DD 16 home lunches

Flyhigher · 2024-04-10T11:56:35+00:00

What does your 16 teen have for lunch? Mine likes fresh chicken curry. Her dad is a good cook. Leaves it frozen. But it's a nightmare. Ideas for easy lunches for fussy teens. And what do your guys eat?

Squidlette · 10/04/2024 20:23

Cheese toasties in the toastie maker
Frozen vegan rolls in air fryer
Supernoodles
Dry bread (ds cba making a sandwich)

Ds lose track of time if he's off and we're not home with him, so he either doesn't eat or eats his lunch at 2 or 3.

Original poster

Flyhigher · 10/04/2024 19:57

HappyNewTaxYear · 10/04/2024 13:53

Oh this is the rude kid isn’t it?

Why are you cooking for someone who is rude to you?

She's getting actually much better with rudeness. As GCSES loom and toxic friend is less of an influence. Now it feels like just stress snapping.

She's nicer. She's got Gsces so can't push it too much right now.

And want her to be healthy. She is healthy.

She does make her own salads in summer.
Winter is the problem.

My DH will do lots of fresh healthy food that takes prep. Which she won't do. I eat soups or salads. Whatever is in the fridge.

Anyway - I guess I wanted some recipes and ideas really.

I should have just asked in a cooking thread or some thing. Not here.

OP posts:

BestMug · 10/04/2024 19:30

We eat family lunches at the weekend but during the week people make their own. DD likes pasta salad, chickpea salad, cold chicken with mayo and salad in pitta bread, pasta and pesto, Greek salad. DS makes noodle soups (we usually have chicken stock in the fridge so he just adds the noodles, veg and chopped chicken), baked salmon and avo.

At 16 being able to make a meal is a life skill, even if it's simple.

mitogoshi · 10/04/2024 19:28

At 16 you cook your own including going to the supermarket!

Luckydog7 · 10/04/2024 19:24

We always have boiled eggs and tuna mayo in the fridge for egg/tuna sandwiches or chuck it on a salad.

I do a quick coronation chicken using cooked chicken for speed.

Often buy a cooked ham and that gets slowly sliced into sandwiches or onto omelette.

Left over cold sausages

Left over kebab/rossoles with couscous and tzatziki.

Notthatcatagain · 10/04/2024 19:17

You are planning and preparing lunches for a 16 yr old? That's almost cruel, certainly poor parenting. She needs to be preparing herself to be an independent adult. By her age, I was regularly cooking for my family

MigGirl · 10/04/2024 19:11

My DD is 16, she wants something different then she cooks it herself. Being able to cook well is a good life skill, let her get on with it.

Even DS 14 is made to cook tea in our house (only occasionally at the moment, DD doesn't it at lest once a week).

penjil · 10/04/2024 19:07

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 10/04/2024 13:00

Chicken curry is too fussy for a lunch. Too much preparation.

Falafal is eqsier

Sandwiches even easier than that!

But at 16 she should be getting her own lunch, not getting her father to dawn over her and cook her a hot lunch from scratch!

Parents, you are enabling her!

StormingNorman · 10/04/2024 18:27

Do yourself and your DD a favour and teach her to cook on a budget.

Roast a chicken to turn into chicken salad, chicken curry, a chicken sandwich, chicken pasta, chicken soup and so on. One chicken will feed her for lunch all week.

Otherwise she could batch cook two dishes and alternate. If she doesn’t want to freeze and reheat, there should be some for the rest of you too!

MILTOBE · 10/04/2024 18:21

Would she eat two meals a day, then, eg curry for lunch and lasagne for dinner?

If you want her to learn to cook then Gousto is good to start off with. However, I wouldn't pay for it just for her own lunches. Why can't she have a sandwich like anyone else?

Tel12 · 10/04/2024 18:19

Teen cookbook on Amazon. Bought for my GS, lots of good ideas.

StormingNorman · 10/04/2024 18:19

Inlimboin50s · 10/04/2024 17:47

Tin of ravioli
Half a Covent garden soup with toast
Egg on toast
Lasagne ready meal
Pizza
Greek yoghurt with banana
Tin of tuna, sweetcorn and mayo.

