DD is 13. She is small for her age and quite slim but not underweight. She is quite active (half hour walk to school, around 6-8 hours of dance each week).
She has never been very interested in food, even as a toddler. I think she views eating as a necessity rather than something that she particularly enjoys (unless it's chocolate
).
Until recently, she really struggled to eat anything at all in the mornings, so I would give her a smoothie with fruit/veg/nuts/yoghurt etc to tide her over until lunch. However, she has started getting up earlier and now feels ready to eat about an hour or so after waking. She usually has a bowl of porridge (made with milk not water) with raisins and berries. I'm really pleased that she is eating a better breakfast.
However, she is now saying that she doesn't feel very hungry at lunchtime, and she just wants salad. So today, she had a mix of green leaves, cherry tomatoes, half an avocado and some goats cheese. This is fairly typical - usually some combination of veg with eggs or cheese. She will sometimes eat houmous and she will also let me put beans/lentils in the salad, but again, not too many as they make her feel full/bloated. I'd like to add some nuts but can't because of the school's no nuts policy.
I've tried offering pasta/rice/couscous/quinoa in a salad, as well as various types of bread, crackers etc, but she says she doesn't have an appetite at lunchtime and they make her feel too full/bloated. She doesn't eat meat and won't take fish to school.
I don't want to force her to eat (not that I could anyway!) but it doesn't seem like a very substantial lunch to me. However, I have lifelong problems with overeating and I really don't have a sense of what's "normal", so I guess I'm looking for perspective. Is this an ok lunch for a growing teen if it's all she wants? FWIW, she will eat a proper cooked meal in the evening, with protein/carbs etc., though I think her portion sizes still tend to be somewhat smaller than the average adult would eat.
She is conscious of trying to eat healthily but I don't think she worries about her weight and I've no reason to believe that there is any kind of medical problem/eating disorder. I think she is genuinely just not that interested in food and has a small appetite/doesn't like to feel too full. If what she is eating is ok, then that's all well and good, I certainly don't want to pass on my food issues to her! At the same time, I don't want to be neglectful or miss the signs of something if actually it's not enough.
Sorry if these are stupid questions. It's just quite difficult when you know your own perspective is a bit warped!