# help teen eating me out of house and home



## Judith (Jan 10, 2003)

My bean pole teen is eating me out of house and home. Groceries are hitting 600.00 per month for the 2 of us. He is never full ( tapeworm anyone,,, kidding) We do not purchase any expensive snaky stuff and i make everything. Help he claims bread isnt filling and of course this is the cheapest thing I can make... arrrg Filling ideas anyone. (preferably meals that won't make me fatter in the process


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## KyMama (Jun 15, 2011)

I always give my "bottomless pit" bread and it seems to help. Biscuits, cornbread, and fresh from the oven bread are his favorites. For snacks, have you tried popcorn? Mine loves it and it seems to fill him up without costing a fortune. When we are eating a meal I make him wait before he can have seconds. I know it sounds mean, but a lot of times he eats so fast that the food hasn't even made it to his stomach and he wants more. lol 

Rice and pasta? They certainly fill me up.

HTH


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## Steve L. (Feb 23, 2004)

Judith said:


> My bean pole teen is eating me out of house and home. Groceries are hitting 600.00 per month for the 2 of us. He is never full ( tapeworm anyone,,, kidding) We do not purchase any expensive snaky stuff and i make everything. Help he claims bread isnt filling and of course this is the cheapest thing I can make... arrrg Filling ideas anyone. (preferably meals that won't make me fatter in the process


$600.00 per month is $20 _a day_. I've been putting together some preps, and for $20, I can buy 20# of rice, and 10# of beans. Are you trying to say that your son can eat 15# of _uncooked_ rice and beans every day? That's over 20,000 calories!


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## Judith (Jan 10, 2003)

Yup he drinks 2 4 litres of milk daily at 4.79 a piece a dozen eggs cheapest I can buy are 3.00 per dozen. And then meals on top of his snacking. So add oatmeal for breakfast, 2-3 sandwiches with meat or peanut butter throughout the day then whatever I make for supper. Usually a pound of hamburger and some type of pasta ,rice or potatoes. The kid is 125 pounds soaking wet so i have no idea where he is putting it....


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## Nicole Irene (Jun 12, 2011)

Is he getting enough real fat, protein and fiber? Those can be filling.


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## kenworth (Feb 12, 2011)

I dunno how expensive GORP is to make, but it's great snacking, and filling too. 

When ds was growing he would eat a pot of elbow macaroni cooked with a quart of canned tomatoes and bread and butter. Not nutritionally balanced, but again, filling.

Cheapest eggs at 3 bucks a dozen? You need some Free Rangers! 

Sounds like he is getting enough milk, could some homemade juice be substitued for some of the milk?


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

Fiber helps you feel full. It might help to increase the whole grain content where you can. Apples are a filling snack due to the fiber content. Popcorn would be a good snack, too. For milk, Amy Dacyzn of Tightwad Gazette fame used to give her kids "half and half", half fresh milk mixed with half powdered milk. I well remember the "hollow leg" phase of teenage boys, I would hate to be feeding one at today's prices.


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## Tirzah (May 19, 2006)

What about him eating salad before dinner? That usually helps fill me up before I get to the main dish.

Have him drink a glass of water before each meal?

I agree with pastas, grains, beans and bread.


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## ELOCN (Jun 13, 2004)

I remember my male cousin eating a lot. He was skinny as a rail. Before meals were served, he would usually have 2 or 3 slices of bread soaked in Karo syrup.


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

I feel for you! My years like that must have been horrible for my parents. I would come home from school and eat two packs of crackers, a jar of peanut butter and a half gal. of milk before supper. I could not eat enough and was skinny as a rail. If I went 3 hours without eating, I would become physically ill. Lord! I could eat a large supreme pizza by myself and be raiding the fridge in two hours. lol!
Try adding high fat with the bread. (beans cooked with lots of fat, cheese, bacon grease gravy...) lol! feed the boy and Lord have mercy on y'all.