Heinz ravioli 🤩

Anothercr · 10/04/2024 18:17

Bjorkdidit · 10/04/2024 18:11

I don't understand the aversion to cooked food at lunchtime. It's not a requirement, but it sounds like a preference, which is fine, if she does the cooking.

Some people find sandwiches really dull and unsatisfying. They're not necessarily cheaper or healthier/lighter/lower calorie either. Obvious solution would be leftovers or batch cooking, which would mean it's easier than prepping a salad anyway.

Same. Like most of the world, I have a cooked meal for lunch and dinner, every day. I have done all of my life. I do not consider sandwiches to constitute a meal.

Beezknees · 10/04/2024 18:16

My 16yo DS sorts his own lunches. I'm trying to lose weight so I'm eating meagre portions that wouldn't touch his sides. If he's at school he buys from the canteen. If he's at home he'll have something like (practically) 100 slices of toast, or an egg and bacon sandwich, ramen, a frozen pizza, fish fingers, etc. I work full time and I'm not pissing around in the kitchen for him at lunch time. I cook us a decent dinner most nights.

Bjorkdidit · 10/04/2024 18:11

I don't understand the aversion to cooked food at lunchtime. It's not a requirement, but it sounds like a preference, which is fine, if she does the cooking.

Some people find sandwiches really dull and unsatisfying. They're not necessarily cheaper or healthier/lighter/lower calorie either. Obvious solution would be leftovers or batch cooking, which would mean it's easier than prepping a salad anyway.

rainontherooftop · 10/04/2024 18:07

No idea where all this cooking is required for lunches.

When mine are at home there's cooked meats, cheese, salad stuff in fridge that they can make into a sandwich or wrap.
Beans or eggs that can go on toast.
Occasionally there's a pot of soup they can heat up.
Just tell her to have what she wants out of the fridge and get on with it, she's not 5.

zaffa · 10/04/2024 17:52

DSS 15 either air fryer food (chicken nuggets, it's hard to keep up!) or elaborate gourmet sandwhiches he makes from stuff I have bought (chorizo, salami, cheeses, bake at home bread). Occasionally a ready meal, omelet, scrambled egg, sometimes he looks very pitiful and I make him lunch (obviously if I am making everyone else lunch I also offer / make his, but he keeps teenage hours 😂)

Inlimboin50s · 10/04/2024 17:47

Tin of ravioli
Half a Covent garden soup with toast
Egg on toast
Lasagne ready meal
Pizza
Greek yoghurt with banana
Tin of tuna, sweetcorn and mayo.

Zanatdy · 10/04/2024 17:27

Not a chance I’d be cooking that for lunch. My 16yr old DD makes all her own food (through choice). My kids have made own lunches for a good few years

Original poster

Flyhigher · 10/04/2024 17:25

Definitely think she would give us a list of stuff to buy to cook herself.
She does quite like cooking.
This is why I need some ideas of stuff.
DH is busy and is not a great teacher.
He takes over rather than showing her.
Definitely she's ready to cook her own stuff.
I'm sure she would do things from TikTok!

OP posts:

Mirabai · 10/04/2024 17:24

This can’t be real.

Sweetheart7 · 10/04/2024 17:09

At 16 she can cook herself. Follow a YouTube video or order a hello fresh.

BoohooWoohoo · 10/04/2024 17:06

Is she likely to go to uni? Starting her on cooking lunches is good prep for that stage.

Sharptonguedwoman · 10/04/2024 17:06

Flyhigher · 10/04/2024 13:11

I know. Husband not as keen to kick start her cooking.

She does cook her breakfasts. And she does like cooking.

Thanks ! More lunch ideas please!

2 years and she'll be at uni....... possibly. My DD doesn't like cooking, just not interested. Put on several stone at uni eating ramen. Not to be recommended . Get DH to teach her.

Sharptonguedwoman · 10/04/2024 17:04

arethereanyleftatall · 10/04/2024 13:03

She cooks her own for a start. No way would I be getting involved in a 16yos lunches. Eggs mainly.

Good grief yes. What she wants, beyond a cheese sandwich, she can sort herself. Get DD to make a list of what she wants for a week, someone shops, then over to her.