what can i give constantly hungry ds1 (nearly 10) to eat that will actually fill him up?

[mrsravelstein]

ds1 had 'supper' at 5pm (he eats early cos is starving when home from school) - large tuna steak, adult size portion of brown rice, portion of peas, then an apple and yoghurt and couple of chocolate biscuits.

in the couple of hours since then he's eaten a bowl of shreddies, 2 matzos, and 2 cereal bars. he is now scavenging again as says he's still hungry.

does he need more protein? and if so what?

or is he just, as my jewish mum would say, 'a growing boy'... i just worry about him gorging on carbs all evening...

Is he on a growth spurt?

My DS who is 10 would have that for dinner and be fine after, though he would have had a snack of a piece of fruit and a biscuit earlier.

What does he have for breakfast and lunch? DS has 2 weetabix/ porridge and juice, then packed lunch of a round of sandwiches, 2 fruit and a yoghurt.

He would have had 2 good sized portions of veg with his dinner - how big are your portions in general?

How's his weight? If fine, then I wouldn't worry and just chalk it up to growing.

DS (9) will have a sweet snack at 4.30 and dinner at 7-8. He'll also eat a couple of apples between the two. He's skinny, though.

have you tried porridge or rice pudding?

Your gonna have trouble filling him up during pesach

Pasta is usually a good one to fill then up and yes, protein is a good one. Also bananas.

he's a bit taller than average and very normal proportions, neither skinny nor remotely fat.

porridge/rice pudding, that's an idea, ta

he eats a big breakfast (though again very carb based, toast and cereal usually) but almost nothing at school as they have to have school dinners which he says are pretty unappealing.

Have you got him to drink a pint of water as he could just be thirsty.

he doesn't eat pasta (all my kids believe it to be poisonous)... bananas also a good suggestion, thank you, sorry to be such an idiot but i have obviously had a blank spot as to what to give him!

asdx2, good suggestion but he drinks water constantly so prob not that in this instance

Why do they have to have school dinners?

If he doesn;t eat any lunch, then it's lunch rather than dinner that he's having when he gets home from school - maybe you could give him the equivalent of a packed lunch as soon as he gets home from school, then have family dinner at 7.30? IYSWIM?

how about food that's slower to eat, and therefore digest?

Malt loaf and a banana when he gets in
the dinner a bit later

You could try giving him protein in some form for breakfast, especially if he's not having much lunch.

Some people are satiated by eating one good meal when they've missed a meal, others my DH seem to need to play catch up and will eat nearly 3 meals' worth in one sitting.

Bacon, eggs, beans on toast - any of these, added to his carbs will help him get though the day and take away the need to gorge later.

More fat will kill his appetite. Unless he's overweight, I'd serve his meal with a good glug of olive oil or a handul of grated cheese on his veg.

Mine have a good breakfast, a cooked lunch, a snack as soon as they come out of school, tea between 4-15-5pm and then supper if they want it.

My eldest is just the same, he has a snack when he gets in from school (usually about four slices of toast ), then an adult sized meal for dinner, then another snack by about 8.

But he's growing really quickly and is very skinny. It's normally, apparently - but blardy expensive

thanks so much for all these ideas... grated cheese on his veg hadn't occurred to me for some reason even though i do it on mine all the time. malt loaf also a good one.

PS - I've just got into the habit of buying more healthy snacks, ie nuts rather than crisps, brown bread rather than white for toasting, lots of fruit rather than sugar-laden stuff. I don't mind him filling up because he obviously needs it, but I'd rather it wasn't all on junk.

like the packed lunch idea... it kind of suits me to have him eat supper at 5pm as that's when i do it for his much littler brother and sister, but that could be worth a try, then he could eat with me and dh at 8pm ish

My 10 yr old son eats more than I do

Don't boys eat a lot? It's really amazing when I see my nephews and how they get so starving....I believe it gets worse OP! When they're around 16 its like feeding a small country!

Sorry...just wanted to share in the feeding discussion!

You should see my food bill with a 16yo and a 10yo as well as 13yo DD who doesn't hold back either!

I would say more protein to fill him up - DS has been like this for the last 4 years or so - constantly ravenous.

Hard boiled eggs, brazil nuts, mackerel eaten from the tin seem to do the trick for him

My 10 year-old goes through phases like this. For weeks he eats like there's no tomorrow. Then it all goes quiet and he's a lot less hungry. I put it down to growth spurts and find big old-style traditional "egg and bacon with beans on the side" cooked breakfasts hit the spot when he's in hungry mode :)

When DS was having school dinners aged about 8, he was coming home RAVENOUS! Not eating them because he didn't like them/was in a rush to get out to play footie!

Give him a packed lunch - they need food to give them energy spaced throughout the day, particularly if they are very active, and you want them to be able to concentrate at school

Protein with breakfast.

I wouldn't have him eat at 8pm tbh - it's a bit late for a 9/10 year old.

Good snack when he gets home from school and then dinner about 5.30/6.

Cheese and crackers for after if still hungry maybe? The protein will fill him up a bit more.