Help feeding teenagers

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  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    Unfortunately due to their ages it has been learned behaviour for 15 and 17 years. It is also difficult to 'educate' someone else's children without stepping on parental toes.

    Thanks for the food suggestions so far, very useful!

    at that age they can cook for themselves.

    My son eats what is prepared or fixes something himself and has since he was about 15...but he's mine.

    Now mind you he balked at whole wheat bread so I bought the white whole wheat...now it's only whole wheat..

    He and my husband hated ww pasta...I bought it anyway...again eat it or fix something else they got used to the texture.

    I wont get into the whole educating other people's children...it can be hard if you don't have support...

    ETA: food options are plentiful for "Picky eaters"

    Try Chicken Fajita's...lots of protien, veggies, cheese...
    instead of whole wheat pasta you have to boil try the fresh..explain the color of it is due to it being fresh because with that it's usually a texture thing anyway
    Buy the white whole wheat bread
    Taco's are great and heathly esp if you substitue ground chicken or turkey (you can make a salad instead of taco shells)
    Try soups full of pasta and meat and veggies
    My husband and son love HB soup ( know sounds odd) but barley, carrots, cooked hb, with tomatoe soup and beef broth.
    Pizza is great...cook the meat before you put it on and drain the fat.
    Spice up the chicken differently...we love greek, lemon pepper etc.
    another favorite is chili burger supper (I use whole wheat pasta cause they can't tell), just cook hb and pasta mix together add in chuncky sirloin burger soup, tomatoe soup, cheese and bake for 20mins)

    My husband isn't a seafood fan but when I want it I eat it (mind you I usually do that when he works nights)

    But really there are options...I have my son to the point where he doesn't ask usually...teehee but I don't serve him tomatoes ever...he hates them, mushrooms is another one unless they are raw.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    Off the original topic; you should probably eat more than 1200 calories a day while doing Insanity. Even when not doing Insanity.

    Yah and this too...esp doing insanity...not sure how you do it on so little food.
  • MorgueBabe
    MorgueBabe Posts: 1,188 Member
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    So many posts here are just dishing you up a parenting lesson you didn't ask for!
    Technically she did ask for advice.
  • KentWhiteRabbit
    KentWhiteRabbit Posts: 92 Member
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    So many posts here are just dishing you up a parenting lesson you didn't ask for!
    Technically she did ask for advice.

    Yes she did...on meal planning not on parenting. If I asked you for advice on buying a new dress would you tell me my hair style was all wrong?!
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    So many posts here are just dishing you up a parenting lesson you didn't ask for!
    Technically she did ask for advice.

    Yes she did...on meal planning not on parenting. If I asked you for advice on buying a new dress would you tell me my hair style was all wrong?!

    how tall is that horse in your profile picture? it seems high.
  • MorgueBabe
    MorgueBabe Posts: 1,188 Member
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    So many posts here are just dishing you up a parenting lesson you didn't ask for!
    Technically she did ask for advice.

    Yes she did...on meal planning not on parenting. If I asked you for advice on buying a new dress would you tell me my hair style was all wrong?!
    If it didn't look right with the style of the dress then yes.
  • elsyoommen
    elsyoommen Posts: 155 Member
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    Agreed the 4 year old shouldn't cook for him/her self. The 20 year old should be more than capable.

    The 20 year old does cook for herself and for all of us from time to time. I did not say they did not learn to cook, quite the opposite - I said that teaching them to cook was teaching a life skill.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,741 Member
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    So many posts here are just dishing you up a parenting lesson you didn't ask for!
    Technically she did ask for advice.

    Yes she did...on meal planning not on parenting. If I asked you for advice on buying a new dress would you tell me my hair style was all wrong?!
    If it didn't look right with the style of the dress then yes.

    Totally agree...
  • wolfsbayne
    wolfsbayne Posts: 3,116 Member
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    If they don't like it they can make a pb and j.

