What on earth do teenagers eat after school?

[IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads]

15 yo ds, tall and skinny but filling out.
He'll come in from school and eat whole packets of biscuits - albeit his preference is for cheese biscuits - and pot noodles, slabs of cheese. Whatever cake and sweet biscuits he can lay his hands on. Needs cajoling into eating an apple. Very unadventurous with other fruit. Ok with veg as part of a meal. Won't touch soup or yoghurt. He wants to be a biomedical scientist or biochemist, so I thought I'd get him onboard with the whole healthy eating/body as a machine thing - but when discussed what he'd like/think is a sensible snack food he says "dunno".

DD(12) - canes pot noodles, and also has a very sweet tooth - unfortunately she has to walk past a sweet shop on her way home from school. I think she may have stopped growing, and is stacking on weight, which ee need to get under control. She's also not mad on fruit.

I find my DC's eating habits quite alarming! I'm veggie and wholefoody (was largely brought up that way). DH is medically advised not to eat raw fruit or veg - and the dc model him! They were weaned on humus and lentil bake, but are never happier than when they have a plate of roast meat and something involving pastry and custard for pudding!

There is a wider issue to resolve about how we eat as a family, but for now I'm thinking about after school. What can I give/leave the dc to eat after school that's a happy medium between healthy and tasty? I'm prepared to bake. They both have lunch at 12 noon, and we don't really have our evening meal until 6.30-7pm, so they need something.

E.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.

If I have the time, I’ll make a loaf cake - banana, apple or tea bread. I also usually have crumpets, bagels, tea cakes that I freeze separately so that they can just be put in the toaster. Cheese, crackers and grapes is also popular. DD doesn’t eat much at lunch as she does if she’s
not at school so I tend to think of it as a second half of lunch so to speak. However she likes to be healthy so will pick up a banana or even an apple now we got an apple slicer! (She can’t eat an apple normally due to her braces.)!
Realising potato waffles can be cooked in the toaster was revolutionary!

DD is 16 and in 6th form. She comes home between 4pm on a full day and 2pm when she has no lessons after lunch.

At 4pm she will eat a yoghurt, cake, biscuits or cereals. We cook a family meal around 7-8pm depending on her clubs. That is the system we have since she started primary school.

If she is home at 2pm, she missed lunch and will eat a sandwich.

I personally prefer this as we eat all together and I don't want her to cook and then complain that she is not hungry (tried it, was a disaster).

She does eat fruit. We normally don't have dessert during the week.

Spanish omelette keeps in the fridge (and you can sneak in veg). Or soy eggs if they don’t mind hard-boiled – adds a bit of flavour!

Lots of protein and carbs…eggs, omelette, quiche, savoury eggy muffins, pasta with veg / lentil/ protein based sauces.

What really helped here was having dinner earlier - so at "high tea" time, and then a light supper/snack before bed (when it could be milk and biscuits or something similarly nutritious! We even got into late night milkshakes at one point...)

Obviously it only works if someone is home in time to cook/re-heat something...and they still wanted a tiny something when they got in, but also didn't want to spoil their dinner by overdoing the snacky stuff.

So an early evening meal. Teens eat a lot. Mine decided in a fairly healthy set of snacks. He will have something sweet with a cuppa circa 4:30, then some veg sticks (carrot, pepper, cucumber) at 6 ish and a satsuma/apple. Dinner is 8 here

So let them spend their own money on it, but that will be limited and they'll have less to buy other stuff they want. No point in also buying it as part of the main shop

Mine ate dinner with us about 6.30pm. I never encouraged snacking

Mine have crumpets/malt loaf/nachos + dip/carrot sticks and hummus/banana cake/cheese on toast…..

and if I’m not at home then the whole, entire contents of the fridge/freezer/cupboards 😡

Since September I've been giving my teens their full dinner when they get home at 4.30 and then later on they have a sandwich or most of the snack foods mentioned above (or sometimes another small portion of dinner). I've noticed a huge difference in their mood and energy levels doing it this way round and it has worked really well for them doing their homework on a full stomach.

