We have red meat 2x a week (the iron gives them energy and the protein lasts longer than carbs, which they burn right through). Also, bananas and yogurt are my Tweens' go-to food. I keep my kitchen stocked with those. I also keep lots of trail mix around. I am at the store every other day - it's a season of life. Enjoy every minute of it

Wait.Serving bread with a meal--are you all Midwesterners?

Anonymous wrote:Op here

Thank you all. It just seems like there is a ton of food in the grocery cart each week. In fact the cart is full. Outlawing junk is not gonna go over well with my kids.they are able to self regulate and not each too much.

OP you are crazy. The problem isn't outlawing junk, it's getting more wholesome food so they won't need the junk. Stop starving them and get a second cart. Fill it with good things. If you actually fed your family, they wouldn't be eating pizza, doritos and soda.

Geez.

I'm not usually too big on "health food" but with the portions they are eating/wanting -- I'd up the "real" food -- meat and potatoes etc. and cut back on having things like Doritos and soda around. I realize they are rail thin right now and that stuff adds no weight at all, but I think we all know plenty of male high school athletes who get used to eating like that and when they hit 18 and stop playing varsity sports and hit 22 and growth spurts stop and they hit 21 and add alcohol to the mix -- they suddenly lose their thin/lean body type and get bigger. Habits are so ingrained at that point that water is bland and it's hard to understand that a family size bag of Doritos isn't meant to be consumed by one person in one sitting -- and by the time many realize it, the weight has piled on.

When you serve things like pasta with salmon or chicken stir fry with rice -- how much salmon or rice is in each portion? And how much pasta is each teen getting? I would think that if a "normal" adult portion is one salmon filet or one chicken breast -- the portion for teen athletes should be consisting of 2-3 salmon filets or 2-3 chicken breasts. Also how much pasta and rice is being served? I think the "rules" re serving sizes being a 1/2 cup for carbs etc is out the door for teens who've just gotten out of hockey practice. Hell when I was that age (a female and not a serious athlete) and I was just eating pasta and sauce for dinner -- I'd consume 1 cup of pasta myself. So chicken stir fry for them should look like 2+ cups of rice with 2-3 chicken breasts stir fried in there along with whatever veggies -- and that's a portion for ONE teen.

I frankly wouldn't worry about DD8 or DS3 too much. I mean feed them of course, but chances are they are saying they want pizza or doritos or whatever bc their big brothers are having it. But for the teen boys, I think they NEED the food.

Also are you doing things like stir fries and pasta to "stretch" out portions of meat? I know people do that, and I get it. But if there are constant complaints of hunger and pizzas being ordered after dinner consistently, I'd switch to meat and potatoes with an entire loaf of French bread for a while; you can do things like pot roast or burgers or whatever. I wouldn't worry about being too "fancy" with sauces and the like -- they don't need or want it; they need significant amounts of protein.

Anonymous wrote:Op here

Thank you all. It just seems like there is a ton of food in the grocery cart each week. In fact the cart is full. Outlawing junk is not gonna go over well with my kids.they are able to self regulate and not each too much.

So cut down on the junk. Don't eliminate it all together. But NOBODY needs soda. Make it a out at a restaurant treat. You keep feeding that to them, they won't be so healthy in 20 years.

Try meals with substance--meat and potatoes. Make a lot roast with potatoes, carrots. Onions, gract, and bread.

21:40, can I get that recipe for lentil sloppy joes? They sound good!

And I totally agree that OP is not cooking enough food. My DH and 9 yo could polish off 10 chicken legs before the 6 and 3 yo could even get to the table!

OP, if you don't have a Costco membership, now is the time.

Anonymous wrote:Op here

Thank you all. It just seems like there is a ton of food in the grocery cart each week. In fact the cart is full. Outlawing junk is not gonna go over well with my kids.they are able to self regulate and not each too much.

