what do your kids eat when they're still hungry after a meal?

[caedmyn]

What do you give your kids when they're still hungry after finishing a meal?  It seems like my kids often want more after a meal, whether it's breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  They do have problems with gluten and dairy so easy things like a slice of bread or cheese are out.

Edited April 18, 2017 by caedmyn

[AK_Mom4]

Fruit

Veggies

Lumps of meat

Smoked Salmon

 

Ok, you would have to be pretty picky about who smokes your salmon to make sure you are avoiding your allergens, but it is VERY filling.

 

For veggies, can they do hummus dip? Carrots, celery , peppers dipped in hummus are all good. Bean Dip? Maybe vegetarian refined beans ( check the label) on gluten free tortillas?

[Gentlemommy]

Fruit or vegetables with hummus.

[Mimm]

Fruit. Sometimes I offer crackers. Sometimes half a peanut butter sandwich. The older kids are free to feed themselves what they want.

[Kassia]

Fruit and nuts are popular here.  Or apple and peanut butter.  My older kids will make eggs and rice or a big bowl of oatmeal.  

 

ETA - they also like veggies with salsa, chips with salsa, cereal, salad, cheese, leftovers...

 

 

 

Edited April 18, 2017 by Erica H

[Angie in VA]

Yogurt

smoothie

fruit

cheese

raw veggies and dip

 

[6packofun]

Lunchmeat wrapped around a pickle or cucumber spear.  Sometimes jerky or fruit or nuts.

[Shellydon]

After a meal, they are allowed to consume all the fruits and veggies they want. I expect them to fill themselves up enough at a meal where they are not usually hungry afterwards.

Edited April 18, 2017 by Shellydon

[lllll]

nm

Edited April 22, 2017 by _ -_-

[kiana]

Are they often hungry after a meal? Is it possible to cook a bit more of whatever the meal is, leaving room for seconds if desired or leftovers if not? 

[ScoutTN]

My Ds is growing so fast and is often hungry an hour or two after a meal! I don't usually offer snything sweet or a solo starch for a snack.

 

nuts or pb

fruit

veggies

eggs

hummus

quesadilla

cheese

leftovers!

[Rachel]

Carrots or apples. That's always my answer when my kids say they are hungry between meals. If they can find another fruit or veggie they are always welcome to have that instead. My younger two aren't that great of eaters, so they can also finish their meal if they didn't already.

 

I imagine as my kids get to be teens and their appetites increase they may want something more substantial, but I'll cross that bridge when it comes to it.

[Guest]

Ham

[Mergath]

Fruit and vegetables.

[Crimson Wife]

Usually I try herbal tea because often it's not actually hunger they're feeling but thirst. If they're still hungry after having a cup of tea, then fruits or veggies plus a bit of protein (peanut butter, hummus, or if it's one of my kids who can have dairy, Greek yogurt or cheese).

[HomeAgain]

Soon after a meal?  If my kid is hungry within the hour it means he didn't get enough protein or fat.  Nuts, an avocado with lime and salt, a banana, or cheese are his go-to items.  I try to serve one right before a meal if I know the plate won't meet those needs.  Like, tonight's dinner was leftover ham and mashed potatoes.  He eats a very small amount of ham, so I gave him yogurt and a biscuit with butter and honey while I finished prepping the leftovers.  Not the healthiest meal, but the yogurt helped with the protein and the butter with the fat.

[KungFuPanda]

Leftovers from the last meal. I'm not coming up with three extra meal ideas per day. I expect to feed them continuously when they're tiny, but once they're old enough to consume a meal and get full from it for more than a minute I don't encourage continual snacking. Entire cultures cope without between meal snacking so I figure my kids can get through the day. We do have a strong tea twice a day with milk and sugar. It's not like I don't allow snacking. (Sometimes you get a growth spurt or a period.) It's just that it's not an every day habit.

[TechWife]

nm

Edited April 18, 2017 by TechWife

[swellmomma]

Depends how soon after one meal, before the next.  I make enough food at each meal that they can have multiple servings and be full.  in between meals they can have fruit or veggies if not within 30 minutes of the next meal.  Basically if they are hungry enough to nosh on carrot sticks etc they must be hungry, if they are simply searching for carbs to snack on, then they need to wait. (Course with teens in the house they just eat all day everyday and prepare it for themselves)

[IfIOnly]

pretty much anything *they* want to make

 

Popcorn with lots of fat and no-bake cookies (1/2 the sugar at most) top the list. We usually have bananas wnd carrots they can eat freely too.

