes in 2 days! I'm glad he found something he likes but oh my God! He is super skinny too.

Trader Joe’s has lots of frozen meals like stir fry, etc

18:27 again. Really just a comment. DH went to Costco last weekend and tried to buy protein bars, thinking they would be good for breakfast and easy to eat before class. 45 were gone in 3 days. How is that even possible? Both are really thin.

My two are eating all day lawn. That is one of the hardest parts of online classes for us. We are working and I’m home but very busy. They are capable of making their own food but now are eating during classes and between classes constantly. Whatever we buy, they eat. It’s unbelievable how much food we are going through. I understand teens eat a lot but DH and and I are shocked.

They will cook anything from pasta, pizzas, anything frozen in the freezer, leftovers, fruit, yogurt, cheese and everything snack or breakfast like in the pantry.

Food bowls: prep the ingredients ahead of time, then store in tuppers in the fridge for the kids to assemble.

Chipotle at home: seasoned ground meat, seasoned peppers and onions, lettuce, tomato, salsa, beans, sour cream, rice, tortillas.

Olive Garden at home: cooked diced chicken breasts, jars of pesto, red sauce, Alfredo sauce, parmesan cheese, cheese. They boil the pasta of their choice.

Cava at home: couscous, hummus, cucumber yogurt salad, feta, canned stuffed grape leaves, eggplant dip, warm pita. They warm the pita, because you're their mom, not their valet.

Lafayette Coney Island at home: hot dogs, buns, chopped onion, chili from a can, chips.

Anonymous wrote:I don't cook anything but dinner for kids who are teenagers, unless it's a special occasion. They can figure it out themselves.

Same. My son loves waffles at any time of the day. He doesn't like sandwiches. He'll also eat cereal and certain leftovers.

I use more convenience foods for lunch than some (flame away) but am tired of cooking lunch!!!!

Pasta (I cook it the night before, toss with EVOO and refrigerate), jarred sauce and frozen meatballs they can add/fix themselves at lunch

Frozen chicken tenders and bagged salad. Again they can fix themselves and they actually like salad. Sometimes they chop the tenders into the salad.

Boxed/canned soup with grilled cheese. They can make it themselves.

Quesadillas- we eat a lot of Mexican food so always have good stuff- they make their own

Frozen pizza sometimes

Hotdogs. Microwave. I usually have buns etc and they often experiment with odd toppings.

dinner leftovers (of course)

They mostly feed themselves. I’ll keep an eye on something in the oven or make a grilled cheese etc if they don’t have enough break time- if they ask.

They don’t like cold sandwiches- never have..

Sushi
udon soup
Pizza
Nando’s
Burgers
Stir fry
Pasta

Much of this is extra prep at dinner saved in the fridge and heated or cooked as needed.