Keep asking for snacks

[lyssie29]

Hi my kids are 8 and 6. They constantly ask for food. They will have their dinner and then ask for practically another meal straight after then constantly asking all the time. I know this is completely normal and I do get the usual fruit, crisps, biscuits etc but I'm not working and it just has to be limited and especially at the moment I'm really having a bad time financially and have only £25 a week for everything for the 3 of us. I am just about managing for our normal meals but it's not enough for them. What can I do?? I still have over 2 weeks until I get paid and everything is going already. Does anyone have any suggestions for really really cheap snacks?

Cereal, toast and fruit in my house. Or cream crackers and cheese spread.

Bulk out portions of dinner with extra carbs, like pasta and rice or pulses, for example add a tin of cheap beans to bolognaise to make it go further.

Do they get enough protein in main meals?

It really isn’t normal for kids to ask for another meal straight after they’ve finished one. Have you considered that you’re not giving them enough?

I'd give less of a range, at least for a while so you can eliminate boredom eating.

Bananas or porridge.

When they get to be teenagers they might even need a whole extra meal which is where beans on toast comes in!

When my dc were that age and they said they were hungry I'd say

'oh good, because dinner is in an hour.'

Or^^

'great because we are having scrambled eggs later so can you find the eggs in the fridge'

Giving them an idea that it's OK to be hungry because the next meal time is on its way.

What's a normal meal for you? Maybe we could suggest ways to make that more filling so they don't ask for snacks as much?
But good filling snacks, particularly if you could make it from scratch so would be cheaper per portion, would be something like flapjacks. Oats are good and release energy more slowly.
Peanut butter on toast.
Crumpets with cheese
Jam sandwich
Bananas

Could it be boredom making them eat more?

For tea I generally make something like tuna pasta, mince and dumplings, sometimes we have a "picnic tea" so sandwiches with tomatoes, slices of cucumber, little sausage rolls etc, i do burgers and chips, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken curry and rice, pizza and garlic bread etc. Sometimes they do leave food on their plates but then half an hr later will ask for more food. I just can't keep up with them constantly asking for more food. I don't know if maybe a growth spurt? Maybe when I get paid I make some flapjacks can you freeze them so I could portion them out?

I think you can freeze flapjacks. That's a great idea. I sometimes make banana bread when I have bananas too ripe to eat and freeze that in portions.
Malt loaf is another good rib sticking treat!

Fill them up with soup as a first course for their evening meal. It's really cheap to make your own. If they're leaving food at mealtimes, they're really not that hungry. It could be the snacking has become a habit. You could try stopping the pestering by having an official supper at a set time e.g. toast and a hot drink. Thirst and hunger are easy to confuse,so make sure they're drinking plenty. It is hard to get cheaper than bread. White bread ( and flour)in UK is fortified with calcium and vitamins so it is nutritious. You can have it without anything on it if you use it to dunk in soup. French toast and beans on toast are both fairly cheap and could serve as a main meal,let alone a snack.

When my children say they are hungry normally they actually mean that they are bored!

if they don't finish their plates, just re offer whatever they have left

Cook up the same amount but serve less. If they clear the plate offer them more, otherwise the leftovers can be packed away for later, that way you should hopefully end up with less waste food and being able to stretch it a bit further.

For low cost snacks we always have seasonal fruit, apples are cheap and DD likes them sliced up with some peanut butter to dip them in.

For 'treats' making batches of flapjacks, rocky road or Tiffin is cheap as long as you buy own brand chocolate, syrup and dried fruit, Lidl or aldi stuff is great for this as it's really inexpensive but tastes good.

Sounds more like it's habit/boredom/tiredness