[Isabel]

How do you feed your boys/kids?! I have 3 boys (6, 4, and 2) and I swear they’re gonna eat me out of house and home. I’ve been home from the store for 10 minutes and they’ve already eaten or asked for half of their lunches for the week.

[Kathy]

Limit what times food is available.

Be strict.

Three meals but snack time is NOT a free for all, all you can eat all day event.

They will not die.

[Theresa]

Teach them to cook they own snacks and do their own dishes..they eat less.

[Ginger]

Increase fibre and protein in what they eat so they stay full longer. But honestly, I have 3 teen boys and I pay more for food than I do my mortgage. When they were younger I made homemade snack mixes (like trail mix) of stuff that was on sale.

I added mini chocolate chips to make it feel fancy for them lol Lots of noodle options as snacks too.

I also encouraged them to cook things like pancakes young, so they felt some of the work going into feeding them.

They also did small grocery shops with a budget by 8-10yr so they could see how fast money spent at the store.

I don’t believe in limiting healthy foods for growing kids, so I took a holistic approach to help them understand the cost.

Suggested: Frugal and gluten-free meals for a large family in Canada?

[Annie]

Set eating times and be firm. Mine are:
breakfast before school/before 10:00 on weekends
Lunch at school/12-1 on weekends
Snack 3-4
Supper when it’s served
Snack before bed if needed

My boys (15, 13, 9) have been on this schedule since before lockdown. It honestly saved me then! Eat when it’s time to eat, otherwise get out of the kitchen.

[Ludie]

Stretch your meals with beans or rice, potatoes, casseroles.

[Melanie]

I buy foods that are nutrient dense. This matters not only for health but fills them so they’re not hungry quickly.

Example- nutrigrain is trash. I get a similar one that has fruit and grains before syrup and fillers.

We do a range of veggies, fruits, and carbs. Cereal is NOT a meal, ever. It’s a great snack though and that helps. We also again don’t do the empty calories.

Empty calories lead to empty feeling and eating too much. Food is unrestricted here for four boys ages 4,8,10,12. They get buckets for free snacking. Anything super sugary is bought once a week and if it’s gone, it’s gone. Now they ration it.

You can check also: Idea for what to do with baby rice cereal?

[Karen]

I’d take advantage of give-aways. Stay away from processed foods they are more expensive. Bake. Make treats instead of buying them. Have casseroles. Hope you have a freezer so you can stock up on sale items.

Our Albertsons has 50% off meats all the time. I go weekly to pick up whatever they have then incorporate it into our meals.

Either I cook it immediately or freeze it. WinCo has bulk section for many items.

Don’t throw animal bones away: make your own broth for soups and casseroles.

[Laura]

Homemade muffins bulked up on veggies and protein, homemade mac and cheese with the same extras, yogurt, cheese, water instead of juice, smoothies. Shop sales and cross my fingers for the teenage years.

[Charlotte]

I find that mine wants to eat all the time if she’s bored. Limits and other things to keep their minds occupied help. Protein filled foods are also important.

[Shawyna]

My almost 17yo is 6’3 and 215lbs he eats all the time and has a high metabolism so I keep boiled eggs,egg bites, cheese cubes, bread for sandwiches, flat breads, grilled chicken, precooked sausages, sourdough pancakes, various chopped veggies and fruit for the kids to snacks on(I also have a 13yo and 6yo) I bake in bulk and cook extras to keep stocked.

I also have home canned chili and beans they can heat and eat.

I maintain a under 650 grocery budget for all 5 of us including household and personal care, I homeschool the teens and pack lunches for hubby and littlest so all meals are from home.

I can make 16 of these for less than $1 and the kids stuff them with leftovers alot.

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[Clare]

I put out, without them asking, cut up fruit, pepperoni, cheese slices, crackers. Yogurt parfait made with fruit and Graham crackers. I know when they are hungry. Having ready ahead of time helps.

[Lindsey]

My kids all have their own snack container. I fill it up in the morning, and they can have what they want, when they want it – but when it’s gone that’s it for the day. The first few days they ate it all fast, but after a while they learned to spread it out over the day and make it last.

