Filling low calorie (ish) meals for hungry teen

[Igglepigglesgrubbyblanket]

My boy is big all over he's only 11 but he's about 5ft 7 and obviously growing, but he is also really overweight. I'm looking to try and subtly cut down his calorie intake. He loves his food, the more the better, likes meat, Japanese food, mildly spicy things, will eat most veg, he's not fussy really. I'm time pressed, so looking for easy, tasty, lower calorie recipes which will make him feel looked after. Any recommendations if recipes or books of recipes?

Depending on what you already cook it might be easier (and more subtle) to tweak your existing recipes rather than learning a whole new set?

Reduce carbs, add in more fibre (fills you up) and veg. For example, if on a Sunday roast he has four roast potatoes and some carrots, switch it so there's an extra veg and only two roast potatoes. I guess at 11 and 5ft 7in, he's still going to be eating a lot of food though. Maybe google "healthy swaps" there are some good resources out there.

Finally, at 11 being active is a key component. Is he active? If not, introduce more walking and sport if possible.

Unless he is eating huge quantities of particularly high calorie foods at mealtimes then I suspect that you need to look at his intake across the whole day.
What is he having for breakfast and lunch? And most importantly what is he snacking on?
For meals, I wouldn’t think particularly low calorie but more healthy balanced meals.
Chicken stir fry with lots of veg and rice noodles.
Frittata
Pasta with smoked salmon, cream cheese and peas
Paprika chicken skewers with cous cous and salad
Veggie shepherds pie with sweet potato topping
Homemade and baked tuna and sweet potato fishcakes
Salmon cooked in foil with lime juice, spring onion and chilli with broccoli and rice
Chicken or veg casserole
Pasta arabiata
Shakshuka

Thanks guys, yeah, he does need to be more active too, but just looking for recipes that might be nice as well. He had the unfortunate combination of his dad's side of the family's propensity to hold on to fat and my side's greediness. Bulking out with veg is a good idea.

Lean protein and fibre fill you up.

So if I were making a chicken stir fry for dd I would pre-cook the chicken in the oven first rather than frying it in oil. Dd also likes the barenaked low card, high protein noodles. She uses lots of herbs and spices and soy. Loads of veg in there too. She loves Japanese food too so uses Miso sauce to flavour meat with rather than breaded katsu type meals.

Make bolognese with turkey mince and use wholemeal pasta. Avoid foods like sausages or breaded foods and grill/bake, don't fry anything.

Watching with interest! Thanks for starting the thread.

I'd tweak your meals so they are high in protein and veg and lower in carbs. These types of meals are much more filling. For example if you're doing spaghetti volagnaise add extra handfuls if chopped feg, plenty of meat and try doing 30-50% less pasta than you normally would.

Sorry about the typos!

Pasta dishes with 50g pasta, plus veg like Bolognese. Salad starters or salad served with every meal. My teens just got used to that.
You can mix other root veg with mashed potatoes.

Watch portion sizes especially meat and fish.

Puddings-low or fat free Greek yogurt, fruit, baked apples, fruit salad, pancakes (1!) with fruit, ice cream made with eg frozen banana and yogurt or Fromage frais, fruit and jelly, low fat rice pudding (home made for less sugar). I tend to add a small scoop of low fat creme fraiche to a couple of these (or on Sunday) , to make the puddings seem more luxurious, but not much. Also ice cream isn't terrible if you only have one scoop.

I would t go low carb, myself, especially for kids, but definitely low sugar.

When you cook things like stews etc try replacing some of the meat with beans and pulses which contain lots of fibre and are a good source of protein

Also, you can be cooking all the lower calorie dinners you like but if he's overdoing things elsewhere then not much will happen

What sorts of things does he have for breakfasts, lunches, snacks etc? And what about drinks?

You could add more veg and pulses to what you’re already making.

For example if you’re making a bolognese, add more mushrooms and tomatoes to the mix. If you’re making a lasagne, add more grated carrot and celery to the onions (sofrito) mix and less of the white sauce. Same if you’re making cottage pie, less creamy mash and more carrots and celery in with the meat.

I’ve recently started making paella in large portions and that is pretty healthy. I don’t put too much chorizo in but bulk out with prawns, chicken and peas. Plenty of garlic. The bbc good food recipe for easy chicken and chorizo paella is excellent - I add prawns to it and more garlic.

Thai salmon fish cakes are also pretty healthy and super tasty.

Something I’ve had to teach myself for my own health is to switch off the catering style I learned from my own mum, which is that carbs are cheap and the bulk of the meal, and meat is expensive and the treat bit. If we had pasta bolognese, or something with rice, Mum would dole out the pasta to cover the plate, and ladle a spoonful of meat sauce into the middle. It took me far too long to twig that I should not be eating 4oz of rice as the bulk of my main course.

Instead, I make bolognese with mince and loads of veg, and stir through a smaller portion of pasta. For a curry, I do a protein curry and a veg curry dish, and just 2oz of rice per person. A stir fry is half veg and a quarter each of noodles and meat/fish, rather than mostly noodles.
I still have a plateful if food and a portion of protein, but I try hard to think of the veg as being the bigger element. Of course, it helps that I haven’t inherited my mum’s idea that all veg must be boiled to within an inch of their lives!!

Pinch of Nom has good reviews and importantly for an 11 year old won’t feel like ‘diet’ food.

Here’s the website pinchofnom.com/

look at portion sizes. grated carrot or courgette can bulk out most sauces. red lentils can also be added either as thickener for sauce or a stand alone veg.
look at ditching snacks full stop.

how active is he? does he get one hour a day of exercise a day?

Fry light/oil spray for making him home made chips/wedges/roasties (just chop potatoes, spray with this, bung in oven for 30-40 minutes).

Mayflower curry sauce is used by lots of slimming world people and is really tasty - plenty of peppers/peas/onions in there with it without chicken and then some boiled rice

Having a nice home made vegetable soup as a starter is a good way of filling up before a meal
Or afterwards finishing with some fruit/sugar feee jelly

Baked potato and baked beans - cheap and filling

Upping his protein to increase satiety - boiled eggs, lean meat. Pulses to bulk out bolognese etc, omelette with veg, beans etc

Make sure he’s drinking enough water/fluids - hydration important. That age group can be fond of energy drinks etc - empty calories. Same for milk - make sure he’s not drinking pints and pints a day as some teenagers can put away easily!

‘Roast dinner’ - loads of veg. Spray roasties, lean meat - filling but delicious