Cheap Meal Ideas for Fussy Teens

[IceBergJam]

My two stepchildren (18 & 16) stay every other week for a week. I am trying to cut back on our food bill (admitterly it is still big when they are not here), and am after some ideas for cheap dinners / lunches for teens that

• Don't eat potatos unless from the freezer.
• Arn't really bothered by veg or salad.
• Not really keen on fish. The youngest does like Salmon, but its not cheap.
• One doesn't like anything 'wet'. I can get round this by frying it off.

A roast dinner uses up a chicken for 6 simply because they eat the chicken, yorkshires, and raw carrot or one parsnip.

I do have a 14 MO that I need to consider, so try to keep things healthy, but I am finding it difficult.

I do use a lot of chicken, but it is expensive.

• Chicken Wraps
• Chicken Stirfry. They can pick the veg out.
• Chorizo pasta sauce (with the chiorizo fried off!)

Any other ideas? I work full time so have little time in the evenings. OH does chip in, but isn't good at planning.

My daughter bought me a sign for my kitchen for Christmas , it says
Dinner Choice
1. Take it
2. Leave it
I think it came from John Lewis !
Stop pandering to them , at their age they can either eat it or make themselves a sandwich . For cheap meals I'd go for
Pasta / sphag Bol/ lasagne
Chilli
Home made pizza
Stews/ casseroles
Macaroni cheese
Risotto ( various types)
Ratatouille

Yep. This is a take it or leave it moment. Mine used to do that when they discover xw would give them money to buy something they liked. They suddenly became remarkably fussy.

Lasagne, stews, risotto, ratatouille, macaroni cheese would not be eaten, and they would find something else to eat, pushing the bill up. The youngest does seem to have 'issues' around wetness and bits, and when I have pushed in the past, has gotten upset, so I am reluctant.

Just wish there was something we could all eat.

stir fry strips of frying steak with peppers and onions with a little seasoning but no extra liquid then those that want wraps at that stage can have them and the rest of you can have them made into delicious enchiladas with beans in and a yummy sauce.
If they don't like potatoes, then rice or pasta.
Spanish omelette made with fried off sliced potatoes and whatever is in the fridge (especially if you have peppers/chorizo etc (though I have used onions and leftover gammon before) goes down surprisingly well with the teens in this house.
Don't fall into the trap of feeding them chicken breast for every meal. It will cost you a fortune! An 18 year old is an adult and should be cooking one meal each week anyway for everyone else to enjoy. That should give you some ideas what they like!

Toad in the hole, if they like Yorkshire pudding?

They dont eat eggs either. Or beans and pulses.

Toad in the hole is a good idea.

If you have nothing else in , aside from perhaps potatoes for jackets or cheese for sandwiches then they will either eat it or go without . Presumably they get an allowance so if they're that fussed they can go to the chippy and get themselves something .If you're that bothered about doing stuff they eat why not sit down with them and meal plan whilst doing an online shop but set a budget and let them work it out .

Homemade burgers are cheap to make

It sounds as though they are putting a concerted effort into taking the mickey. What does their mother cook for them, and do they eat it?

I get chicken thighs and coat them in spicy seasoning and put them in the george foreman - delicious and tender and serve with plain pasta (i cook it in stock and add soy sauce and a bit of butter/spread after draining) or plain risotto (cook the rice in chicken stock and seasoning) - my boys don't really do potatoes either.

I'd definitely replace the chicken breast with thighs - especially in stir frys and wraps

Homemade burgers or meatballs maybe?

Make some sticky ribs and serve with noodles?

Homemade pizza is pretty cheap.

We do a rice dish which is basically cooked rice in a wok with whatever left over bits we have - e.g. chicken/sausage/ham/chorizo/spring onion/onion/sweetcorn/peas etc and toss in some seasoning & spices - always gets hoovered up but strangely there seems to be a bit of peas/corn or whatever veg left in the bowl :)

I really don't think they are taking the mickey. They are very nice, well adjusted lads who happen to have had parents bringing them up eating what they asked for. When I met DH, he didnt really know how to cook, so deep fat fried most things, or cooked alternatives.

They eat sausages, chips, bacon, burgers, hash browns, pizza, chicken at their mums. She tend to work shifts/evenings, so from what I can gather, they cook for themselves when they get hungry. When they do mention something she cooked which they enjoyed, it tends to me a chicken recipe!

We try to eat together each evening. They love it with their sister. It is a very nice atmosphere, but they are just fussy and are costing me a fortune!

Meat balls sound good, as do burgers and turkey thighs.

Can you freeze pizza dough and take it out in the morning?

Think I may do an online shop, and inform them I need to reduce by £15, and give them control on how to do that.

A rice cooker is handy. I work evenings and it's great to set it up and let people help themselves.

Couscous is another alternative to potato, and soaks up any juices. Add lots of flavour, chicken, etc.

I made some tuna sticks/sausages from tuna and sweet potato and some spices (added tuna to a vegeburger recipe) and they like those in wraps with their choice of extras.

Bread also an easy substitute for potatoes.

IceBergJam - Why don't you try getting them to cook?

I'm not being sarcastic, but they might well love to have a go at a curry, or a risotto or something?

And you'd be doing them a great favour!

Do they cook at their mum's? could you tell them you're struggling to find meals that you all like and borrow some recipe books from the library / that you already have and look through them together to find one recipe each that one of the boys will cook and both of them will eat?

They are old enough to be involved in this discussion.

Sounds like they need an introduction to vegetables !

Yes you can freeze pizza dough, in fact I roll them out and top them before freezing and cook them from frozen.

Turkey steaks are nice and so much cheaper than chicken.

ds will not any kind of sauce (with the exception of baked beans) I keep thinking he will grow out of it.-he is 14.

Nothing to add, but just that I feel for you! I also have a fussy teenage DD, who seems to be getting worse in what she will and won't eat!

How about a gammon joint, very little waste and left overs can be used for sandwiches or in risotto, ham and mushroom pie, or to to fill savory pancakes.
Would they eat liver and bacon with fried potatoes or rice? Or tray bakes of cheaper cuts like ribs?
I think it is a good idea to look at cookery books with them, Jamie Oliver's casual style might appeal to them, and involve them in the cooking.

It's a pity they wont do spag bol. I get 8 adult sized portions out of a standard pack of mince - Just bulk it out with finely grated or pulped carrot - no-one notices that there is carrot in it at all!