I have a tween swimmer. OMG. He eats the following by the truckload:

hard boiled eggs
rotisserie (or roasted) chickens
peanut butter sandwiches
watermelons
milk

He is 5'5 and pushing 82 lbs....

I have a 12 year old who is in the 5th percentile for weight, is a string bean, isn’t all that active and eats ALL the time. He’s incredibly lazy about making his own food and sort of picky. It’s crazy how many times a day he eats and I’m really pushing him to get his own snacks. This thread is helpful but I have my work cut out for me...especially to get him to clean up after he makes something.

Anonymous wrote:This thread is an eye opener! My 12 year old boy is starting to ask for more food. He plays sports and is very active. I was denying him food because I thought he would gain weight. I feel bad now

Feed the child.

He needs to get the gut, then he will shoot up shortly after.

For my boys it was foot odor, followed by BO, followed by chub gut, followed by a huge growth spurt and sudden skinny ness like they were stretched out, followed by muscle growth.

Anonymous wrote:PP, YOU WIN!!!

(said with admiration not snark.) Wow, those are pretty amazing breakfasts!

Thank you! Thank you very much!

This thread is an eye opener! My 12 year old boy is starting to ask for more food. He plays sports and is very active. I was denying him food because I thought he would gain weight. I feel bad now

He needs to learn how to cook. My athletic daughters could put away three adult servings. So I made them learn how to cook. Keep the fridge stocked and let them clean up after themselves.

PP, YOU WIN!!!

(said with admiration not snark.) Wow, those are pretty amazing breakfasts!

I have two teenage boys. We are not big on frozen and prepared foods but some frozen food is our reality. However, we all like to cook and bake and my boys also know their way around the kitchen.

My strategy is to assume they will eat up to 6 meals. Because they like junky stuff, I will always add some sweet things in the mix. I do make something similar to protein milkshake another pp wrote about. However, I had not thought about using protein powder but that is a great idea.

Add a variety of foods in the meals and stretch the meals by adding extra ingredients in it. So if they are eating cereal and milk, get them to add a chopped banana, handful of bananas and some raisin in it. The meal becomes more filling and nutritious. My kids like variety so I am always mixing things up for them. I also have a list of menu items for meals as well as for lunch boxes when school opens and I do shop with a meal plan in hand. For example this is the the breakfast I have served in the past week. Some of these require a bit more effort but since it is summer break we have time to hang around the breakfast table.

Breakfast
- Honey bunches of oats/cheerios cereal, handful of walnuts and cranberries, organic whole milk. 1 banana with spoon of peanut butter and a belvita cookie.
- 2 scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese or mexican blend cheese and finely chopped spinach, whole wheat toast with alouette garlic & herb cheese spread, 1 bowl of grapes, strawberries, cantaloup with two tablespoon of vanilla ice cream.
- Spinach and onion pancakes (salty with cumin, turmeric). Skyr with a fruit puree (we use mango puree) or champagne marmalade.
- Using sandwich maker - veggie sandwiches served with ketchup. I fill it with the following fillings and add quite a bit of spice - sauteed peppers/onions/mushrooms/cilantro/ginger, sausage/mashed potatoes/peas, boiled potatoes/cooked carrots/cooked peas/ cheese. Home made banana-nut-bread.
- Stuffed whole wheat parantha (homemade shallow fried tortilla like bread) with cauliflower/potatoes/cheese served with harissa and yogurt. Mango lassi.
- Oats porridge with ground flaxseed, whole cashews, raisin. Scotch eggs with avocado toast.
(Scotch eggs are a sort of laborious process involving frying. But it is doable on a weekends),
- Breakfast tacos with whole wheat tortillas, scrambled eggs, finely chopped veggies and sausage meat. Top with salsa and chopped avocado. Apple cake (boxed yellow cake mix and diced and sliced apples) with condensed milk drizzled on it.

I like to make a big tray of chicken legs on the weekend and put them in the fridge. They are eaten cold, sometimes 3-4 at a time.

I hard boil and peel a dozen eggs at a time. I used to put them nicely on a plate with like carrots and peppers but wised up when they would eat the eggs and leave the veggies.

My boys like sandwiches but get bored so I have to rotate the deli meat - one week turkey, the next week roast beef, etc. I also often pre-boil 12 hot dogs and wrap them in the fridge. Then all they have to do is nuke for 30 seconds and find a bun.

Lately my boys have been into trail mix. I’m astonished at the quantity they can eat but it’s easy to keep in the house and does not go bad.

