10pm snacking

[CoastalMummy]

Morning mums,

I went to see my teen DS yesterday at school and his dorm room mates were telling me that my DS has a propensity to cook instant noodles at 10pm and stink out the dorm room. DS said he gets “starving” again by 10pm so needs to eat.

Does anyone have any ideas for a substantial snack that I can send down, that is more considerate than Asian style noodle pots?

TIA

Plain popcorn, beef jerky, oatbiscuits.

Flapjacks, poridge oats (there are just add hot water ones that are flavoured in individual pots.

My DS eats flapjacks, bananas or yoghurt as evening snacks (at home)
Some kids eat cereal. Or toast. Can you ask him to come up with alternative ideas, he will know what he likes and what's feasible to make?

I would also vote for cereal. Not the healthiest but it does fill a teenage tummy in a way that a slice of toast never will. Or instant porridge if he likes something warm.

The 10pm hunger is so real especially for teenage students and boarding school portions at supper are often not enough for teenage boys who've had a full day of sport and activity. The noodle situation is very common in dorms! and boarding schools.

I think the things that tend to work well is for example protein bars, peanut butter oat balls (you can make a batch and send them down), Nak'd bars, or those Fulfil protein bars. Basically anything with slowrelease carbs and protein rather than just sugar which wears off fast especially if your child is active.
One thing worth knowing most boarding houses have a slightly different culture around food after lights out because of allergies. Some houseparents are fine with it, some aren't. It might be worth a quick word with his housemaster just so you know where the line is, because the last thing you want is him getting in minor trouble for something as innocent as a midnight snack.
I'm actually putting together a short guide for first-time boarding parents covering exactly these kinds of things schools don't really prepare you for like the practical day-to-day stuff.

If you'd like me to send it to you when it's ready, just reply here and I'll get in touch.

@SleepyLabrador Id love a copy of your guide if you have it! Am about to send off DS after the summer and have no personal experience of any of this!

@SleepyLabrador most schools I’ve worked in have to be nut free so pupils need to be aware of this too when packing snacks.

Defo no nuts. So no Nakd bars etc. Porridge a good call