What do you feed a 14 yo boy?

I don't want to sound critical- but some of these responses are surprising. Waffles? Sugary Cereal? We don't want to teach our kids the same habits we learned.

I don't want to sound critical- but some of these responses are surprising. Waffles? Sugary Cereal? We don't want to teach our kids the same habits we learned.

Make sure you know the facts before you speak.

Let me just say that getting ENOUGH CALORIES is a challenge for my boys, especially since they are very active. I don't think that mine would get enough calories to sustain on lean meats and veggies alone. Mine are competitive swimmers and one of them swims hard nearly 20 hours a week. So I would rather him eat whole grain cereal or whole grain waffles or bread and get enough calories. He is extremely lean and muscular already. The electrical body fat measuring device won't even register on him, he is so lean. I worry about him getting enough to grow, since he's not got his growth spurt yet. (Size 12 1/2 shoes, but only 5' 6"!)

When he stops training at such a high level, I expect that he will have to retrain himself as far as eating habits. But for now, I will feed him for what he is doing every day to make sure he grows. (The same for the other one, who is also very active, just not old enough yet to train as hard. He eats like a horse, always has, and there is not a bit of fat on him either)

I just want to make sure and control the really sugary snacks like cookies, candy, and cakes.

I don't want to sound critical- but some of these responses are surprising. Waffles? Sugary Cereal? We don't want to teach our kids the same habits we learned.

Make sure you know the facts before you speak.

Let me just say that getting ENOUGH CALORIES is a challenge for my boys, especially since they are very active. I don't think that mine would get enough calories to sustain on lean meats and veggies alone. Mine are competitive swimmers and one of them swims hard nearly 20 hours a week. So I would rather him eat whole grain cereal or whole grain waffles or bread and get enough calories. He is extremely lean and muscular already. The electrical body fat measuring device won't even register on him, he is so lean. I worry about him getting enough to grow, since he's not got his growth spurt yet. (Size 12 1/2 shoes, but only 5' 6"!)

When he stops training at such a high level, I expect that he will have to retrain himself as far as eating habits. But for now, I will feed him for what he is doing every day to make sure he grows. (The same for the other one, who is also very active, just not old enough yet to train as hard. He eats like a horse, always has, and there is not a bit of fat on him either)

I just want to make sure and control the really sugary snacks like cookies, candy, and cakes.

Whatever issues you have with your son, and however active he is- has no bearing on the OP's question, which was what to feed HER son. And when you suggested she feed him cereal and waffles, you didn't specify whole grain options, leaving the reader to assume you were referring to- waffles with syrup, and sugary cereals. If you want people to know the "facts" about your son before they post, then state them. If you want people to know you are referring to whole grain then say so. Getting defensive later doesn't help any one.

I still stand by my opinion that feeding a hungry child sugary cereals, waffles and other empty calories is teaching him bad eating habits. I would follow the advice about hummus, carrots, whole grains, protien, etc. Kids don't need sugar to be healthy.

The same thing you feed a 4 year old boy but lots more of it!

:huh: Sponge Bob Fruit Snacks :noway:

haha, that reminds me of my brother at that age. A cereal bowl was the entire bag with the entire milk container in a large mixing bowl, any recipes my mom would cook for the week were gone overnight. She would prepare large containers of tortellinis or various stew and leave them in the fridge for him. I suggest you do the same

Real food.

If he's going nuts on the snack type foods you're in trouble, I could hoover down an entire box of Ritz crackers and a jar of peanut butter afer school, and still eat dinner when I was 15-18 years old. When I left for the military my mom says the family grocery bill went down by about $500/mo.

That being said when I eat protein, vegtables and plenty of fats I'm never hungry to the point of eating everything in sight. Better for him in the long run too by cutting out processed junk.

My mom tells this story:

When she was growing up, her mom would make 2 chickens and put them on the table. One was for mom, dad and her. The other was for her older brother.

LOL I do this now with my 14 year old son!!

My oldest son is now 17 and his appetite has calmed down a lot, thank god. I don't know if I could feed 2 ravenous teenage boys at the same time. But just when he calmed down, my youngest son started eating like a beast too!

Start out the day with a good breakfast. Complex carbs and protein. Eggs, peanut butter, sausage. Whole grain (with lots of fiber, check labels) toast, good cereal (not too sugar-y,) steel cut or regular oatmeal (not the instant packets) My son loves a peanut butter granola that I make with pb and oatmeal. He then eats it like cereal.


Lunch - I use mission brand carb-balance tortillas (13 grams of fiber for one!) to make his sandwiches. Fill with turkey, chicken, tuna, whatever. Occassionally I'll put a strip of bacon and make it a club!) I also include diced onion, lettuce/spinach and then in a seperate baggy a sliced tomato that has been cut in strips to add to his wrap.

When I feed my ds14 right during the day the evenings aren't as painful to watch! LOL. Holy cow, they can eat a lot!

Snacks:
Apples and Peanut butter
Hummus and carrots (or whole grain pita, or green pepper strips, whatever I've got around the house. Crackers are a last resort! LOL)
PB&J
Cereal
hard boiled eggs or deviled eggs


I normally serve 2 or 3 veggies at night, especially during the summer/fall when the farmer's market (CSA) is going strong. My son love eggplant (oven "fried"), winter squash, summer squash, green beans. Carb-y veggies like baked potatoes, corn, lima beans. Chili that a native would consider sacrilegious! LOTS of beans in my chili! LOL

Cereal is always in a regular bowl. PB&J is always available.

I try to keep whole grain muffins in the freezer ready to grab but it's not always the case! Faves around here are the original All-bran muffins, whole wheat blueberry, whole wheat pb&j muffins, Whole wheat peanut butter muffins, Banana muffins

Supper normally includes some kind of meat protein.

I have always asked my kids not to gorge or take more than a regular serving at one time and they know that they can always get more or eat again later. Most of the time, this works!

We also have a son who is a bottomless pit. In my house I always keep a huge bowl of assorted fruits. If you're hungry between or after meals it's the one thing the kids can have as much as they want of without asking. Our teenager, however only wants crap and will rarely eat the fruit. Oh well. I guess he's really not that hungry. = mean mom

Mine is almost 17 now and has been eating like that since he was 14 too (in 2 yrs he grew 12 inches & gained 50 lbs - not overweight, he tops out at 6'2" & 165 now)! He eats tons of cereal, grilled cheese sandwiches, PB&J, apples, plums (or whatever fruit I happen to have) & loads of water. Those are his "snacks" between meals! I try to give him decent meals that include plenty of carbs, protein & veggies. So far, no complaints except the occasional "mom, I'm hungry"....

'All the food' and then if that isn't enough, cardboard boxes should be safe as long as you don't give him the part that has glue on it. Seriously, when my brother was that age, he would even eat the canned vegetables when he ate everything else. Nothing satisfies it!

Find out why he is not eating during the day. What is he doing with his lunch money (if you give him any)?

Our lunch money here goes into an account that they use the number of when purchasing lunch items. It is also usable for breakfast.

I have a feeling he just doesn't like the garbage they serve at lunch OR the line is too long to wait.

I think I might start doing the "as much fruit or veggies as you like" and "pbj sammiches." Great ideas!