    This....my kids know that I'm not fixing anything different. The 6 year old eats what's on his plate because he knows if he doesn't, there'll be no dessert. The 12 year old will eat it with a little fuss. My 17 year old (when he's home and not at work) will generally eat what I cook, or buy things with his own money.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    I live with my boyfriend and his teenagers. My boyfriend wants to eat healthily and I am a week into 1,200 a day and Insanity.

    My trouble comes when preparing meals for the kids. They don't like brown pasta or brown rice, prawns and fish in general are a no no for them. So I usually end up preparing two meals, eg a prawn and salmon brown pasta meal and then a chicken and white pasta one.

    Does anyone have any suggestions for low calorie meals which are not loaded with carbs for fussy eaters??

    You are only eating 1200 calories a day and doing Insanity? I couldn't get past that part at first. Talk about insane...


    Brown rice is gross. Fix them white rice. Don't force them to eat things they don't like. Fix them pizza. Teenagers love pizza. I have two of them myself, and we eat pizza and lots of pasta dishes. It sounds like you and your husband are clueless about how to eat healthy. Unlearn the myths that the media stuck in your head. All food is potentially healthy or unhealthy.

    If I lived with you, I would be so mad.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    I live with my boyfriend and his teenagers. My boyfriend wants to eat healthily and I am a week into 1,200 a day and Insanity.

    What???? If you are doing insanity the diet guides lowest intake is 1600, please eat more. doing a program like insanity will require fuel.
  • conniemaxwell5
    conniemaxwell5 Posts: 943 Member
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    If you insist on cooking what they like, then how about cooking 2 days worth of food each day, but alternating between your healthy food and their food? For example, on Monday prepare white pasta with whatever they like and they eat that Monday and Tuesday (you'll be eating what you prepared on Sunday). On Tuesday prepare your brown rice and shrimp or whatever you like and you eat that on Tuesday and Wednesday. That way you're only cooking one meal at a time, just larger portions.

    I would also have them participate by microwaving the leftovers or helping to prepare the food each night because getting them involved in the kitchen helps to overcome picky eating habits.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    Try Chicken Fajita's...lots of protien, veggies, cheese...
    instead of whole wheat pasta you have to boil try the fresh..explain the color of it is due to it being fresh because with that it's usually a texture thing anyway
    Buy the white whole wheat bread
    Taco's are great and heathly esp if you substitue ground chicken or turkey (you can make a salad instead of taco shells)
    Try soups full of pasta and meat and veggies
    My husband and son love HB soup ( know sounds odd) but barley, carrots, cooked hb, with tomatoe soup and beef broth.
    Pizza is great...cook the meat before you put it on and drain the fat.
    Spice up the chicken differently...we love greek, lemon pepper etc.
    another favorite is chili burger supper (I use whole wheat pasta cause they can't tell), just cook hb and pasta mix together add in chuncky sirloin burger soup, tomatoe soup, cheese and bake for 20mins)

    ^^ This is a great list for food that the whole family will enjoy. One meal for all isn't that hard if you change your mindset about food being inherently unhealthy.
  • dward59
    dward59 Posts: 731 Member
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    If they don't like it they can make a pb and j.

    This was where we had to go with our kids when DW and I started eating better. It worked once we got past the histronics.
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
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    Why is this an issue? They are children. They eat what's put before them or they don't eat, or get jobs and buy their own food.
    this
    I ate what was put in front of me or I didn't eat.

    This is our rule. Eat what I make or make a pb&j. Obviously, my 6 year old isn't going to eat our spicy stuff like buffalo chicken or chili, so we make an exception then but it's usually a pb&j , apple and go-gurt.
  • elsyoommen
    elsyoommen Posts: 155 Member
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    I really don't understand the blunt and almost aggresive answers some people are giving. Ok, so in your opinions children should eat what is put before them, but that doesn't always work especially when implemented at a late stage. Being a step parent is tough at the best of times and having a confrontational "eat it or go without attitude" could have major repercussions on family life!

