Teen DS constantly wants MEAT as a snack - how to fill him up?

[Londono]

DS, 13, often declares that he wants MEAT (said in capitals to me!) when he is hungry. He often has dinner at his dad's and I collect him afterwards but rustling up MEAT not long before bed is not happening. What can I do to fill him up and satisfy him? He'd quite happily eat a load of toast/pasta but it feels like it is protein that he is craving.

If he liked chicken I'd just roast a chicken and let him snack on that but he isn't keen on chicken (will eat it sometimes). I'd like to keep away from processed stuff like pepperami/ham etc as I'm not convinced that would be filling enough. Any suggestions? I think his ideal would be if I put steak in front of him every night!!

Corned beef hash with beans/eggs

Good quality bone broth to help with the meat craving & then baked oats with added protein powder and nuts?

Chicken livers and lamb livers can be quick to cook & are tasty on toast.

My DD also makes a thing with chia seeds, milk, proper cacao powder, nut butter etc which she keeps in the fridge for snacking.

Not very meat based but a few options…

If he's not keen on chicken then nuts, eggs, tinned fish and protein shakes would be my suggestion. DS had 4 eggs, can of tuna, hand full of unsalted nuts and protein shake most days in addition to meals throughout teenage years. I appreciate its not cheap but volume/offers can help to make it slightly more manageable.

bagels and peanut butter go down well in our house. Filling and protein-rich.

I used to fill up on bachelors pasta mixed with cooked chopped up bacon at that age. Or peanut butter toast. Scrambled eggs.

You could make up a batch of burgers or meatballs from a pack of mince. Sometimes I make a big batch of kebab meat, it's home made just lamb mince and spices and baked not fried so healthier than processed meat

Ham and cheese toasties

Fish sticks

I’ve always got quality gluten free cooked sausages in my fridge and I also buy the catering packs of cooked streaky bacon from Costco and keep one of those in the fridge for bacon sandwiches or just on its own .

Op your post made me burst out laughing. MEAT Just reminded me of my brother at that age. He used to eat beans on 4 slices of toast, 5 scrambled eggs on 4 slices of toast or 5 fried eggs on 4 toast as a snack. Bought back some memories of my mom moaning

As snacks?!

Black pudding slices
haggis (can be microwaved v fast)
falafel

@golddustwomen He might as well bang his chest like a caveman. He is very active so I do believe he is genuinely hungry. The other thing he says is 'I'm still hungry'.

Is he low on iron by any chance? I always crave steak and burgers when I need more iron!

@glittereyelash I am going to make sure he is getting plenty of extra iron rich food too. He eats a very balanced diet when he is with me, less so when he is with his dad.

My DS was the same, he used to love homemade lentil soup? It's heathy and it's filling and has a little bit of meat in it?

I would cook lots of meat, but also try spatone iron rich water with juice first thing in the morning (at least 10 minutes before food - vitamin c helps you absorb the iron more easily as well as with the taste.) And get nuts for snacks.

That said, if anyone tells me when I want chocolate that cracking indicates I need more magnesium and to have kale instead they're going down

You could also batch cook meat and freeze it in snack pots if you have a microwave?

The most straightforward answer is the meat snack-good quality biltong. Amazingly filling and delicious

@Londono yes! He's always starving when he goes through a growth spurt and then it settles again for a month or so before ramping up again.

Doesn't bother me tbh. He can have what he wants within reason

My teen ds eats a tonne of plain greek yoghurt with granola - so more yoghurt than granola – might be an option?

@AriettyHomily yep! He's 6 foot and 11 stone so Christ knows where it goes

Like I said, doesn't bother me. We've got it on the fridge/ cupboards so he can eat what he likes when he likes

There's always a bowl of boiled eggs in my fridge.

If you're hungry enough you'll eat them.

Why don’t you get things like fridge raiders or you can get packages of pre-cooked bbq/peri peri chicken wings in supermarkets. They do some excellent pre-cooked meatballs in Aldi and Lidl

In terms of healthy protein, my young adults used to like eggs, cheese, sliced chicken or Greek/Icelandic yogurt. I also used to use smoked mackerel or tinned fish into a pate with either cream cheese or mayonnaise to go on toast or crackers.

That’s not true….you don’t get 25g of protein in a serving of Greek yogurt - nowhere near.

Meat (maybe lamb) and potato slow cooked with tons of potatoes and gravy , leave simmering for teens. It’s like living with a pack of ravenous tigers .

At 13 he should be making his own food