Edited April 18, 2017 by ifIonlyhadabrain

[Guest]

Hardboiled eggs, cottage cheese, and baby carrots are the standards I offer.

[Carrie12345]

My suggestions are already covered pretty well, so I just wanted to share that my stb10yo walked up to me yesterday, with a mouth full of hard boiled egg, asking if he could have a snack.  FOOD IN HIS MOUTH, and he's already asking for something to tide him over!  :001_huh:

[Guest]

The only things my kids can eat whenever they want are carrots, peppers and cucumbers.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

If I need to round out a skimpy meal when my kids are doing locust imitations, it's apples, bananas, nuts, cheese, peanut butter...

[trulycrabby]

DS13 often has a second meal about an hour after the original meal. It is often leftovers, spaghetti, boiled eggs, or a plate of chicken nuggets.

Edited April 18, 2017 by trulycrabby

[SparklyUnicorn]

Whatever they want.

 

My kids are older than yours though.

 

I'm wondering how soon after a meal?  The way this is worded I'm thinking, they have eaten and are still hungry so what now?  To which I'd say maybe they didn't eat enough?  Or do you mean within a couple of hours?

 

My kids did seem to need more food throughout the day when younger.  They'd eat very little in one sitting and would be hungry soon after.  Frustrating, but that's how it worked. 

[Zinnia]

If they have eaten all the food (sometimes one of them seems hungrier than normal, and it catches me by surprise), it's usually peanut butter. A spoon, a sandwich, or on a rice cake.

 

If I know that dinner looks light, I make pudding with whole milk to fill them up.

Edited April 18, 2017 by Zinnia

[JFSinIL]

Are they drinking a decent sized glass of water with the meal? I have heard that sometimes hunger is really thirst. 

[momacacia]

Apple with nut butter, cheese and crackers, smoothie, whatever they can find. :)

[vonfirmath]

Dessert?  When my dc wanted something else after a meal, they were usually wanting something a little sweet.  And it could have been yogurt or cookies or a bowl of cereal or fruit or just whatever I had in the house.  

 

But if they're truly hungry, I'd wonder if they were holding out for the after-meal treat instead of eating the meal.  

 

I agree. when my kids eat a meal then say they are still hungry -- they want candy.  I keep telling them instead of saying they are hungry, they need to ask "Can I have a piece of candy" -- if you are hungry, you eat real food. If you just want dessert, that's ok too as long as you've had some real food first.

[DawnM]

Either more of whatever we had for dinner or they make themselves something, like a sandwich.  My middle son will have a PB&J around 9pm most nights.

 

We also have trail mix, fruit, toast, chips, and snacks available.  My oldest will often have his chips (he likes spicy so he will often have Fuegos) as a late night snack.

 

Popcorn is a big snack too.  We have a stovetop model and they all know how to make a batch.  It is cheap, healthier than chips, and takes a while to eat.

 

My boys are all teens though.

Edited April 18, 2017 by DawnM

[caedmyn]

Leftovers from the last meal. I'm not coming up with three extra meal ideas per day. I expect to feed them continuously when they're tiny, but once they're old enough to consume a meal and get full from it for more than a minute I don't encourage continual snacking. Entire cultures cope without between meal snacking so I figure my kids can get through the day. We do have a strong tea twice a day with milk and sugar. It's not like I don't allow snacking. (Sometimes you get a growth spurt or a period.) It's just that it's not an every day habit.

 

How do you make this work? (ie keep them from asking 100 million times?  I swear my kids are a 10 on the persistence scale if there is such a thing.)  It would make my life so much easier if they didn't snack.  

 

I do wonder if some of it is metabolic type or blood sugar issues, as I cannot go more than 2-3 hours without eating myself due to severe hypoglycemia issues and at least one of my kids seems to have some blood sugar issues also (meltdowns if he goes too long without eating).

[FaithManor]

My 17 year old makes a baked potato in the microwave. Sour cream, chives, butter, and bacon bits.