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## jennytw (Aug 7, 2009)

My bottomless pit just left for college and I have three more in training. The college boy will eat five sandwiches PB and J an hour after supper. Our milk has decreased by a gallon a week (at least) and that is after restrictions. Can you teach him to fry his own potatoes? I often have salads, noodle type, on hand to eat also. I also keep hard boiled eggs and granola on hand as much as possible. I buy eggs when they are really cheap and get free ones from friends. We keep tang on hand all the time and the kids are encouraged to drink water instead of milk. My kids eat a lot of cheese and yogurt (on sale of course) so they get a lot of calcium and they are not skinny nor are they overweight. 
My budget is 550 a month for 5-6 of us and that includes toiletries and dog food. You can reduce your spending by hitting the bread outlets and using coupons/hitting sales.


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## Judith (Jan 10, 2003)

Thank you so much for all the tips. My son also gets ill if he doesnt eat. I will try them all. I guess he is just making up for his not eating as a young child 

i thought I should mention eggs here in Canada are as much as 6.00 per dozen for free range type  Food is almost double on alot of things here. For example bread is 3-4 bucks a loaf. So I make my own. Cheese is REALLY Pricey the 24 pack of slice cheese is 5-6 bucks dependng on if you can get it on sale and a box of cereal is close to 9.00 ( i only buy it on sale at half of that) Kraft dinner is a sale at 1.25 a pack. i only shop at the warehouse stores so I get the best deals but yikes...


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## Dutchie (Mar 14, 2003)

When my son was a teenager he did the same thing. I switched to (and never switched back) whole grain bread and pasta, brown rice and any kind of beans. It made a big difference because it stayed with him longer.


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## jkhs (Sep 17, 2010)

Lots of good ideas here, but I didn't see soup mentioned. Make a big batch of soup and let him eat it for snacks, before/or with meals, etc. All that extra liquid and fiber should help fill him up.


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## Judith (Jan 10, 2003)

Soup and heavy stews is a brilliant idea. never even thought of that one.....


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## romysbaskets (Aug 29, 2009)

Judith said:


> Soup and heavy stews is a brilliant idea. never even thought of that one.....


I have a 13 yr old, 5'9" that grew five inches in the past year and he cleared 10 inches of height increase in only two years! He weighs...yep 125 lbs....wow they must be related! He can put down the food too! I make him *soups*, *stews*, whole grain pasta, sandwiches, whole grain rice dishes, one of his favorite meals is to give him an entire roast chicken himself! He can eat a pint of my homecanned apple sauce at a sitting. He is a good guy about eating his potatoes, veggies and drinks KEFIR fruit smoothies every day (free berries we picked and froze in it). That can really help add another thing you make for the cost of milk every day for him, my son can't drink milk. He tells me Kefir is really filling for him. Breads are good but whole grain is best besides the nutrition it is more filling. The most cost effective meals for this guy are soups and stews..packed with all kinds of vegetables he does not normally eat but will in those. Served up with whole grains hearty homemade bread... The soups and stews can be made healthy for you, let him slather some butter on that bread.  We are going to pick blackberries today for more freezer berries. I canned all the apple sauce and jams and jellies this family can go through in a year recently. Do you have access to fruit trees or berries? Is he going through a growing spurt? I know how expensive food is there, my sister in law lives there and is a caterer.  Can you gather any food for preserving for your family where you are? That really helps!


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## farmerj (Aug 20, 2011)

mashed taters, rice, apples.

He needs to learn to regulate his food intake. If he's hungry, have him drink a glass of water.

You might even want to talk to his pediatrician.


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## kasilofhome (Feb 10, 2005)

Oatmeal can be added to many things. I thicken soups and stews - it adds bulk and takes on the flavor of what ever it is in.


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## bluemoonluck (Oct 28, 2008)

Maybe I'm missing something...but why are you letting him drink so much milk? 

Check with his pedatrician to be sure, but I think that's way more milk than necessary. Let him have 2 glasses of milk - 8oz each - and the rest of the time he can drink water.

Milk doesn't fill you up any more than water does :shrug: Yes, there are calories there and milk is good stuff for sure. But if you're looking at what his nutritional needs are and how to keep him full for longer, I'm betting you can get more nutritional bang for your buck while filling him up more with other foods.