For carbs, they will eat cereal but it’s not their favorite. They like frozen waffles, bagel bites, hot pockets, basically sodium vehicles. Bagels and bread usually as part of a sandwich or with hard boiled eggs - not usually on their own. This week I bought biscuits at Whole Foods and I was surprised they did not want to eat them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have three boys ranging in age from 6 to 17. I found that when the two oldest wanted a post-dinner snack, they craved (and I refused) junk. I found that if I let them have junk for a post-dinner snack, they were grumpy the next morning until after breakfast. Instead, we fought a lot at first and finally compromised on fat-heavy (rather than carb heavy) post-dinner snacks that they could prepare themselves. They eat/ate a lot of guacamole, hummus, nuts, salami, and cheese. They usually combine it with a glass of milk. The oldest will now frequently down half a dozen hard boiled eggs before bed and seems happy. The middle son still struggles to make peace with the options of offer and seems to mostly really want someone to prepare something for him.

1/2 dozen hb eggs as a “snack?” Wow.

Yup -- at 75 calories per egg that's a 450 calorie snack. With 36 g of protein and 30 g of fat. More of a 4th meal than a "snack" but entirely appropriate for a growing teen, especially if he is an athlete.

Anonymous wrote:

The watermelon and skinny pop are silly.

Skinny pop is cheap at Costco and its perfect for grazing and eating it by the handfuls so it fills you up, but you don't feel gross. Love it as do my kids.

Watermelon is fine. Another good filler and hydrater. I'd think bananas are cheaper, fill you up more and not as messy.

OP asked for cheap and easy ways to fill her bottomless kids. Above suggestions are fine as well as other Pps suggesting microwavable taquitos, hot pockets, bagel bites, etc
Ymmv.

Ravenous teen boys won't be able to get enough calories fromthe watermelon. And the skinnypop has too much fiber -- it fills you up before you get enough calories. I mean, they are fine snacks for people who are watching their weight. That's not where OP's teen boys are right now.

Some people have no sense of how many calories a teen boy needs during a growth spurt -- it could be 3500 a day, especially if he is an athlete. Little 150 calorie snacks are not going to cut it. Snacks meant for premenopausal women are not really helpful.

Anonymous wrote:I have three boys ranging in age from 6 to 17. I found that when the two oldest wanted a post-dinner snack, they craved (and I refused) junk. I found that if I let them have junk for a post-dinner snack, they were grumpy the next morning until after breakfast. Instead, we fought a lot at first and finally compromised on fat-heavy (rather than carb heavy) post-dinner snacks that they could prepare themselves. They eat/ate a lot of guacamole, hummus, nuts, salami, and cheese. They usually combine it with a glass of milk. The oldest will now frequently down half a dozen hard boiled eggs before bed and seems happy. The middle son still struggles to make peace with the options of offer and seems to mostly really want someone to prepare something for him.

1/2 dozen hb eggs as a “snack?” Wow.

My tween is having a growth spurt as well. When he wants a second dinner, he either makes a sandwich or heats up a Stouffers meal. Classic options he enjoys--Mac&cheese, fettuccine Alfredo, spaghetti&meatballs. I now just keep 1/2 dozen on hand. Also likes Carnation Instant Breakfast drink, but that doesn't usually suffice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have three boys ranging in age from 6 to 17. I found that when the two oldest wanted a post-dinner snack, they craved (and I refused) junk. I found that if I let them have junk for a post-dinner snack, they were grumpy the next morning until after breakfast. Instead, we fought a lot at first and finally compromised on fat-heavy (rather than carb heavy) post-dinner snacks that they could prepare themselves. They eat/ate a lot of guacamole, hummus, nuts, salami, and cheese. They usually combine it with a glass of milk. The oldest will now frequently down half a dozen hard boiled eggs before bed and seems happy. The middle son still struggles to make peace with the options of offer and seems to mostly really want someone to prepare something for him.

Most trainers and lifters say that lots of carbs are essential to building muscle for athletes:
https://completehumanperformance.com/2015/09/11/build-muscle-carbs/


Research suggests that conventional wisdom is wrong:
http://roguehealthandfitness.com/are-carbohydrates-needed-to-build-muscle/

I’m the PP you’re responding to. We don’t ban carbs, and they eat a lot of dairy and fruit which, of course, contain carbs. But we do try to focus on protein and fat. I see far less hanger when they’re eating a protein and fat heavy diet. I’m not sure it works for everyone, but it’s been great in our house. And the kids seem to build muscle just fine!

About cereal - frosted mini wheats and Raisin Bran stick to the ribs. They also like to mix Frosted Flakes and bran flakes in my house. All the other cereals that they like don’t have enough fiber to hold them.