[G5052]

Mine also eat baked potatoes, and I make hummus that works with their allergies. They can eat the humus with veggies or something else.

 

Also boiled eggs, and my oldest has a smoothie that he makes with protein powder that works for him and a banana.

[caedmyn]

I can try having hard-boiled eggs and veggies and hummus available.

 

It is right after a meal that I am talking about, when the food is gone and they are still hungry. I seem to be a poor judge of how much food to make. Or the amount that gave leftovers the last time isn't enough the next time, or the oven or crockpot won't hold anymore so that's all there is. I think I really need to make more side dishes with meals, but I have a hard time thinking of any that no one has a problem with. And sometimes I think they are not really hungry, but asking to see what else they might get if they ask for more food. We rarely have desserts/sweets, so it's not that, but I think they sometimes hope to have snacky foods if they say they're still hungry.

[kbutton]

How do you make this work? (ie keep them from asking 100 million times?  I swear my kids are a 10 on the persistence scale if there is such a thing.)  It would make my life so much easier if they didn't snack.  

 

I do wonder if some of it is metabolic type or blood sugar issues, as I cannot go more than 2-3 hours without eating myself due to severe hypoglycemia issues and at least one of my kids seems to have some blood sugar issues also (meltdowns if he goes too long without eating).

 

My kids eat just about nonstop, and they don't have an ounce to spare. Neither were even a little chubby as babies. One gets cranky if he doesn't eat. The older one has an amazing metabolism and is solid muscle. The younger one actually has trouble eating (jaw stability issues), and that's part of why he's "always eating"--it's too much work, so it takes him a long time.

 

When we go places where others are providing meals, my kids are starving (I try to take snacks to give them on the side). Their cousins eat a fraction of what they do, but their cousins are very active. There is family precedent in at least two directions for eating and never gaining weight, so I guess they drew that genetic card (not me!).

 

Some ideas:

Oatmeal, including mix-ins like fruit and such.

Popcorn

Veggies (we tend to eat large servings of veggies as side dishes)

Rice cakes with nut butter

Brown rice tossed with something they like--veggies or even something like non-dairy margarine and a sprinkle of sugar and cinnamon (brown rice is much more filling)

Sweet potatoes in the microwave

Regular potatoes in the microwave

Cherry or grape tomatoes

Sugar snap peas

Veggie or sweet potato chips

GF crackers

Hummus is a great idea if they like it

Chips and salsa

Chips and guacamole

Chips and refried beans

Fruit (including canned)

Nuts and coconut (depending on allergies)

Homemade GF granola (also pretty filling)

Soup--if they like soup, maybe you can make a big pot and freeze some in serving sizes for them to reheat

Dry cereal (since I'm assuming the non-dairy milks add up)

 

I let my kids eat some junk food because it's so hard to keep them fed. In our house, pretzels are somewhat junk food too though! 

[domestic_engineer]

 And sometimes I think they are not really hungry, but asking to see what else they might get if they ask for more food. We rarely have desserts/sweets, so it's not that, but I think they sometimes hope to have snacky foods if they say they're still hungry.

 

If their after-dinner options don't change from day to day, then that might cut down on their asking.  So for example, you *always* say to their inquiry "If you're still hungry, you can have X, Y, or Z."

 

Salad (bagged/boxed), carrots, bananas, and apples are our after dinner options.  If they have to cut their own veg/fruit, it will slow them down and give their brains a chance to process whether they are truly hungry or not.

 

Along those lines, you could always add a veggie tray or a green salad to supplement your meal offerings.   Cut the veg up early in the week, and then let them snack freely on them throughout the week or use them as part of your meals.

[Χά�ων]

Are they drinking a decent sized glass of water with the meal? I have heard that sometimes hunger is really thirst.

This. When I hear my son say he is still hungry I insist he drink a good size glass of water and wait 15 minutes. If he is still hungry I help him find a healthy snack. And by help him I mean I ensure he does not eat an entire week of groceries as a "snack". Teenage boys...

[matrips]

Are you making enough food at the meal? I just make large meals, so the kids can have second and third helpings. I usually make enough food for six adults (we have me, dh and 3 kids). If I'm lucky, we might have leftovers, but I've learned not to count on it.