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

the whole grains and brown rice are great ideas. You can probably be sure he is getting enough nutrition, but he is craving calories. If I skipped a meal, I would get a migraine about an hour later and then it was too late. I would have to lay down and suffer for a couple hours till I puked and blacked out. Not pretty. I rarely had sodas or candy. We ate good but my mom made some high calorie foods also, and I mean FAT, that went a long ways. Real butter, fat back, cheese, and lots of fresh un-skimmed milk. I grew almost a foot over one summer and my metabolism went haywire. when you are consuming thousands of calories a day, your body isn't craving more than normal vitamins. Its craving fat, calcium and protein. imho 
Seriously concider the brown rice and whole grains (Oh, and nuts and dried fruits). They have way more food value and what I call "Yummy in your tummynous"


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## happychick (Sep 20, 2010)

lots of great ideas here, but there are a few I can add from experience. My mom feeds herself, husband, and 2 teens (one a 6' 3" boy who can eat like 2-3 men, 16 years old and looks like a man himself, never puts extra weight on). Tips: buy as little packaged food as possible, (snack items, chips, drinks, snack bars, frozen stuff, get block cheese instead of pre-shredded, etc, it all costs way more) you really pay for the packaging. Buy bulk rice, potatoes, beans, bread & cornbread are great, pizza & pasta. SOUP is one of the best most filling things my mom makes! Potatoe soup, beef vegtable soup, chicken & wild rise soup...She's a great cook! 

Hope this helps!


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

The old trick is to serve soup first. You got tomatoes, toss them in a pot with some water and make tomato soup. Fry up a thinly sliced onion, then add water and a sliced carrot, you got soup. Use up your leftovers in soup. Soup will give your son water, which he probably isn't drinking enough, of and help to fill him. Keep bags of apples in the kitchen that he can attack after school. Use real butter. Bread is filling him up, but not offering much nutrition wise. And, as others pointed out, more water. His body needs water in order to process the food he is eating.

Keep in mind that not only is he growing, but is physically active, and also burns calories from social stress. Oh, to be stressed and skinny again!


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## [email protected] (Feb 24, 2005)

Teenagers do eat a lot but he seems to be extreme. It might be a good idea to take him to the doctor to have his blood sugar tested. I had a cousin who ate like your son, he had diabetes and no one knew until he passed out one day. He was eating everything he could get his hands on and losing weight but his parents assumed he was "just a teenager".


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## RedDirt Cowgirl (Sep 21, 2010)

Execpt I'd say his body could be craving bone-building minerals - distribute the whole milk throughout the day. Tofu is cheap and can go in just about anything - mash some up in meatloaf, spagetti sauce, you don't have to cook Asian to use it.


vicker said:


> the whole grains and brown rice are great ideas. You can probably be sure he is getting enough nutrition, but he is craving calories. If I skipped a meal, I would get a migraine about an hour later and then it was too late. I would have to lay down and suffer for a couple hours till I puked and blacked out. Not pretty. I rarely had sodas or candy. We ate good but my mom made some high calorie foods also, and I mean FAT, that went a long ways. Real butter, fat back, cheese, and lots of fresh un-skimmed milk. I grew almost a foot over one summer and my metabolism went haywire. when you are consuming thousands of calories a day, your body isn't craving more than normal vitamins. Its craving fat, calcium and protein. imho
> Seriously concider the brown rice and whole grains (Oh, and nuts and dried fruits). They have way more food value and what I call "Yummy in your tummynous"


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## KnowOneSpecial (Sep 12, 2010)

bluemoonluck said:


> Maybe I'm missing something...but why are you letting him drink so much milk?
> 
> Check with his pedatrician to be sure, but I think that's way more milk than necessary. Let him have 2 glasses of milk - 8oz each - and the rest of the time he can drink water.
> 
> Milk doesn't fill you up any more than water does :shrug: Yes, there are calories there and milk is good stuff for sure. But if you're looking at what his nutritional needs are and how to keep him full for longer, I'm betting you can get more nutritional bang for your buck while filling him up more with other foods.


I totally agree!

