What is your preteen/teenage boy eating?

[changedmyname24]

As it is the school holidays, I seem to be constantly shopping, cooking or loading the dishwasher!

So I wondered what a typical day's food consumption looks like for teen/preteen boys in the school holidays? Do they eat more than term time & are they more/less active?

Mine (11 & 14) are constantly grazing, but also playing outside a lot, so I think burning it off! Both are very skinny too 😁

I’ve started to say don’t ask for anything else until you’ve had a glass of full fat milk. That seems to fuel them for a bit between meals. I was just commenting on another thread about my protein uptake and for the kids this is important, too. I’ve made sure their protein is upped and it does seem to keep them going longer, say, than dipping into the kitchen for crisps or slices of toast. I feel like I’m constantly boiling eggs! 2-3 boiled eggs each just as a snack late afternoon with some white pepper and a splash of soy sauce is the fave combo.

Shit tonne of raspberries and cherries.
Breadsticks
Curry noodles.
Nutella toast
Watermelon
Crisps
Bowls of cereal.

I'm just letting him get on with it.
That is what he is grazing on mostly .

My boys are the same age (11 & 13) and 11 eats far more than 13. He is a bottomless pit, everything and loves food.
13 is all food for fuel.

I keep pizzas, yoghurt with honey, ramen, ham/cheese for toasties for 11 - 13 will eat pizzas but also cooks and not a fan of sandwiches much, would rather eat a hot meal but also loves sushi, Italian food (makes his own pizza dough, crepes, pancakes) and into “healthy” recipes he finds on his gym app and making protein smoothies with spinach and fruits.

Both of them are very slim, but we all are as a family really, and both very active. They both eat a lot of vegetables (not much fruit)

Summer holidays are the perfect time for the your boys to practice their cooking and cleaning up afterwards. Plus you might want to introduce them to the idea of meal prepping to save time.

Mine lived on sandwiches- especially ones made with supermarket baguettes. One of them took Food Tech so was happy to made big batches of filling and kept it in the fridge for wraps and stuff like that.

Everything 😂

They do a fair amount of clearing up & generally get their own breakfast but 14 has SEN so needs constant supervision 😏

I've reintroduced a snack basket each for them ,which theynhad when they were younger (now almost 12 and 13). They have one in the cupboard and one in the fridge. I fill then once a week with chicken, individual cheeses, yoghurt, some chocolate and crisps etc. When it's gone its gone and I don't restock until next shopping day. It's working really well a day giving them a chance to self regulate. (They also have unlimited access to the fruit and veg basket which will be restocked.)

Ds has a big breakfast - porridge, Berries with Greek yogurt. Then at lunchtime a couple of rolls (either cheese and tomato, tuna, or egg), with more fruit, afternoon he seems to snack a bit on ice cream and a couple of biscuits. Then he waits for dinner. He’s trying to eat more at meals and snack a bit less.

EVERYTHING.

He’s 17 and if it’s not locked away, he eats it. This isn’t just a school holidays thing - it’s been like this since he was about 13.

2 older teen boys both doma lot of sport. High protein food. Protein pancakes and cereal for breakfast. For lunch a chicken breast and salad, jacket potato with ham and cheese, a 3 egg omelette with ham and cheese, or scrambled eggs on toast, for dinner a tuna fillet and rice with vegetables, steak and oven chips and peas, chicken and peppers with gnocchi bake, Bolognese, or lasagne. A lot of fruit through the day. I am buying a bunch of bananas 3 times a week, strawberries, melon, avocado, raspberries, nectarines. Peperami or cheese snacks eg a toastie or cheese and crackers. Hummus and carrot or cucumber sticks. I don't buy crisps, biscuits, Pringles or similar crap so they can't be eating that. I often make them a cooked breakfast with air fried sausages and hash browns, grilled bacon, baked beans and a poached egg on a slice of toast.

ds 18 and very sporty. Eggs on toast or turkish eggs for breakfast or maybe avocado bagel. Sandwich or pasta for lunch and then a home cooked supper. He does not snack really but does eat quite a few bananas or some melon during the day. He does love chocolate milk once in awhile!

I have girls but honestly they just eat and eat! I worry a lot of it is boredom because I know I’m prone to that. I also worry about their teeth because really all this snacking isn’t good for them at all.

DS is 15 , and pretty skinny, he barely eats in the morning but seems to gather pace throughout the day!🤣
He generally has porridge for breakfast, previous night leftovers for lunch, or jacket potato and tuna and then grazes on flapjacks and bananas before having (at least) 2 portions of dinner and 2 desserts

I'm on a really tight budget so I have implemented a meal plan.
Ds is 16 (on 12 weeks of school holidays as finished gcses mid june) he has cereal with either toast/fruit or yoghurt for breakfast, i cook a homemade main meal at lunch eg curry/chilli and rice, mid afternoon he has fruit and any item from the snack cupboard (we also often bake something each week for this), evening meal is lighter but still substantial eg beans/cheese on toast with fruit and mouse, on sports nights he has supper of milkshake and fruit (will also often have a milkshake or milky coffee/hot chocolate in the day too). He seems to eat constantly but the routine has actually helped, no more asking what have we got to eat or running out of food because I can't plan for grazers.

Protien shakes. Air fryer wraps filled with chicken and cheese. Anything else they can get their hands on. Flapjack, banana loaf, fruit, cereal, bagels.

Cereal, eggs, toast, toasties (ham and cheese) , beans on toast (I know, bread bread bread around here!!), yoghurt, fruit (mostly grapes and bananas) popcorn, cheese and crackers

Nearly 14 yo Has ADHD so forgets to eat meals unless reminded.

Big bowl of 2-3 weetabix and semi skimmed milk on the morning
cheese strings
fruit like grapes or strawberries
Pasta with pesto and some cherry tomatoes
white chocolate
pack of crisps
Small pizza and veg on the side
Ice cream if we have ot

That's a fairly typical day