Do you cook your teens breakfast and lunch?

[Joyfullday]

Do you cook your teens breakfasts and lunches?

And what do they normally eat?

Do you keep snacks in the house? What sort?

DD really likes the Itsu noodle pots - much cleaner, healthier ingredients than Pot Noodle etc.

I tend to buy the M&S freshly made pots of soup for her to heat up. I try and make my own to keep in the freezer but it happens less than I’d like due to time constraints!

Feels so weird reading these replies, especially those saying they never make lunch. Cultural differences certainly play a big role in my shock here, as I always, always had all three meals made by my mom. Of course the days I had cereal, I'd make my own . She'd buy me an evening snack (wholesome, not crisps) many times. Can't imagine it any other way!

No. People get their own breakfasts and have lunch at school.
At weekends, it depends what people are doing, but it would be very unusual for us all to sit down to lunch together.

Mine were all capable of getting themself some cereal long before they were teens. Ditto a sandwich or something on toast etc for lunch.

By their teens, they were all able to make the family meal in the evening.

How were you all in the same place at the same time to have 3 cooked meals a day? Its only a few evenings a week we all eat tea together other than that we are all in different places at meal times or need our meals at different times.

Thank you all.

There are certainly cultural differences. I had a colleague from Italy a few years ago who told me his mum always prepared his meals when growing up.

I am not from the UK either, remember my mum preparing my lunch on the days I went home for lunch when I was working. I knew how to cook but didn’t have much time.

Another issue is that I didn’t grow up eating cereal for breakfast or sandwiches for lunch either. Lunch was the main meal in my home country. Now I am in the UK dinner is the main meal. DH who is Aussie is fine with a big bowl of cereal with some fruit in the morning and a sandwich for lunch or leftovers from dinner.

I don’t necessarily cook big breakfast or lunch more like help DD2 14 sort out as she has to travel to school further. DD2 18 knows how to cook and mostly sort herself out but I started making her breakfast on the days she goes to work or she will go without, never been a big breastfast person but I can see how lacking in energy she looks until she eats something.

Thank you. I am grateful for ideas about healthy options they can make easier.

Sandwiches are good option too and they can add some cut vegetables like carrots, peppers, humours, cucumber, tomatoes, etc. And also soups with toast.

Lucky you!

Kids do own breakfast, just toast or cereal and usually do own lunch at the weekend.

but it’ll be sandwich, beans on toast, pasta & pesto or something basic. If there are pot noodles in the house they will get monstered.

Breakfast - everyone sorts themselves out, usually cereal, toast etc.

Lunch - At weekends, sometimes I’d do lunch for everyone, other times everyone would sort themselves out. Partly depends on what’s going on and who’s around.

Evening - i’d cook evening meals

Do you think the kids are getting much nutrition with cereal and toast for breakfast? Do they have some protein; cheese, eggs, fruits.

No judging just concerned when they make their own meals they are not always that healthy. Eg. DD18! Has become a bit more lazy with cooking; she just put a frozen pizza in the oven. That was her lunch and breakfast as she woke up late. Dinner was good and balanced as I cooked it.

A balanced diet means balanced over time not every meal. As long as they are getting the right proportion of everything they need over a period of time eg a week it doesn't matter if one meal is carb heavy.

No, they sort their own breakfast and lunch.

What they eat - if it were up to them steak every day, but there usually isn't that around, so whatever there is left over from the previous day's dinner, plus bread, cheese and ham.

For breakfast ds1 makes pancakes almost every day, dh sometimes bakes something (apple crumble or something of that sort).

Dinner I usually make, once or twice a week one of the dcs will cook instead of me. When I'm traveling which is often dinner cooking is shared more evenly, but I think ds1 does it most often.

We were also not necessarily eating at the same time or place but food was always prepared. My breakfast was usually packed as I had it in school during break. Lunch was kept at home and I heated it up, as my parents were at work and would take their lunches with them. Dinner was usually mom and me, as we ate early. And when my dad got home, he'd have his dinner. Easy!

Me too!! I’m expecting my first child so I’m in no position to answer because maybe when they get to 15 I’d had enough of cooking but both mine and my husbands mums always cooked breakfast, made a packed lunch and dinner! In fact… when we stay over they still insist on making us breakfast.

