Snack food for a HUNGRY teenager?

[Garga]

My son is 15 and is HONGRY all the time.  I’m struggling to come up with healthy snacks that are filling.  He’s not too interested in fruits and veggies. I make him a trail mix with peanuts, granola, and raisins, but that’s about all I’ve come up with.  

What else could I offer him?  I have food sensitivities so I’m not really a food person. I eat the same things over and over and don’t snack much so I don’t really have any ideas for snacks for a hungry, growing teenager. 

Edited May 12, 2020 by Garga

[prairiewindmomma]

Have you asked him? My teen boys are required to add stuff to the grocery list weekly. They burn out on foods after a while, and I'm never sure when that point is.  

Currently, I have been asked to stock these things:

1. hardboiled eggs---we're down to only 3 dozen a week

2. swiss cheese blocks, cheddar cheese blocks--2 lbs each a week, + triscuit crackers + apples

3. Tasty Bite Madras Lentils: https://www.costco.com/organic-tasty-bite-madras-lentils%2C-10-oz%2C-8-count.product.100502845.html

4. cooked chicken--either take apart Costco rotisserie chickens, or leftovers---we are probably going to have to give this one up this week due to meat shortages

5. pb&j

6. applesauce cups + honey roasted peanuts

My kids are SKINNY and burning through calories.  Since I make fairly healthy meals, they really are needing more calories. When I make stuff over rice or add beans, it helps, but they are still eating on the Hobbit plan of 5 full meals a day.

[kbutton]

Eggs, cheese, PB on a spoon? Omelet with ham and cheese? Yogurt? Oatmeal packets or baked oatmeal? Cookies that have some nutritional value (carrot cake, oatmeal raisin, molasses)? Muffins? My son bakes a lot, and he really likes wheat bran muffins, sometimes with raisins. I bet you some carrots could be shredded in to make it like carrot cake. Zucchini and banana bread? 

My kids will eat less-healthy but real food options, such as Chunky soups from a can. So, more sodium than is great, but they are young and BP is not an issue. 

Skillet meals, frozen ravioli, french fries in the oven? Chicken nuggets? Sandwiches? Entire cans of tuna with crackers?

Popcorn loaded with a decent fat (popped in a pan the old-fashioned way with coconut oil is delicious)?

I have food sensitivities too, so I know what you mean about generating ideas. I am so unmotivated to cook much.

[kbutton]

Seconding the baked potatoes with various toppings! 

Oh, one of the "real food" but slightly junky side--they eat lots of frozen burritos. If you want healthy ones, you can make up batches and freeze them. 

Trader Joe's is great for things like skillet meals, tamales, taco rolls, etc. that aren't too bad. 

[MEmama]

I make mine mini-meals, probably as caloric as an actual meal but made up kinda like you’d make a bento box. Protein is the biggie—so, maybe something like a chicken sausage or smoked salmon—plus cheese cubes (healthy fats for satiety), a fruit and or veggie (carrots or red pepper slices, plus dates or raisins and grapes or berries), maybe some crackers with peanut butter, and a couple cookies or something sweet. My goal is to keep them well rounded and varied, with enough calories to keep him satisfied for an hour or two. 
This is a great way to use up leftovers, too, if there aren’t enough for a meal. My DS will eat anything put in front of him, though, and leftovers are always a fave. 

Edited May 13, 2020 by MEmama

[Melissa in Australia]

Pop corn

Rice, milk and honey 

Crackers and cheese

Milo with milk

Fruit, lots of fruit

[Junie]

Yogurt

[gardenmom5]

protein. -it's slower to digest, and often what the teen body is craving.

whole grain bread for sandwiches - much more filling than most of what calls itself bread these days. 

had fun with one of dh's nephews when he was about 18/19ish.  he'd come here because he could get fed and he was just starting out and had no money for food.  One day - I offered to make him a sandwich out of dh's very heavy wheat bread, and asked him if he wanted a half or a whole.  "I'll eat two". . . . . I'll make you one, and if you're still hungry - I'll make another.  He was surprised he was still full two hours later.