Eggs. So many eggs! Sometimes with mackerel in tomato sauce and toast.

bagels

jacket potatoes

pasta

beans with toast or the jackets

milky drinks - often with protein powder.

it’s more than a snack, it’s an extra meal. And if we have tea early before they have something like this, they just have this later!!

Mine will eat half a box of cereal each after school, then dinner with the family as usual at 7pm, then peanut butter sarnies at about 9pm plus hot chocolate, yoghurts.

They're not fat at all. Tall, yes, and sporty and strong.

I like how much they eat.

Seeded toast with peanut butter? Cheese and tomato on toast?

Thanks to a prescription med I have the metabolism of a teenager, which is less fun than it sounds, most days by 4pm I'm ravenous.

At that time of day, carbs on their own don't fill me up and I end up mindlessly eating. What hits the spot is protein:
Cheese and crackers
Nuts, including flavoured (but not sugary) ones
Sandwich with meat or cheese in
Protein shake
Soy aka tea eggs as a previous poster mentioned
Cold, good quality sausage with something to go with it like hummus

My DC would have cheese toasties with a side of cherry tomatoes.

Back in the '80's I would have 2 (or 3) shredded
Wheat with hot milk, then 2 (or 3) slices of toast with jam 😋

I used to eat toast when I got in from school. I try to get my kids to eat their dinner immediately at 5:45 / 6pm so they can then do their homework. But they don’t get home any earlier.

I think the answer is good toast - pitta - cheese - peanut butter. Not UPFs. if you can’t get them straight on to a wholesome dinner

Ds is 16yo. His choice of food after school is
1/2 cucumber
a dozen tomatoes
1/2 pepper
4 slices of bread
A cup of tea
a banana

Have a 13yo and 16yo, they’d have Cereal, or crackers and cheese, cereal bar, popcorn, or crisps, sausage rolls (sometimes in ridiculous quantities!), waffles, toast or toasted cheese sandwiches or beans on toast or egg on toast

My older teens have any of the following about 4.30-5pm before supper :
Quesadilla
Toasted cheese and ham sandwich
Cut up apple/banana/blueberries and yogurt
Scrambled eggs on toast
Toast with jam/marmite/peanut butter and jelly
Hot cross bun
Warmed up leftovers from night before
Sushi if they can get their hands on it
Smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel

DS1, 15, is the same. Demolishes whole packets of biscuits and any other chocolate or crisps in the cupboard. He'll often have 2 dinners, if available, one early around 6.30/7 when DS3 is eating and another later with DS2. However, he refuses to eat breakfast as always late in the morning and claims he isn't hungry then and I think rarely eats lunch at school so he's obviously trying to pack in the calories in the evening. He's 5ft 11, 63 kilos and super lean and muscly so I can't really complain. DS2 also eats massive amounts of chocolate after school but does huge amount of sports/football training (talking 30+ week) so is also superfit and lean (160cm and 45 kilos). Their base meals are healthy so it's just the snacking that's unhealthy.

Is this for real?

Do they make this themselves and clean-up afterwards?

Depends whether I’m still working or not

If I have finished I’ll get it for them but if I’m still busy they sort themselves and clear up

Why?

My son is very slim and about 6 foot tall now. He grew 6 inches in one year. He only eats when he's actually hungry but he would be ravenous when he came home from school. I went for an interview at his school and realised how small the portions were given it was a boys' school. I spoke to a number of boys who said they were always hungry. That can't be good for them when they are trying to learn.

Mine used to cook his own dinner when he came in even if it was about 4 pm then at about 9 pm he would have a big supper plate which would be sandwiches, crisps, fruit, biscuits etc. I really feel for parents who can't afford this.

The only thing that worked for breakfast was porridge. I think it just settled like a brick in his stomach so he didn't need to eat until lunchtime