AN entire bag of Doritos for one kid, a pizza and two liters of soda?? They are not self regulating! You think they are because they are not fat but that is a LOT of inappropriate junk. My kids are allowed one small junk food snack and one sweet a day (they choose but an 8oz soda counts as a sweet). Beyond that, it is healthy food all day long. Junk is a big part of your problem.

Anonymous wrote:Op here

Thank you all. It just seems like there is a ton of food in the grocery cart each week. In fact the cart is full. Outlawing junk is not gonna go over well with my kids.they are able to self regulate and not each too much.

OP, my grocery cart is full at least once a week just feeding 2 adults and 2 elementary aged kids. Actually, I go to the grocery store at least once a week and the farmers market once a week and Trader Joes maybe every couple weeks and Costco once every six weeks or so and at each place I seem to be getting bags and bags of food. And in between we have to make runs to the bakery for more bread. The two kids and my husband easily finish a loaf of french bread with their meal.

Op here

Thank you all. It just seems like there is a ton of food in the grocery cart each week. In fact the cart is full. Outlawing junk is not gonna go over well with my kids.they are able to self regulate and not each too much.

I have two tall and skinny teen boys plus a 6'3 spouse. We go thru a gallon of Organic milk almost everyday. I buy peanut butter from Costco. It is gone in a week. They eat almost every two hours on the weekends. I stopped looking at the grocery bill. I am lucky we can afford so much.

It is what it is.

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 cooked one measly rack of ribs for dinner? My three kids go through two racks of ribs at one meal easy! And my older son has to get a snack every single night, no matter how much he eats at dinner. He's an athlete, very skinny, but consumes tons of food.

My advice: Outlaw the junk food! Stop buying soda! install a water cooler and have everyone drink spring water or seltzer. Junk food is empty calories, never fills anyone up, and all those chemicals and sugar just prime you to be more hungry when you are done eating.

As PPs have suggested, double your portions at every meal. I always double my recipes, and everything gets eaten at most meals. There are rarely left-overs, and if there are any, my older boy eats them for a late night snack.

BTW, no one in our house is fat! We eat zero junk or processed food, but we eat a lot of healthy food. No soda, no pizza, no chips (did you ever read the ingredients in Doritos??). I get complaints sometimes, and I do break down and buy a bag of organic corn chips or potato chips every once in a while. Growing kids need a lot of food.

+1

Soup is not a meal for them.

Make big batches of beans w sautéed onions and peppers. Keep them on hand with shredded cheese and tortillas for quick burritos.

When you make hamburgers, triple the number. Leftover ones can be heated quickly.

Buy a rotisserie chicken from time to time, just to have on hand.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to stock up on more fruits, carrots, celery, hummus, peanut butter, yogurt etc.

Make sure that salads of fruits, veggies, meat, egg, nuts and seeds are the first course of your meal, then the regular entree and sides and end your meal with a dessert of fruits, cheese, yogurt. You will be feeding them more variety and healthy stuff as well.

Increase the portion size as well. Also, you might think about giving them a sizeable meal, as soon as they get home from school (Lasagna, meatloaf etc - stuff they can warm themselves). And then also serve them dinner.

Thank you!! They snack on the things you mentioned all afternoon and evening as it is. They all enjoy hummus, pretzels and salads. To put the amount of food they are eating into perspective, last week we went through 4 gallons of milk, two jars of peanut butter, 2 dozen eggs, 4 packs of cheese, about 10 lbs of meat and 20 lbs of veggies, a couple loaves of bread, 6 liters of soda, a tub of smart balance, 10 (!) avocados and 3 boxes of pasta.

I'm just dreading summer when all my sons' friends are over just about every day.

Hmmmm, OP, you add a little more each time you post that makes it harder and harder to believe you....

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.

Um, 10 chicken legs is not many---especially with teenage boys in the house!!! And one rack of ribs for a whole family? I do two, with 3-4 sides, so we do have some leftovers, but not a lot!
You're not cooking enough, I think that's clear. And like other posters have said, snacks need to be veggies, fruit, hard-boiled eggs, things like that---NO doritos!!