[ScoutTN]

My latest go-to is brown rice with black beans, cheese, and sour cream. Sometimes with salsa.  I make a pot of rice and a pot of beans each week - cheap and filling. The fat in the cheese and sour cream helps keep him full. 

Other snacks that my always-hungry almost 13 yo likes: 

peanut butter toast or cheese toast

bagels and cream cheese

bananas

bean burritos or breakfast burritos (I make these ahead and freeze)

hot cereal (steel cut oats, regular oatmeal, grits)

veggie fried rice made with coconut and sesame oils, frozen veggies, and eggs

 

 

[saraha]

Hummus! We go through a LOT of homemade hummus. We make it with peanut butter instead of tahini to reduce cost as tahini is not something readily available here.

And bananas or apples dipped in peanut butter, or saltines slathered in peanut butter. Wow, we eat a lot of peanut butter haha

[J-rap]

I used to make a big pot of black beans almost every week, and keep them in the fridge.  My ds would dip into them usually at least once/day between meals and make a burrito or throw over a bowl of rice, usually with some cheese.  (For me that would be an entire meal, but for him it was a snack.)

[LucyStoner]

My teenager fixes himself a lot of sandwiches and stuff wrapped in tortillas.  He also eats a lot of apples and carrots. He’s so skinny I told him that whenever he reaches for an apple to please use that as a reminder to eat a piece of cheese, or a yogurt or something that is more calorie dense.  

[Starfish]

Our snacks tend to be deviled eggs or fried eggs and toast, apples and peanut butter, banana smeared with peanut butter wrapped in a tortilla, hummus and veggies, and quasadillas with beans and a little cheese.  I ask  the snackers to have more than one food group when they're hungry.  They also love beans and cornbread. In the cooler months, I keep beans cooking in the crockpot for them to help themselves.  

 

[Selkie]

My kids like these healthy cookies made with the following ingredients:

• 2 mashed bananas
• 1 c. rolled oats
• frozen berries - we like blueberries or raspberries
• cinnamon to taste
• chopped nuts - walnuts or pecans are good

Mix together, plop by the spoonful on a cookie sheet, and bake at 350 for 22 minutes.

[QueenCat]

Cheese: gouda, sharp cheddar, and havarti are favorites here

Nut butters on crackers 

Nuts

Hard boiled eggs 

Salami

Popcorn 

 

[PeterPan]

3 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Tasty Bite Madras Lentils: https://www.costco.com/organic-tasty-bite-madras-lentils%2C-10-oz%2C-8-count.product.100502845.html

Ooo, I need to google to see if these are something we could make! I love lentils, yum.

1 hour ago, J-rap said:

I used to make a big pot of black beans almost every week, and keep them in the fridge.  My ds would dip into them usually at least once/day between meals and make a burrito or throw over a bowl of rice, usually with some cheese.  (For me that would be an entire meal, but for him it was a snack.)

Yup, we keep lots of beans here. We buy big jars of cooked pintos with a screw on lid, so you can warm those through with rice. I cook a big batch of rice and freeze in bags, so that's easy. So then rice and beans for burritos or with nachos, easy. I've been buying guacamole in cups and you put them in the freezer, just pulling out one at a time. Or buy a bigger container for more people. Walmart's guacamole recipe is taste, imho. 

Trader Joes has really good canned baked beans, so that's another staple item.

Dd liked hummus on rice cakes, almond butter on rice cakes. Nuts,  you can eat butters straight from the jar. Or invest in Nutella (or the Trader Joe version) and see what they figure out to put it on. It's good on pancakes, waffles, bread, apples, anything.

Fwiw, he's going to be hungry a lot if he's not getting enough fiber. Would he be interested in a bowl of raisin bran or some kind of cereal that is higher in fiber? Apples with caramel apple dip? 

[Pam in CT]

My son basically survived both the teen years and his dorm days on peanut butter & nutella "sandwiches" on whole wheat sandwich bread.  

(Not proud, but it is what it is.  Whole lot of protein, everything's shelf stable, and no time required. He could do worse.)

