Help me reset their diet

[Pinkpeanut27]

I’ve no excuse so please don’t blame , but we have got into a bit of a diet dip .
Dd 1 and 2 are twins and have always been underweight , I do my best to feed them healthy meals and they do eat most things . They are snacking more though recently on choc biscuits and crisps among other things . They are revising so I think some of its boredom , I think that as they are still skinny as anything it’s not so bad . However I would prefer they ate better . So I need readily available healthy snacks that need no prep by them !

I have a 9 yr old who was a big baby and has stayed big . He started eating very well then went totally the other way eating literally a few foods - mostly carbs . I did my best using as many techniques as I could to feed him a mix of health foods . Very slowly he has been improving but still prefers carbs and ‘junk ‘ although I rent to make my own version . I’ve noticed he eats a lot of food and have been trying to limit his carbs .he also drinks a lot of water .
This weekend I’ve realised he has been snacking with out me knowing , he is already in age 12-13 clothes , partly as he is big , partly because he likes baggy comfy clothes and partly because he is overweight. He is very active and plays a lot of sports. I keep waiting for him to grow up rather than out !


So I know that the best idea is to get rid of the unhealthy stuff , fair point . The older 2 will just buy their own so I want to introduce more healthy things to them for variety .

More importantly how to I fix the youngest one and help him to lose weight ?

Sorry for the long post but I’m carrying a lot of guilt .

[Pinkpeanut27]

Atleastitsnotmonday, sorry it’s not clear I have b/g 15 yr old twins and a 9 yr old boy all are difficult in their own ways ! But the boys are eating too much junk my dd is eating very little !


Cream cheese dip is a good idea with carrots
Popcorn good
Cold meat no because that’s weird ! ( not my opinion )

Big boy has proper hot dinner at school
Youngest has packed lunch with a cheese sandwich , 2 bits of fruit some yoghurt and a small sweet something like flap jack or a scone or a small hot cross bun.

I’m trying to increase protein and veg at dinner and reduce carbs . Also trying to get protein into breakfast - oldest won’t have that much but youngest will generally have a scrambled egg .

I’ve ditched most of the snacks today and they have both been mooching one ended up with toast and marmite the other with weetabix which I was ok with .

[Pinkpeanut27]

Ricekrispie
Cereal is good ( weetabix / porridge)
Popcorn good idea
Yoghurt and smoothies might work
No nuts though so no peanut butter
Cereal bars are hit and miss .
They haven’t had rice cakes for years so might try .

[AtleastitsnotMonday]

Ok back to the drawing board then! I’m confused! How many kids do you have? I thought twin girls and 9yr old boy with boy being difficult to feed?
Could he dip veg in cream cheese?
Popcorn
Cold chunks of chicken breast.
I think it’s quite difficult to snack on things that aren’t fruit or veg based without gaining weight. Is this one after school snack or multiple snacks throughout the day.
What is he having for lunch and dinner, is it possible to enhance that and reduce snacks.

[Ricekrispie22]

Cuppa porridge in a variety of flavours.
Apple slices with peanut butter
Yogurt
Munchy seeds
Cereal bars
Smoothie
Cubes of cheese like feta
Olives
Rice cakes in a variety of flavours

[Pinkpeanut27]

Hummus is a definite no as is guacamole, eldest occasionally eats salsa .
Eggs of any sort are a no except youngest will eat plain scrambled egg .
Soup in any form is a no .
Toasted wholemeal pitta might be worth a try and eldest might try chickpeas .
Sorry to be so negative but the above are staples in our house for my dd and the boys refuse to touch them !

[AtleastitsnotMonday]

Firstly don’t feel guilty, you’ve identified there is a problem and are working to rectify it.
It’s always going to be tricky when you have kids with different nutritional requirements but children do have to learn sooner or later that that everyone is different, with different metabolisms and need to eat to meet their individual needs. How old are your dd’s?
Is it just the snacking that seems to be the problem.
The mumsnet answer is humous and veg, but it depends if they will go for that, maybe chuck in a few breadsticks, guacamole, salsa for variety. Wholemeal pita, cut into strips with some black pepper, spray with oil and pop in a hot oven until crisp are good for dipping too.
Have you tried toasted chickpeas? Just take tinned chickpeas, rinse and dry well, spread on a baking tray, sprinkle with paprika, Cajun spice, curry powder or whatever else you fancy. Spray with oil and pop in oven.
Mini fritatas made in muffin tins.
Would they eat a veggie based soup? Really good for filling you up and stopping the grazing.