Recommendations for snacks for teenage boys!

[Basketmaker Amy]

Hi,

My three sons must are growing like weeds and eating all the time! Does anybody have some recommendations for snacks for them...healthy and satisfying? (If snacks are left up to their imagination, then they choose bowls and bowls of cereal!) They aren't allergic to anything. Their ages are 10, 13, and 15.

Thanks!

[elegantlion]

What about putting together your own trail mix? Target carries some different varities that might give you some ideas. These are some of the snacks we try to keep around.

Raisins
almonds
peanuts
carrot chips
celery and peanut butter


You could also dehydrate your own fruit, we enjoy doing pineapple rings.

[Tammy]

My kids are 15yo and 12yo.....

I cook two different things (when I cook, LOL)....that way...they won't get tired of eating one thing...over and over. I cook enough to last a couple days....

For example, I will cook chicken enchiladas and chicken and rice with a cream cheese sauce. They can get it themselves...and heat it up.

We don't do a lot of 'snacks' at my house.....they just wouldn't get full enough, LOL!

Tammy

[momo4]

Oh dear! I thought my ds 11 and 8 ate a lot, I can only imagine what it will be like when they are teenagers!

I was thinking the same thing about another meal instead of snacks. This is what they do now anyway. Also, good fats instead of carbs/sugars. Fats keep you full longer. I really try to load them up on fats at their meals. Even if it is oatmeal.

[Janet in Toronto]

I"ve got teen boys 16 and 13.

I try to keep some of the following on hand for snacks:

homemade granola bars
banana bread or other fruit bread
pasta salad (made with shells, cubes of provolone, cherry tomatoes, pimiento, and Newman's Own Italian salad dressing)
yogurt mixed with granola
bananas
homemade bread with peanut butter, cream cheese, or Nutella
baby carrots and cucumbers

They seem to be able to eat without stopping!

Janet in Toronto

[Cedarmom]

"Snacks" for my son (16) are actually just more meals. I try and have extra cooked meat(turkey burger or chicken) ,grated cheese,and tortillas. He often makes tacos. I also TRY and cook enough for leftovers (with the amount of food he eats that is hard) so that he can snack on those. We also do cans of soup and ....o.k. this is not healthy but he loves the single size frozen pizzas.

Cedarmom

[Rebel]

My 14 year old likes:

apples
granola bars
frozen pizzas
grapes (He'll eat a pound in one sitting.)
Lipton Rice envelopes - He'll fix one in the microwave and eat the whole bowl.
Lipton Noodles and Sauce envelopes
leftovers

[Quiver0f10]

We don't do too many snacks as it can get expensive fast. What I do instead is make 3 large meals a day. If my kids ate cereal for breakfast, they would be starving in a few hours. A few eggs, some toast, juice or milk and we can make it till lunch with out a snack inbetween. We do have an afternoon snack everyday mostly out of habit, but that's pretty much it for snacks.

[Janie]

.

[Dot]

nt

[Sixmeadows]

With 5 boys it seems they are always hungry. I do bake quite a bit so banana bread and cookies, stuff like that. One batch and everyone gets a few and then it's gone. They are free to take fruit or vegetables at any time so I keep that on hand always. I need some good ideas myself..:o

Cheri

[Basketmaker Amy]

Thanks for the ideas. It's nice to know I'm not alone! I guess when they are this age, "snacks" turn into "meals"....I've just got to get used to that idea and plan some more mid-meals! (It reminds me of all the "meals" in LOTR!)

Thanks again! I'm off to the grocery store! :)

[Faithr]

My trouble is everybody in our family seems to prefer grazing rather than big meals, including myself. Here are "snacks" my kids eat every week. I shop at Trader Joe's which is so much cheaper than the other grocery stores around here, I spend less even though I buy more:

Instant oatmeal
cold cereal with milk
Chocolate milk
bagels and cream cheese
yogurts
granola or breakfast bars
little frozen pizzas
English muffins (often with pb or cheese on top)
bananas (I buy two big bunches every week)
a big bag of apples
a big bag of oranges or tangerines
Tortilla chips with salsa
hot dogs (they zap these in the microwave)
Chicken Taquitos (frozen, zapped in microwave as well)
We go through bags and bags of baby carrots a week!
celery and cucumber sticks
cheese sticks

Hope this helps!

[Kanga]

I make double dinners so that there are plenty of leftovers to snack on. Here are some other snacks that I have found that are filling:

Pumpkin Muffins

Tortillas or chips smothered in refried beans, cheese, and salsa

Oatmeal Cookies, Nobake cookies, oatmeal scotchie bars, rice krispy bars made with peanut butter, pumpkin cookies

Scrambled eggs (made with cheese, onion, and crumbled bacon)

Macaroni and cheese (I remember coming home from school and making this for a snack as a teen - it annoyed my mother until she realized it was cheaper and healthier than a candy bar.)

Hot dogs chopped up in baked beans

Popcorn

and bowls of cereal are very popular here too!

[mom2abcd]

Popcorn is good and cheap (we make ours with EVOO in the WhirlyPop)

Fruits & veggies

Ds could eat a whole box of cereal mid-afternoon, I kid you not. It's not allowed here. I spend no more than $5 a week on cereal. (I do make homemade granola so that stretches the budget.)

They sure do get hungry!

[mom25cuties]

I agree with Cedarmom. Snacks at this age are more like meals. My ds eats sandwiches along with lots of fruits and veggies for snacks around the house. He also eats baked chips or something. We aren't big on fried things. But he loves fruit.

[Mrs. Readsalot]

my ds has gotten pretty good at fixing his own healthy snacks he has braces so he uses crackers instead of chips

English muffin pizza
whole grain bread with asaigo cheese and put under the broil for 4 minutes
sliced apple with peanut butter
black bean dip with club crackers
salsa with club cracker
sandwiches made with turkey pepperoni and cheese on whole grain

[Diana in OR]

Boy do I feel your pain:( My boys are 12 and 14, and they can sure pack it in. And my 14yo is already weight training and conditioning for football season. It can get very expensive! For awhile, I was buying Amy's boxed macaroni and cheese. But now my 12yo, who has always been my skinny kid and picky eater, wants to make himself 3 boxes at a time for a snack.

I have a grain mill, and make homemade bread from time to time, but find that at the moment it goes faster than it's worth my time to make it. So I often opt for quick breads and muffins.

One thing I make a lot are cookies. I use whole wheat flour, oatmeal, and often peanut butter, raisins, etc. I have the process down to a science, and they seem to be reasonably filling. I buy peanut butter in 15lb. buckets from a local food co-op.