Food intake for 14 year old DS

[afromom]

I'm just wondering about food intake for DS 14. He is 5 ft 11, so a tall lad, very slim (25th centile for weight) and sporty (plays football 3/4 times a week and every lunch time at school and does GCSE PE.

Over the last 2 or 3 weeks his food intake has at least doubled!

I am thinking perhaps puberty, but the amount he is eating is so drastically different I'm just wondering if it's normal and if anyone has tips for filling him up!

Today he has eaten:

• 2 x toast and marmite and a banana for breakfast
• Apple, banana, cheddars, mini cookies and cereal bar for lunch (he refuses to change his lunch as it has to be edible whilst on the go!)
• 3 jam sandwiches (6 slices of bread), apple, banana and a club biscuit - for an 'after school snack'
• grilled chicken (lots!) chips, garlic bread and beans for tea
• now just eaten a whole punnet of strawberries, half a punnet of blueberries and a whole box of Jaffa cakes as an evening snack

It's costing me a fortune! He is quite fussy, but will eat most fruit and has a range of meals including pasta (meatballs and bolognaise), roast dinner, steak and chips, jacket potato cheese and beans, pizza, chicken and rice, chicken and veg soup, burgers, sausages etc that he will eat.

Is this normal for 14 year old boys? Any tips on how to fill up a fussy (and stubborn) teenager without breaking the bank would be much appreciated 😩

Teenagers are notorious for eating insane amounts of food 😁

In terms of filling up more on healthier options, how about full-fat milk and eggs? Home-made flapjacks or packets of peanuts are affordable too.

Mine had spurts of eating huge volumes too but would then often eat much smaller for a week before bursting again

I used to steer them towards protein rather than processed carbs as the latter just didn’t fill them up for long.

So could you do cheese on toast for brekkie or yoghurt pancakes or a bacon or ham sandwich?

Lunch needs protein, a meat sarnie would be better or even pepperami or some of those cooked chicken packets.

Good teas were chilli or lentil dhal with chicken etc.

I also found high fibre cereal good at night or oats to fill them up at bedtime

Mine are also tall slim and very sporty so I feel your pain on the shopping bill!!

I used to roast big chickens and leave them in the fridge and they would eat chunks off it as a snack with bread or cheese.

Also made huge batches of home made flapjacks for the tin! Oats bought in bulk are super cheap and cut down the cost of buying loads of cereal and chocolate bars

Normal! Protein and whole grain more filling than fruit and Jaffa cakes though.

My brothers used to eat dinner and then after an evening activity come home and stick a potato in the microwave and eat with beans and cheese. Not too expensive, quick and they can vary the toppings.

Unfortunately he won't drink milk or eat eggs. He's also Muslim so pork products are out and allergic to nuts 😩

Flapjacks a good idea though and he would eat a chicken sandwich or cheese on toast. He used to love chicken, cheese and cucumber wraps so I might try to reintroduce them!

I've been feeding him pasta 3 or 4 nights a week with loads of mince. Pasta does seem to fill him up for longer. I think I might try beans on toast or a quick jacket potato as after school snack rather than fruit and sandwich as that might work better.

Roast chicken would work well. Cereal in the evening too, he loves cereal. Flapjacks seem to be a winner, DSD and I will get cooking this weekend I think!

To speed the jackets up I tend to cook a few then halve them, scoop out the middles and mash with butter and cheese (and bacon but obvs not for your DS!) and then refill them and put in fridge. Then a quick microwave and they are ready! Meal or
Snack.

Tins of beans are great as generally v filling and easy to eat with potato or toast.

I’ll be honest I didn’t buy packets of biscuit or white bread as they just hoover them up and they don’t touch the sides!

Will he have yoghurt? Full fat Greek yoghurt is another filling snack.

Dhal keeps for ages and can be bulked out with chicken or add toasted naans etc and I make mine by blending onion garlic and butternut squash up in food processor then frying with the spices, add red lentils and split yellow peas and cook with stock then add chopped spinach so at least they got a couple of portions of veg per bowl.

Will he have oat milk? The oatly barista one is creamy and makes lovely porridge but isn’t cheap

Many cereals are empty sugary carbs so Unprocessed oats best for sure

I've a just turned 15 who could empty the fridge in one sitting if I let him. Teens eat a lot.

Yup completely normal. He’s probably about to grow again. He needs complex carbs and more protein to keep him full for longer. My DS1 is now 16 and has eaten like this since 14 ish. I try to give things like cheese on toast. He also likes the cheesecake in a pot type deserts and mug pasta shots/ cup a soup with toast too. These take 5 mins prep and hold between after school snack til dinner