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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to think that they can't possibly have teenagers?

136 replies

RuddyDuck · 28/02/2014 21:02

Since Christmas I seem to have read lots of blogs and newspaper articles about how to cook frugally. You know the sort of thing - buy a 3lb chicken and it will feed you family for a week, including a delicious casserole for 6 made out of the leftover leftovers. Plus how to turn a pot of yoghurt into dessert for 8.

My 15 year old is currently cooking the pizza meant for tomorrow's lunch because he " fancies a snack", having demolished a full dinner 2 hours earlier. There are NEVER any leftovers in this house. AIBU to assume that none of these frugal food authors live with teenagers?

OP posts:

bodybooboo · 01/03/2014 11:21

my 20 something lads are even worse than teens. ridiculous amounts of good and never put in weight.

WorraLiberty · 01/03/2014 11:24

Veggy feeding them too much of the same food, especially in one sitting is not good.

Rather than just piling an adult portion onto a baby's plate, you can use other techniques like distraction for example...to give them time to digest what they've already eaten and realise that meal time is over.

If they're still hungry after that, other varieties of finger foods can be offered.

The more anyone packs into their stomach in one sitting, the more they're able to/need to in future.

This is possibly why 1 in 5 children are overweight or obese by the time they start school.

Pumpkinpositive · 01/03/2014 11:29

Weetabix kid is gonna need the fitness regime of Michael Phelps in his teens to avoid becoming an obesity statistic.

momb · 01/03/2014 11:32

YABU. Ban your teens from the fridge and batch cook yourself a load of pasta and rice dishes so they can heat up a snack in 5 mins.

I did kedgeree last night (for 3 teens and a 9 year old) which contained 2 smoked haddock fillets, a handful of prawns, but was otherwise just onions, corn, brown rice (lots of rice), onions and spices. They all had fruit for dessert and were stuffed. It's normal for teens to be hungry constantly, you just need to direct them to less costly fare!

VeggySausage · 01/03/2014 11:34

I'm sure memeemum isn't just feeding her kids weetabix. Mine probably eat 10 portions of fruit and veg a day, it costs us fortune and we can't really afford it.. so I do start off with a good size bowl of something cheap first (cereal/pasta/rice) as a bit of filler.

shewhowines · 01/03/2014 11:36

Mine are only hungry for the crap stuff, funnily enough they are never hungry enough for fruit. As a consequence it's been a long time since I've heard " I'm hungry" as they know what the answer will be.

Pipbin · 01/03/2014 11:36

I don't have DCs but I too am amazed at the children allowed to eat what they like. Like ChloeRose I was never allowed anything between meals. Not even stuff that, according to pps, doesn't count as a real meal, like cheese toasties. In my house that counted. Not bread and butter or biscuits, nothing. Granted I was a girl, but I can't imagine it being much different had I been a boy.

And fusedog, size 20 feet? DH is 6ft 4 and his feet are size 12, that is tricky enough to get shoes for, how do you cope with 20. We are lucky because he can wear converse to work and only had one pair of formal shoes.

WorraLiberty · 01/03/2014 11:38

Veggy I didn't say she was 'just' feeding her kids weetabix.

I said that 3 Weetabix (which is more than an adult portion) is not suitable for a 2yr old baby, especially in one sitting.

Bogeyface · 01/03/2014 11:45

Worra is right. The more you eat the more you need to eat in order to feel full. I read somewhere that it takes 20 minutes for your body to recognise that it is full, so a normal toddler portion should be given and then after half an hour if the child is still hungry then offer more. Giving a 2 year old a (large) adult portion and not accepting that it will eventually take its toll is stupid.

BrokenToeOuch · 01/03/2014 11:56

doesn't count as a real meal, like cheese toasties

jesus, how is a cheese toastie seen as a snack? In my house, that's an
actual lunch with something else, (yoghurt/fruit)

My girls seem to be grazers, but they graze on things like breadsticks, pittas and hummus, a biscuit, not cheese bloody toasties or packets of supernoodles! Granted, they are 8 and 9, but still, some of these children sound greedy

comingintomyown · 01/03/2014 11:59

DS 17 years old and 6ft 5 does eat a lot but will always ask "what can I eat ?" and not just help himself to stuff and mostly eats anything at all

DD 15 eats a lot less and is much pickier but I don't tend to indulge that

We just didn't have food outside of meals when I was growing up end of and I quite like being able to provide plenty of nice food for my DC

LucyLasticBand · 01/03/2014 12:02

my teens are starving when they come home from school, cheese and crackers is a good option, but still, the cheese vanishes, and our cheese toaster is broken, otherwise it would be well used, i think they probably broke it.

differentnameforthis · 01/03/2014 12:20

Bloody hell, when I was hungry at 15 I had a slice or two of toast, no way would I be allowed to cook the next days dinner & eat it!

