To be annoyed at the meat consumed this week.

[IceBergJam]

I did the shopping, protein to last two weeks. I was away for four days. Im cooking a roast today.

DH and DSS x 2 have gotten through

Two large packs of bacon
2kg chicken breast
600g mince
1 chorizo sausage
And today a roast chicken

DSS wont eat meals without meat protein, and wont fill up on veg and carbs. Had enough of the money spent out on food shopping.

I suggested cheap meal ideas, but they chomped through it for breakfast, packed lunch and dinner, plus pizzas and various crap potato products.

You sure you're not my neighbour - she panders to her grown up children as well. They eat what you cook or they go without, or buy and cook their own.

I'm 'ard I am (besides I couldn't afford it).

I have two teenages DSs who would cheerfully eat meat, meat and more meat, but we don't have the budget for that, neither is it very healthy for them.

I bulk out spag bol with lentils now, but I see your DSs won't eat anything "sloppy". What about fried potatoes. Them only eating potatoes out of a packet is just complete fussiness, not inability to eat. They need to try to start eating other things.

Perhaps ask them to cook for you when they are with you, at least once each?

I would have been livid with DH, as you were. Perhaps explain to them that you just don't have the budget to eat so much meat. What do they eat at home?

Some great ideas. Thanks for the long list Inertia. I was thinking about pittas. They like halloumi, so ideas there.

For some reason meat balls take me forever to make so I might batch cook and freeze. Can pizza dough be frozen?

How do you do fried potatoes? Would they work with chorizo, peppers and onion throw in? Would you serve that with anything else?

Will look at chicken thigh. DSS 16 loves pork, ill look at belly, altough never cooked it before.

For those who are careful with their food budget, how many g of beef for a stew , for four?

You can roll out pizza bases, cook for five minutes, then freeze to be topped later. You can cook from frozen.

Fried potato - Peel, slice or dice, parboil for about five minutes then fry. Never cooked them with chorizo but I'm sure it would work.

500g of stewing steak/beef writhed be enough for a casserole, bulked out with veg and served with eg rice/potatos

Writhed? I mean would.

How are these children going to cope in the real world?

I get through 600g of mince to feed 15yo DD (eats an adult portion), 10yo DS1 (has hit puberty, is 5'1", plays a lot of football, ALSO eats an adult portion), 9yo DS2 (eats an average 9yo's portion of food, not an adult portion yet), 2yo DS3 (who eats like a sparrow / 8mo baby portion), and myself.

So for 3 adult portions, one portion a bit smaller, and a tiny portion, I get through 600g mince.

If you are doing 3 adult portions + extra smaller portions, then 600g mince is about right.

I've no answer on the chicken though - that's mental, 16 bits of chicken breast in 4 days?!

Bacon I can easily see 20 rashers going like that - at 3 rashers per sarnie, that's only 6 and a bit sandwiches - two bacon sarnies each at a lunch time.

Teenage boys in particular seem to eat about twice as much as a full grown adult - my already hit puberty, voice breaking, growing about an inch a day 10yo DS1 eats more than anyone else in my house.

Two teenage boys? at the food bill. I'm dreading when DS2 hits that point too.

Add in food 'issues', and I can see that it would get very annoying. (Mine also have food issues, but that's because of sensory issues from ASD)

Answers? Buy a set amount, meal plan, but allow for teenage boy's HUUUUGE appetites.

Microwave noodles are a good, cheap backup. I put chopped sandwich ham & sweetcorn in them.

Yanbu, and 100g of meat is the recommended portion size tho we tend to use the 500g packs, they're perfectly adequate.

I work on a rough rule of 100g meat per person, though I add a little (about another 100g) at the end for shrinkage especially with beef or lamb.

So for four people I'd use 500g, for five people 600g.

I hadn't seen Apocalypse's post before saying that!

Quick, easy & cheap = Toad in the hole. Make up a batch of flapjacks for snacks that are filling.

I agree with getting them involved in the cooking. They're more than old enough to have a good idea at what's involved in making a meal. Imo it's them you should be asking for meal ideas and asking to make up a couple of dishes within a budget themselves. It's the kind of thing schools would be asking them to do.

Great minds and all that Merry.

Supposed to be no bigger than a deck of cards per person isn't it ?? Slightly bigger for fish / white meat.

I don't buy all this 'oh but they're growing' crap, beans, veg, pulses etc are all filling, healthy foods. They should make up the majority of your plate. Teens who gorge themselves do so because they're allowed to, usually through boredom. My two haven't withered away yet despite not having constant access to a silly amount of food, they're pointed firmly in the direction of the toaster if they bleat about hunger after polishing off a huge tea, ( usually tho I find them something to do, it works surprisingly well )I simply don't have the money to be constantly filling the cupboards and they're healthy enough despite that.

YANBU op, i'd be bleddy furious. Mainly because of the downright greed and lack of thought for others.

The guide I use for meat is the size of the palm of each person's hand. (which matches what everyone else said! I like a visual guide though)

YANBU, that's ridiculous and very selfish.

I use 400 - 500g mince for four adult portions in Shepherd's Pie etc. You can add beans/lentils/grated carrot/other veg to pad it out.