Anyone else’s kids suddenly eating absolutely everything now it’s the holidays?

[Calmuntilfriday]

Just wondering if anyone else's food bill seems to have doubled overnight or if mine are just particularly greedy.

I know everyone jokes about teenagers eating you out of house and home but my eldest is only 12 and honestly i don't think he's stopped opening the fridge since school finished.

I'll buy fruit thinking it'll last a few days and by lunchtime it's gone. Same with yoghurts. Biscuits disappear. Bread disappears. There was a pack of wraps i bought yesterday that i specifically said were for tea tonight and somehow there are two left.

The other two seem to have developed bottomless stomachs as well. They'll have breakfast then an hour later they're asking what's for lunch.

I feel like all i do is answer the question "can i have a snack?"

I don't want to be one of those mums constantly saying no because they're on holiday and i know they're more active than they are during term time, but equally i can't keep spending a fortune every time i go to the supermarket.

Does anyone have any snacks that actually fill children up for more than about 20 minutes?

Or do i just accept that this is what the summer holidays are like and my weekly shop is going to disappear before i've even unpacked it?

One solution would be to make up snack boxes for the day and leave them in the fridge or on the counter. I do a Tupperware tub with cereal bars, crisps, fruit and my kids know that there are cheese strings/ babybels in the fridge that are fair game. Once the snack tub is empty, that’s your lot for the day. If they eat it all by 10am, then tough!

Top tip: hide the snacks in your car boot and ration throughout the week 😉

Also, my teen loves Japanese/ Korean noodle pots that are quite filling and reasonably cheap. Not massively healthy but might be a good occasional snack if your kids are begging for snacks constantly.

DS10 is a bit like this, his packed lunch for holiday club today was bigger than what I'd take to work...but to be fair I sit in an office all day and he's probably avoiding all the craft activities and playing 5h of football.

Scrambled eggs/beans on toast are filling and have the bonus us being cook able by a 12 year old.

DS also likes the Korean noodle pots (I only put in half the spice mix to make them less salty/unhealthy).

If all else fails I just tell him to eat an apple and say in my day that's the only snack we got if we were waiting for a meal!

Well, of course, they’re eating more because they’re home. Normally, I’m spending a minimum of £30 a week on school lunches, never mind the extras, like dd getting food after school before sports training. So now they are eating lunches and snacks at home and that has to be in our weekly shopping.

I’d say I actually find mine are possibly eating less in the way of snacks as they are actually eating lunch, instead of buying it and then not really eating it and coming home and eating more food. We are going through a lot of ice lollies, though some of those are me. I do have one child who easily eats 4-5 apples a day. Dh also eats about 5 bananas a day. So we spend a small fortune on apples and bananas. Though thankfully not the most expensive items in our food shopping.

are they really hungry or are they eating from boredom. I wish I had learned the difference much earlier in my life.

It's funny my friend and I were just talking yesterday about snacks and how it wasn't a thing when we were kids. You got 3 meals a day and on a Friday night my dad bought us some sweets or chocolate. The answer is to tell them what they can have for the whole day and when it's done it's done.
with regards to the wraps what we had when my kids were small was the top 2 shelf's were meals and lunches and nothing was used for snacks. They knew anything on the bottom was a snack but also they were only bought once a week. It worked out fine

A lot of kids will never stop eating, if given the chance.
You might have to start hiding your food.

Try being a teacher...
I think maybe it is some primeval instinct to fill up with lovely food while it's readily available, as once term starts and it's school food or packed lunches that's the end of truly healthy and delicious snacks and lunches.

Get them making bread, much chpeaer than buying and healthier.

The oldest can also sort out a bbq and cook loads and loads of sausages to then have cold during the week. (With a bit of supervision, obviously)

Similarly cut a whole chicken in to pieces with poultry shears and cook the small pieces to then have cold. (The younger ones can do this and you can call it handwiritng practice as it takes a lot of finger strength to cut through the bones and will satisfy all the grossness of children)

The older one can easily dissolve a stock cube in a mug of water, add noodles and tinned sweetcorn - cheaper than pot noodles.

Deliciously Ella has some fab recipes for nut balls, make loads and loads.

Make a mass of cookie dough, and freeze in teaspoonfuls for a snack. (Anyone over about 7 should be able to do this with no help.)

Carrots, apples, etc are way cheaper than berries.

I'd limit what you have available, and make it less interesting. Not saying to deny them food at all, but something like a flavoured single pot yoghurt is so much more inviting than a big pot of natural yoghurt. Buy boring biscuits like rich tea, and cheaper fruit and veg like apples and carrots. Homemade hummus is cheaper than shop bought. Make sure meals are protein rich so they're full. Do you think it's partly boredom? it's completely reasonable to have an allocated quantity of snacks for each day, and once they're gone, they're gone. They need to learn it's fine to be hungry and wait for the next meal.

My DD has always been a hungry hippo and will eat anything, but until very recently DS was a pretty strict picky eater. I don’t know what’s changed but he’s been trying (and liking) all sorts of stuff. Honestly I’m glad, because I had visions of his future and him being a grown man who only eats chicken and insists on the cheese in his sandwich being shredded (and the crusts cut off). I will say tho it’s getting.. expensive. He tried some steak (I was really proud of him) and now he keeps asking for steak… you can have steak every night when you pay your own bills mate.

Are they drinking enough? Children commonly confuse thirst for hunger.

Nope. My 11 year old is eating less than usual. I think it’s the heat.

If they are truly hungry, up their protein at mealtimes. Snacking on biscuits and wraps etc isn’t filling them up. Add in eggs, beans, tuna, meat, cheese etc

We’re having the 3 Gdcs for 4 nights next week, and I’m already stocking up. 11, 10, 6, all skinny as rakes and permanently starving.

Mine like hard build eggs. I cook a full box of 12, then peel and store in cold water in the fridge, and they'll eat through them over a few days. Peanut butter sandwichs are also cheep and filling, as long as you don't have allergies in the house and aren't taking them out.

I absolutely didnt allow DS to do this at home. He's an adult now.
I was a single parent and money was very tight. There was no money for eating everything in the house and junk.
He ate meals three times a day cooked by me or him. If he wanted extras Id let him bake a tray of flapjacks or something or have some cereal. There was no gorging on the weeks shop.

P.s he's a strong, healthy adult now.