You could always say "No. That is tomorrows dinner" Exactly!

My dd won't be allowed to eat like this because we can't afford to eat today's & tomorrow's meals in one day. If they do, no food tomorrow...

bodybooboo · 01/03/2014 12:51

in my experience of teens 2 boys and 2 girls the boys ate far far more than my dds.

my dds will regularly have a huge meal and be snacking on toast/cereal etc an hour later.

they wouldn't cook up chicken or mince without asking first though.

but they eat lots and lots.

bodybooboo · 01/03/2014 12:52

my dss eat lots I mean. bloody phone.

Original poster

RuddyDuck · 01/03/2014 13:06

different name I don't think anyone here (including myself) has said that their teens cook and eat the next day's dinner, I think we'd all draw the line at that! It's the eating through the non-main meal items that is the pita.

OP posts:

IamInvisible · 01/03/2014 13:10

I do allow my teens free rein on the fridge and cupboards up to a point. They know what they can have as snacks and what is for meals. I don't expect them to ask every time they want something to eat.

DS1 eats a very healthy diet and, also, has protein shakes. He exercises for about 3-4 hours a day, including a 4 or 5 mile run, so it is no wonder he is hungry really.

bodybooboo · 01/03/2014 13:12

yes must say I have never felt the need to ban any of my children from the fridge at any age really.

WorraLiberty · 01/03/2014 13:18

My kids always ask if they want a snack, just as I asked my parents when I was a kid.

They only thing they don't have to ask for is a drink, unless it's a fizzy.

momb · 01/03/2014 13:23

RuddyDuck: you did say in your OP that your DS was eating tomorrow's lunch for his supper.

FabBakerGirl · 01/03/2014 13:23

Oh my, mine are 8-12 and already eat loads. My food bill makes me want to cry at times (all my money goes on food and petrol. Shoe shopping rarely happens) and it is only going to get worse! Food bills are going to rocket now there will be a food shortage.

Original poster

RuddyDuck · 01/03/2014 13:37

momb yes, and clarified it in a later post to say it was a small pizza (ie individual) meant for his lunch today (I bought 2 small pizzas, one each for the ds, as a Saturday lunch treat) so he ate what was meant to be his lunch today last night as a "snack" (and as a result is about to eat a sandwich rather than pizza) not our main meal. There would have been strong words had he done that! They don't usually get pizza for lunch, but as DH and I are out this evening for a meal with friends they will be fending for themselves, so I thought I'd be nice and buy them something interesting for lunch. DS's loss.

Probably my fault in not making it clear that my original post wasn't so much about him eating what was meant to be his lunch in advance, but the fact that he managed to demolish an (individual) pizza 2 hours after eating a main meal because he was "starving".

OP posts:

momb · 01/03/2014 13:48

I agree teens do eat a lot. I honestly don't know where they put it. I was reading your OP as saying that you don't think that it's possible to be frugal in that situation.
I think that it is possible, but certainly in our house I've had to make 'teen starvation' contingency.

VeggySausage · 01/03/2014 13:53

I think teenage girls are often starved as well (I always was) but have other pressures to stop from eating when they are hungry :(

Marylou62 · 01/03/2014 13:58

I Love MN!! Not been on it long, but everything I moan about is on here! I have just dropped my DS1 at the station where he will be joining his new ship as he is a chef in the Navy and away for the next 4 months. (DS2 will be joining him in April...gulp...he's only 16!) Anyway...he has been home for 3 months and driven me crazy but I can't moan. He has taken over the cooking for the family and whilst that is lovely and has taken the pressure off me, he thinks he's feeding 250 people!! And no leftovers! He uses every ingredient in the house and I have tried to tell him to cut back a bit... But he's gone now and we all shall miss him but not the mess he makes.

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