Might not work for your 2 year old, but I started this when my kids were 8, 5 and 3 and they all got the hang of it quickly.

[Reyna]

Starchy/sugary foods can make anyone more hungry. We try and start the day with hardy dose of fat & protein, eggs/meat/cheese, meat & veg lunch, some starch then more carb heavy meal early evening, meat/veg + pasta/bread etc, small dessert/treat. Carbs in the evening also promotes sleepiness, as long as you don’t go overboard w sugary stuff. Just my experience having three kids, if I served pancakes & syrup for breakfast, they were still starving an hour or two later. I carried boiled eggs & nuts everywhere, to stave off public meltdowns, when we were out & about -*- bc goldfish, cereal, pretzels etc made my kids hungrier.

[Billie]

The more snacks I bring into the house the more of them they eat. Sounds bad.. but I will stash the school items in a cabinet that does not get used much or go ahead and pre portion it all out for the week.

[Cara]

It’s a mix of let them eat healthy,setting limits and not letting them really be hungry. If they are eating out of boredom or excitement of seeing their favorite foods, send them on their way.

They are allowed to feel disappointment if you say no and tell them that’s for lunch on X day.

Have set times for meals and snacks and amounts for each, within reasonable limits. We typically allow 2 items per snack, examples: cheese and crackers, or apples and PB, or carrots and yogurt, bowl of cereal, cashews and fruit, pistachios and veggie, etc. Basically a protein + fruit/ veggie/ whole grain, and of course, the occasional sweet treat!

[Allison]

When my boys were these ages I’d put out a fruit rainbow and a veggie rainbow. I’d arrange fruits and vegetables of every color of the rainbow on a plate and let them graze all they wanted. It would usually disappear before any chance of the fruit and vegetables going bad.

[Bethany]

That’s just how growing kids are. Mine are teens now and we use Costco and Winco and I try to keep healthy snacks in the house (fruit, veggies, cheese/yogurt) but there’s always one in a growth spurt that has first, second, third breakfast, and then wants a snack after dinner.

[Melissa]

Protein. Eggs and bacon for breakfast. Cereal and sweet bread spikes their sugar, then they crash and want more food. Yogurt, cheese sticks, vegi’s with ranch for snacks. Balanced meals for lunch and dinner.

Costco and Sam’s Club you’ll get the best deals.

Also, check out: Easy meals to cook on a hot plate in a hotel room?

[Stacey]

They’re growing and it only gets worse. Making them sit at the table to eat and not eat on the move might reduce some snacking but if they’re hungry they should be eating imo.

[Carol]

Just wait til they’re teens, especially boys, you’ll think they ate like birds right now. Get them apples, bananas and oranges. They’re healthy, bananas especially filling, and need to be eaten quicker. Won’t break your bank, and all three take a little time to eat.

Good luck!!

[Cathleen]

I let my kids eat as much food as they were hungry for, as long as it was healthy. My son ended up being 6’6” so he really needed the extra food. It’s tough if you don’t have the money for unlimited food for your kids.

I think I’d look over my budget and cut in other places, and then have things like baked potatoes that can be quickly microwaved and loaded with veggies, etc. and make big pots of soup that can be portioned out.

[Rebecca]

I apparently am going to offer up advice that is far different than what most are saying. I let my 4 boys eat when they were hungry. I didn’t have a firm schedule (I homeschooled the 2 youngest). My second youngest had feeding issues as an infant, which turned into eating issues. I never wanted food to become something that we fought about.

I found that once I took control out of play, they actually ate less. They ate when they were hungry and then moved on.

[Christine]

I had meals and snacks on a strict schedule. With prices what they are now I think that would be even more important! I baked muffins/had fruit I cut up when younger/vegetables. Meats and cheese were monitored and school lunch supplies in a separate area, or my husband would have eaten his AND the kid’s!

I used a timer so they could see how long it was until time the next meal or snack and asking before/between was strongly discouraged.

[Author]

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