To be sick of wasting food and having no idea what snacks to buy for 11 year old?

[EggsAndBacon83]

It’s half term and my 11 year old wants to rustle up some snacks herself. What sort of snacks do people buy for their 11-13 year old kids to make?

What ??

Mine could all cook a few meals at that age.

The OP said 11, not 5.

Toast and butter/peanut butter/peanut butter and banana
Cheese and crackers
Nuts
Fruit
Hummus and carrots

We have other more packaged snacks (popcorn, soreen, cereal bars etc) but I try to save those for packed lunches or journeys

Nothing that requires cooking really - not so much for safety reasons but more because it takes too long and most things requiring cooking are more of a meal than a snack

I might encourage mine to get into baking! They often like the idea but never quite get round to it (to be fair they are busy)

She's 11, not 2 and a half. You can replace her toddler spork with a knife now, you know.

I was also wondering this.

Do you mean making their own lunch, for example ?

I mean a 'snack' for me, would be something you pick up and eat between meals. A biscuit, and apple, or some flapjack maybe, none of which need 'making' at the time of the snack.

At 15 / 16, my ds would whip up some super noodles to carry him through until tea time, which seemed to fill the enormous hollow that is an adolescent boy's stomach, but 11 year olds don't tend to need that.

The child's 11 years old.

A typically developing 11 year old should absolutely be able to use the oven on their own without setting fire to anything.

That's crazy. I was baking cakes without parental supervision at age 10. When my children were age 2½ until they started school they were to a playgroup where they had to spread their own marmite or soft cheese on crackers at snack time. Obviously just with a butter knife but come on! Age 11, either at secondary or about to start, and you wouldn't let them heat up some baked beans or boil a kettle?

Wtf?! The kids are teenagers

buy ready made puff pastry. They can make pizza rolls with a bit of tomato puree, herbs and mozarella or easy cinnamon pastries with cinnamon sugar spread over eggwashed pastry. Bung in the oven for 8-10 mins.

@Ineedtocheckmylist

you wouldn’t trust an 11 year old to cut cheese?? Why?!

My dd has just turned 12 now but probably since 10 has been making simple pasta dishes on the hob alongside making noodles with the kettle, heating things in the microwave and using the air fryer. Crazy to assume they must need adult supervision for a simple task at 11. I’d assumed you only had toddlers so couldn’t imagine it yet but see you actually have an adult dc which is more surprising. @Ineedtocheckmylist

It’s crazy! It’s the pre sliced cheese that got me! No grater of knife?

Best thing to do is to ask your child so you’re not wasting stuff.

Mine were using the hob and hot water by secondary school so could quickly make some noodles, popcorn etc.

The replies saying that 11 year olds shouldn’t be using a hob or knives unsupervised are insane imo. Unless there’s a reason like SN, they should be able to make simple food like a sandwich or make some pasta pesto or whatever. Year 7 Food Tech involves involves using a hob, oven and knives which are skills that kids should have by then but you obviously know your child best and if they are going to burn down the house or whatever then it will have to be something easy like crisps.

FWIW my kids (boys and girl) were doing things like making a cake from scratch and taking it out the oven in year 5. They never burned the house down and always took it out the oven. Unlike some of their friends, they were always encouraged to build independence skills like taking a bus without me.

Well, to be fair, not every child is the same. Some of them would happily put something cold together but could be distracted easily and leave the cooker on.

What sort of food do they like to eat? If you buy food they like, it’s not going to go to waste.

Child does have autism & ADHD and doesn’t do conversations with me. I’m supposed to just instinctively know what to buy!

This changes all the time…

I’m encouraging the making of super noodles etc, showing how to make toasties, encouraging toast, etc. I would love them to be more independent. Unfortunately this has been resisted. I think they want to reach into the fridge and pull out something when hungry.

I also think the child is not finishing meals and going without food at school due to a noisy & busy canteen, which they find overwhelming!

I think the best thing to do is take them to a supermarket to browse the snacks together. Probably not when you're doing your main shop. Then you and they might see things you haven't thought of before.

The “reach into the fridge and pull out something when hungry” is a common thing and is pure laziness. Life doesn’t work that way unless they (say) boil and peel eggs and put them in a tupperware box themselves: slice apples and store them; make their own mini pots of yogurt and berries etc. Resisting independence is age appropriate laziness and they’re not too old to understand that food doesn’t magically appear in the fridge. Let them go hungry if necessary to learn that lesson.

The situation at school with noise and overwhelm is completely different. I would be asking if something could be done to figure this out: a side room to eat in? An earlier lunchtime? A child really shouldn’t be going the whole school day without eating, it’s not good for them mentally or physically.

I just send them to the Co-Op with my debit card.

I am not really into people snacking/grazing constantly. It's just boredom and most kids like "snacks" because they tend to be easy carby convenience food rather than healthy veg or protein. If i wanted my kids to be independent about food I'd encourage them to cook simple meals for the family. At 11 they should easily be able to use the hob & oven with light supervision.

If they absolutely must have something I'd suggest crudites and hummous, teach her to make the hummous from scratch with chickpeas, onion, tahini, lemon juice & garlic and olive oil.

Better to focus on cooking actually healthy meals.

Yoghurts, cereal bars, malt loaf, fruit, Cheese and crackers, hummus and crackers,

Why would you need to slice apples and store them? My kids just grab an apple and eat it.

I understand the OP's child has autism which puts a different perspective on it. But, why are parents so obsessed with snacks these days. I had three meals a day as a child (always had evening meal with my parents and ate whatever they were having). There was always a fruit bowl available and an occasional bag of crisps or maybe a biscuit but that was it. Snacking seems to be a way of life for kids.