I’m surprised at how many kids have cereal! It is quite deceivingly sugary and not very filling… I think I read somewhere a full English is actually healthier (not that everyone has time to make one of those of course!)

I make DS17 every meal if he’s in the house, unless he wants something different to what we’re having in which case he will cook his own

Only my 18yr old son at home now. He usually makes his own breakfast and lunch unless I'm preparing something for us all. Breakfast he usually has cereal/toast. Lunch he will make himself a toasted sandwich or avo with eggs on toast or there's always home made soup or leftovers in the fridge. We've always got snacks available too. He will not starve if I don't physically make him food, he's very capable

I understand the cultural difference OP.

For breakfast, besides toast, cereal, crumpets etc. perhaps having some hard-boiled eggs, or Greek yoghurt in the fridge? This will help up the protein.

A sandwich can be very healthy and filling, especially with things like chicken (rotisserie chicken is great for this!), turkey slices, boiled eggs, tuna etc. These are all easy to buy and have on hand, they don’t need to be made from scratch, except for boiling the eggs.

I think ‘something on toast’ is always a good options for teens for a snack or light meal. E.g. avocado, cream cheese, cottage cheese, peanut butter, ham and cheese, beans, etc. It’s quick to prep and is really easy.

My friend, who has 4 teens at home, goes through 2 full loaves of bread per day, just on snacks!

Do people cook lunches? Scrambled eggs, Cheese on toast or heating soup is about as much “cooking” as we’re prepared to do at lunchtime.

They should make their own breakfasts.

I think from a pretty young age dd sorted her own breakfast out, lunch depended on what was going on really but generally from age 13yo she could make herself a sandwich 🤷‍♀️

Theres always snacks in the house and dd is welcome to help herself to food if she’s hungry.

Well I've raised 3 to adulthood and they are all healthy enough, with different habits for their own breakfast now they are independent adults.
They've got their own breakfasts from Primary age.

'Cereal' covers a wide range of 'sugar / not sugar'. Personally, I have weetabix which, with milk is a pretty balanced breakfast, protein comes from the milk, there is fibre, vitamins, minerals, calcium all there. One of mine likes bran flakes. dh tends to have porridge with fruit. Nothing particularly unhealthy there. The portion size will determine how filling it is. I can't agree that cereal is a bad choice for breakfast.

I'm in my 60s. If my Mum were still alive she'd have been in her 90s, and she didn't stand there cooking breakfast for us when we were dc - she was getting up and getting out to work just as we were getting up and getting out.

Porridge and Weetabix are very healthy.
My teens sort themselves out with usually belvita breakfast biscuits or cereal bars and actimel drinks or if they have time then crumpets or bagels.
My eldest used to have boiled eggs and soldiers for breakfast most mornings when he was a child.
My youngest likes cereal, Weetabix or porridge. Occasionally I'll do him a bacon sandwich, or scrambled eggs or potato waffles if he's being fussy.

Lunch is a standard cold sandwich, crisps, fruit and fruit juice or actimel.

Dinner is always hot.

These are for week days. Weekends is pretty much the same, but maybe swap a sandwich for a bowl of noodles, soup or salad bowl.

Snacks are hummus and veg sticks, noodles, soup, crisps, fruit salad bowl, yoghurts.

My teens do their own breakfast (cereal etc). I cook dinner daily and lunch they buy at school (weekends will depend on what’s is going on).

Same!

OP what are you cooking for breakfast and lunch every day? Do they not have school lunches or make themselves a sandwich? Pour a bowl of cereal?

Could your teens cook the family dinner once a week?

My teenagers will cook breakfast/ lunch for themselves when home - why do you think that would necessarily be unhealthy?

I’ve taught them how to cook and about nutrition what they make for themselves isn’t any less healthy than anything I would make.

Our teens 14-16 long before they were teens did there own cereal and toast or crumpets...they regularly make toasties when hungry so I keep a supply of bacon and cheese in for them and always plenty of fruit,biscuits, crisps,bread etc when there more peckish on the weekend. I make decent sized cooked tea every night as the boys are growing like mushrooms right now oh and ye ours learnt quickly I'm not the maid so either be hungry or make it yourself lol