[Tap]

When ds was swimming he ate 5 meals a day. One meal, was always a bean burrito. There was an authentic Mexican  restaurant near the pool that made big burritos for a couple dollars. We got those and he ate them every day for about 2 years. LOL  

He at a lot of protein bars too, especially when there wasn't enough time to eat. 

Sandwiches with meat (lunch slices, tuna, chicken etc) and veggies, on 100% whole grain bread or rolls were quick and easy but filling. I don't like them made ahead but lots of people don't mind. If he was ok with it, it would be easy to make and leave in the fridge for a grab and go. 

[Zoo Keeper]

I have 3 teen boys who are very active athletes...they are always hungry.  🙂

Hard boiled eggs don't last long, and neither does popcorn or any yogurt.  Bananas don't stand a chance.

I make a large batches of muffins and/or squares (muffin batter baked in a bar pan, bakes faster and easier to clean).  I take a basic muffin recipe and replace some of the liquid ratio with mashed banana or other mashed fruit, and replace some of the flour with oats and whole wheat if I have it.  I also reduce the sugar and add in applesauce for some of the sweetness.  Sometimes berries, or coconut, or chocolate chips make their way into the muffins as well.  Sometimes all of it at once. 🙂    I add in oat flour to lots of the baking I do to try to add more filler to help keep bellies feeling full longer.

Homemade bread is a good filler too (once again, I mix flours to make a tastier and healthier bread). 

Edited May 13, 2020 by Zoo Keeper

[PeterPan]

37 minutes ago, Pam in CT said:

My son basically survived both the teen years and his dorm days on peanut butter & nutella "sandwiches" on whole wheat sandwich bread.  

(Not proud, but it is what it is.  Whole lot of protein, everything's shelf stable, and no time required. He could do worse.)

Ooo!! Granted I'm hungry, but what a brilliant combination! The Trader Joes nutella is very "healthy" haha. That actually sounds really good to me, slathering them together.

[Amber in SJ]

Speaking of teenage boys and their appetites....

Late last night (10:30 pm) I noticed the back corner of an egg carton was squished and 2 of the eggs inside were broken, so I decided to cook the remaining eggs right away. 

I could do make ahead scrambles for breakfast sandwiches, or hard boil for snacks.

Seeing the light was still on in the boy’s room, I opened the door a bit and asked, “If I hardboil some eggs will you eat them?”

He said yes immediately so I got started.

About 10 minutes later he came out of his room and sat down at the table.

 I asked him what he was doing and he said, “Waiting for the eggs to be done.”

He ate 4 and went to bed.

I guess I wasn’t clear that I was making eggs for the next day.  I didn’t think I needed to be any clearer.

Amber in SJ

[J-rap]

5 hours ago, Pam in CT said:

My son basically survived both the teen years and his dorm days on peanut butter & nutella "sandwiches" on whole wheat sandwich bread.  

(Not proud, but it is what it is.  Whole lot of protein, everything's shelf stable, and no time required. He could do worse.)

You're right, he could do a lot worse!  That actually sounds like a pretty good and healthy meal to me.  (Few things beat a good peanut butter sandwich, as far as I'm concerned!)  It brings back memories of my ds holding a jar of peanut butter in one hand and a bag of baby carrots in his other hand, and dipping the carrots into the jar.  That was an everyday snack for him.

[J-rap]

5 hours ago, Tap said:

When ds was swimming he ate 5 meals a day. One meal, was always a bean burrito. There was an authentic Mexican  restaurant near the pool that made big burritos for a couple dollars. We got those and he ate them every day for about 2 years. LOL  

He at a lot of protein bars too, especially when there wasn't enough time to eat. 

Sandwiches with meat (lunch slices, tuna, chicken etc) and veggies, on 100% whole grain bread or rolls were quick and easy but filling. I don't like them made ahead but lots of people don't mind. If he was ok with it, it would be easy to make and leave in the fridge for a grab and go. 

My ds was a swimmer too, and he was non-stop hungry!  One of his favorite snack-meals was a bean-burrito, either from a local shop or home-made.