16 year old lad who is hungry all the time

[Ssshhhhhhhh]

Hi all,

I could do with some help as I am running out of ideas to keep my son full, he snacks a lot and eats a lot but he’s slipping into the super noodle /pot noodle route when I don’t get back from work early - I often leave the slow cooker on for him but he finds slow cooked meals a little dull after a while ( I’m not that adventurous! )

Any ideas to keep him full ( and healthy) with almost zero cooking? Any healthy options to super noodles out there that are quick and easy ideas for him to prep and eat? Shakes? Smoothies? Cooking isn’t my forte x

tia x

Tuna mayo pasta, the only cooking is boiling pasta, pasta with the stir in sauces with cooked chicken for protein, sometimes I would cook extra chicken with whatever meal we were having sometimes I bought ready cooked chicken, pasta pesto is another easy one, my Ds was a pasta monster at that age and I taught him to make enough pasta so he can have leftovers.

Microwave rice with tuna or cold cooked chicken/ham/turkey

Scrambled egg in the microwave

Quesadillas/cheese on toast/cheese toastie

Boil up half a dozen eggs and keep them in the fridge for quick snacks, or he could add them to the pot noodle/ramen to make it more filling and add protein

The bags of frozen veg stir fry or veg fried rice, all he needs to do is pour it into a frying pan and stir for a few minutes till it's hot.

Surely he could cook your dinner if he’s home before? Why does he need you to be home.

Frozen fajita mixes and wraps was another hit, agree with toasties and the microwave rice and chicken or tuna

Heinz beanz snap pots are microwaveable single-serve potions. One of them on a piece of brown toast would be filling.
When DS got bored of beans every night, I taught him how to make scrambled eggs. He now scrambles 2 eggs on toast.
Instant porridge is another good one. I buy the flavoured sachets for DS but usually one sachet isn’t enough. He also adds bits and pieces like peanut butter, chopped hazelnuts, whatever fruit we have going…
He also likes a bowl of the protein weetabix with a sliced banana and milk.
If I make pasta salad for lunchboxes, I make extra for an after-school snack. Tuna mayo and sweetcorn is the favourite in our house.

Tight-arse version:

Bananas

Tomatoes

Make up big pots of potato salad and pasta salads to keep in the fridge

Bread for toast with available tins of beans, tomatoes, spaghetti and sardines. Also eggs, grated cheese.

Make up a big pot of rice for the fridge. To be eaten with tins of tuna etc.

Have plenty of mayo, tomato ketchup and soy sauce.

Houmus with Pita bread
Wrap with meat, cheese, salad
Jacket potato frozen ones are good
Hard boiled eggs
Toast and peanut butter
Make a batch of chilli and keep in fridge to add to baked potatoes, rice etc
Pesto pasta
Make frittata or crustless quiche
Cheese with crackers
Cheese on toast

Why no cooking OP?

My 16 year old eats endless eggs. He makes himself scrambled egg or an omelette every single day as an evening snack. Or egg fried rice with a pouch of pre-cooked rice.

Egg fried rice - use a packet of flavoured microwave rice, it's fine to cook it in a little oil instead. Some frozen veg/ chicken etc, add a beaten egg or two and cook a bit longer. DS hoovers them up.

Pasta bakes you can make and keep in the fridge. Greggs frozen sausage rolls. Wraps, so lots of cold meats and prepared salads. I used to make a big mixed salad and leave in the fridge. Cheese on toast, toasties. Those clickits look good I've just bought the wrap ones for my son.

I wish air fryers had been around when I had two hungry monster teens.

Teach him how to cook basic stuff. I did this before mine went to university.

My DS18 is still like this but I taught him how to make a couple of things when he was around 15 and constantly demanding food.

Bacon and egg sandwich

Ham and Cheese toastie made in the frying pan

Home made tomato sauce and pasta

I also keep sausage rolls in the fridge that he can put in the air fryer or eat as they are if he's being lazy.

Lidl do a frozen bacon and cheese pastry that he puts in the air fryer he loves these.

None of this is very healthy and I've told him that after his A levels are done I'm going to make him cook a proper healthy meal for us once a week.

I did also teach him how to clean the air fryer but he seems to have forgotten sadly.

He's 16, why can't he cook something simple for himself?!

Egg fried rice to which you can add spring onions and pork mince

Add an egg to the super noodles to get the protein.

I have a 16 year old so know the challenge. But he cooks for himself a good bit and takes turns cooking a family meal too.

He does a Thai curry, chilli, fajitas, tofu noodles stir-fry, a plant based smash burger- some are slow cooker and the others don't take long. He is vegetarian with a dairy allergy so to be fair he does have to research recipes.

What is the issue with changing the slow cooker options or your son cooking something for everyone?

Snack wise my son wouldn't have pot noodles ( he avoids UPF) but would have home made brown bread with hummus, fried spiced mushrooms or homemade beans on toast, a veggie wrap or Poke bowl.

Loads of protein, eggs, chicken, nuts, yoghurt.

Omelette mixture with cheese and whatever else cooked in the oven in a muffin tin makes little omelettes which are nice (and easy for either you or him to make).

Teach him to cook for himself.
Start off with making home made pesto & green sauce. The green sauce can be used in a variety of ways & is a hit with teenage boys. Spaghetti carbonara is easy. Asian noodle soup with dried noodles, any veggies, meat & whisked in egg? Buy him his own bottle of crispy chilli oil for topping. Ham n cheese toasties are another one. Make a batch of pizza dough at the weekend & keep in the fridge. It keeps for a week. Or use the ready made packets. Tin of passata or pizza sauce & grated Mozzarella n he can make his own. Buy an electric rice steamer if he likes rice & yes an air fryer is very useful.

mine eat lots of toasties.

and 'leftover bites' where we mix our leftovers with an egg or two and bake them in muffin cases.

Bone broth ramen with instant noodles are good.
add hard boiled egg for protein
banana and peanut butter smoothie

Beans on toast
Cheese and onion toastie
Cereal
Crumpets

My 15 year old does lots of sport and weights. He needs extra meals to the rest of us to get all the carbs and protein he needs.
He cooks himself one or two extra small meals per day. Examples are, beans on toast, scrambled eggs on toast, fried eggs and hash browns, wraps with chicken/cheese and coleslaw/salad. He would live off sausage rolls, pizzas and burgers if I let him.
He also eats one or two punnets of grapes per day.

I have one of those too OP. He eats a lot of chicken (I often buy the pre-marinaded stuff), burritos (super simple to throw together and you can either some add cooked chicken from a packet or fry some chicken or beef mince with fajita seasoning), spaghetti and meatballs, eggs in various different guises - egg mayo, fried or scrambled on toast, salmon fillets done under the grill, and those microwave packets of rice are brilliant to bulk out a meal and only take 2 mins to cook. He also makes himself protein shakes. We have a blender and he does frozen fruit, protein powder, milk, yogurt and whizzes it up. It's a good, filling snack. Protein is key! If he's just eating noodles that will mean he's hungry again in an hour.

DS1 likes those flavoured tins of mackerel, on toast. Or ravioli. Sometimes boiled eggs.
DS2 likes 'fancy' ramen, so the ones from the world foods aisle with about 4 different sachets in! Then adds an egg into it at the end to poach.
DD mostly makes sausage sandwiches (frozen sausages, air fried) or tinned soup.