I have 8 kids and we go through a gallon and a 1/2 a day. Every kid gets an 8 ounce cup of milk at each meal and between times it's water. No reason to have more than that. It meets their calcium requirements and that's good enough for me. Besides, a lot of times when people think they're hungry it's actually thirst. Let him have a glass of water before dinner and make him eat slowly. Those two tricks alone will cut the food bill down. 

I also agree to give him oatmeal. We have an "Oatmeal Bar" breakfast every once in a while. I put out raisins, brown sugar, cut up bananas and other fun things to add to the oatmeal. It sticks with you! 

I also make the kids eat fruit between firsts and seconds. Many times they'll have the fruit and be fine. It also slows them down so their tummy can tell the brain it's full.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

Judith said:


> Yup he drinks 2 4 litres of milk daily at 4.79 a piece a dozen eggs cheapest I can buy are 3.00 per dozen. And then meals on top of his snacking. So add oatmeal for breakfast, 2-3 sandwiches with meat or peanut butter throughout the day then whatever I make for supper. Usually a pound of hamburger and some type of pasta ,rice or potatoes. The kid is 125 pounds soaking wet so i have no idea where he is putting it....


Growing teen boys often need 6000 calories a day. 

Grain products are digested and gone in just 3-4 hours. 

Ways to slow down his digestion to give him a long, slow release of nutrition to his body include giving him more fiber (salads and whole grain breads) and more fat and more protien. Otherwise he will have a sudden drop in blood sugar when he has burned through his last meal and come in STARVING instead of coming in hungry.

Is there any way to add more eggs in the morning? Oatmeal will be burned up and gone WAAY to soon: adding even one egg will help to balance his system out better.

It really is amazing how teens can crave eggs: My DD used to eat 3 dozen eggs and almost 2 gallons of milk every week. So I hear you about your son wanting eggs!!!!!!!! DD used to cook them and eat them in 2-3 sandwiches as a snack. Now that she has stopped growing she no longer eats them very often, but she sure did eat them when she was younger!

Oh, yes. Growing kids are supposed to drink 4 glasses of milk a day. Adults can get by with less but kids are building bones.


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## mom2accjk (Jul 12, 2010)

I had a son that ate 4 sandwiches every day for a year at lunchtime. He grew up so quickly and was so skinny you could see his ribs so I had to get calories in him. I had him drink Ovaltine chocolate vitamin drink in the morning with breakfast for the vitamins and calories. I made twice baked potatoes and froze them. You take them out and microwave a couple of minutes for a good filling snack at any time. You bake the potato, slice in half, scoop out the insides and mix with a little milk, butter, sour cream, salt and pepper until it is like mashed potatoes. Mix in cheddar cheese and if he likes add chives. Bake that until cheese is melted. Then let cool and freeze on a cookie sheet until frozen. Freeze in ziplock bags and you can take out just one or more as needed. 

I filled him up with beans, pasta and rice. You can make up bean and rice burritoes and also freeze them for him to pull out for a snack. You can make pizza rolls or calzones. For the rolls roll out the dough and put the sauce, cheese, pepperoni or sausage, and any toppings he likes. Roll like you would cinnamon rolls and cut. Bake and freeze on cookie sheet until frozen. I usually only put a little sauce so they aren't mushy and then when you eat them dip them in sauce. You could also do pizza sticks (just thought of that!) I made calzones or meat pockets with the pizza dough. Different varieties: Pizza. Hamburger with potato and carrots filling. Chicken fajita filling. Ham and potato and cheese. Beefsteak and cheese. Chicken pot pie filling. You can also do tortilla rolled sandwiches. 

For breakfast make up some diced potato, onion, if you want sausage, and then add eggs to it. You can have a large portion of that potato which is cheap. Pancakes, biscuits, muffins. 

Make a frittata with spaghetti noodles, potatoes, onion, any leftover meat and veggies plus a little cheese. Bake in cast iron skillet. 

Make up a lot of soups, chili, red beans and rice, kidney beans and rice, etc and freeze individually for him to take out when he wants. 

Hope some of this helps... I have five teens at the moment and the two youngest are both in growth spurts at the moment. I just increased our food budget from $600 to $800because I couldn't do it anymore.


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