Picky after school tea

[3mum]

I'm thinking of changing how we eat in the evenings. ATM my 3 kids (teens) drift in at varying times after school absolutely famished and dive into cereal, nutella toast etc. Then I cook a main meal which TBH is largely left, except by me and youngest child who could both do with losing a few pounds.

I think I am better off moving away from a traditional cooked meal and towards a sort of mini buffet out in the kitchen for the children to pick at as soon as they arrive home i.e. combine the current two meals into one. I would like to avoid bread as two children take a packed lunch anyway.
We will still eat proper meals as a family at the weekend.

I'm looking for food suggestions please. So far I have thought of (not all at the same time): hard boiled eggs, tuna, prawns, rice cakes, sushi, home made pancakes, home made muffins, home made flapjacks, malt loaf, fruit, nuts and seeds, cooked meatballs, rice salad with veg, popcorn. I thought I would also put out a bowl of a different salad each day and the rule would be a portion of salad, some protein, a sweet treat and some fruit (no rule = no veg and no fruit!).

Any other ideas please? I love soup but the children hate it.

Mine are young teens and I accept I may not be able to keep it going as they get older but I have solved this by:

No longer buying cereal - Even the "healthy" ones are full of sugar with minimal or debatable nutritional value

Only homemade bread, which means it's effectively rationed because if you eat the last of it you have to make some more and it will be 4 hours before it's ready

Only fruit and yogurt available between school and dinner (which they do eat but not in sufficient quantities to spoil their dinner)

Proper dinner served approx 5:30

IMO your grazing plan would be a nightmare for me anyone who needs to lose weight and how would you enforce the must have some of each food group rule if you can't stop them eating nutella everyday?

I often serve this sort of evening meal, esp. if DH is away .

I got the idea from Mumsnet years ago; you haven't mentioned cheese - DS and I often just have cheese and crackers, with fruit and I have wine for our evening meal, with a few extra bits like olives, hummas crisps etc,

Just don't offer too much choice .

I wouldn't do a grazing menu - just make dinner early.

Jacket potatoes? You could do a tuna mayo mix, some grated cheese, maybe a meat or bean chilli or baked beans. Either a couple of options a day or options to vary day to day. Side salad.

Other random bits that could go on a buffet type table:
Cold sausages if you do extra a previous day.
Quiche
Frittata
Vac packed beetroot chopped up in a dish.
Cheese.
Radishes.
Hummous & carrot/cucumber/celery sticks/raw pepper strips.
Olives
Smoked mackerel (either as is, or you can stick it in the food processor with a load of cream cheese and some lemon juice & black pepper and blend for a pate/dip)
Crackers/oatcakes
Spicy roasted chickpeas
Potato salad
Coleslaw
Pickled onions
Cold beanburgers/falafels

DD and I often have picky lunches of cheese, nuts, cucumber, carrot, pepper, cherry toms, maybe radishes/beets if around. She's fond of ryvitas, but it used to be oatcakes!

The thing is though I just envisage you having all sorts of random bits leftover all the time which would drive me nuts. Hence the jacket spuds, fillings and salad idea.

I think you'd get loads of leftovers and waste lots. And you'd have to buy loads of different things - might get irritating. I like the idea though, my two dc and I often have a picky tea, but they are little ones. For some reason it is a great treat!

Could you put dinner in a slow xooker and as they get in they help themselves?

This threads making me hungry lol it all sounds yummy- a set meal that's could be re-heated might be a good idea

Thanks everyone for your responses. I know what you mean when you say we might have lots of bits left over and that it might just encourage grazing. I also agree the cereal should go (not a problem for me as I hate cereal). One of the two who eat it will happily switch to eggs. The other one will have to switch to either a breakfast muffin or toast.

I'm hoping the leftovers will find their way into packed lunches for the next day. Thanks for the extra food ideas, there are some good ones there. Agree I could pre-make the jacket potatoes and they could just nuke them when they come in.

I think I will trial this for a couple of weeks and see how it goes. I am hoping that if I plan what is on offer correctly, the nutritional quality of what is actually eaten will improve. We'll see!