    Also, for some children it's more than 'being picky' my son has sensory issues and it's taken me 16 years to get him to eat something close to a normal diet...even now he won't eat anything with runny sauce/gravy or any vegetable except peas/mange tout and similar and they have to be raw! Needless to say I cooked seperate meals for him for years. A health visitor once told me to put food in front of him and not allow anything else to eat until he'd eaten it, as children won't starve themselves. I followed her advice and after 48 hours gave in as he was very distressed and so was I! He was 3 at the time and the meal was sausages and mash.

    Anyway, to the OP, my advice is similar to what's been said by a few people already.
    1. Teach them to cook and provide them with basic ingredients to make simple meals - my son can now cook a few basic meals for himself and it helped him realise how hard I'd been working to keep him fed all these years.

    2. Keep talking to them and showing them what you are cooking for yourselves, letting them try what you've made if they want to. My younger son has always tried what we're eating and at 14 he's a lover of all thing fishy.

    3. Batch cook something they like (say lasange or similar) that you can freeze and microwave when needed. Maybe make this a cooking lesson for them too?

    4. Sometimes you just have to cook two things, even if we're all having the same meal I have to cook gluten free pasta for my husband and normal white pasta for the rest of us, I'd prefer brown but I'm not cooking 3 lots! You just have to compromise sometimes.

    thanks - it's easy to see which posters actually are bringing up children. Most of those with the "take it leave it" attitude seem to be referencing their own perfect childhoods.
  • jenievans1
    jenievans1 Posts: 6 Member
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    I'm all for letting them cook for themselves--just don't antagonize them by turning it into a fight. Ask them what they like, buy what they need, and get their dad to help and both of you can teach them. I agree it's not your job to parent them, but you do need to establish a friendly relationship with them--one of mutual respect and cooperation. Whenever you can, help prepare the foods you do have in common or make a little extra of yours and offer them a taste. Teenagers do have a grueling day at school (yes, we have the same at work), but they are accustomed to being cared for and cooked for and they get anxious about change. If they see your efforts as a way of guiding them to adulthood and personal responsibility (and freedom), they may respond more positively. (Remind them that when they graduate high school and go on to college/career, they will want to know how to shop and cook for themselves). My girls started cooking for themselves in high school and now in college they are fully capable of doing their own meal planning, shopping, and cooking. If they see you making progress and having more energy, they may become more interested in healthy eating also.
  • DamePiglet
    DamePiglet Posts: 3,730 Member
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    I have a picky husband, I call him the complainer. Don't tell them they are eating healthy just try to disguise it. Brown pasta put sauce on it. the rice, take your potion out and put a little butter and grated parm cheese on it, you'd be surprised how just that improves the flavor. I try to eat low carb but I make a starch every night for them, I just don't eat it. Mashed potatoes, add cauliflower to it they will never know! Grind up loads of veggies in a food processer and mix them in, they will never know! Tell them to try what ever you make, if they don't like don't eat it. I do this my whole family eats better and actually like the healthy stuff! good luck!

    Oh my...
    Finicky teenagers are going to detect cauliflower in mashed potatoes.

    My husband would, and he'd be unhappy at my misrepresentation. And that's what it would be.

    No they won't. I pulled this over on my nephews just a few weeks ago, and they didn't know. They even went back for seconds. After I told them they were astonished.

    Still misrepresenting.

    "Pulling it over"
    How nice. Lets not be honest, let's trick them.

    Then let's wonder why they don't trust us.
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
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    I have a picky husband, I call him the complainer. Don't tell them they are eating healthy just try to disguise it. Brown pasta put sauce on it. the rice, take your potion out and put a little butter and grated parm cheese on it, you'd be surprised how just that improves the flavor. I try to eat low carb but I make a starch every night for them, I just don't eat it. Mashed potatoes, add cauliflower to it they will never know! Grind up loads of veggies in a food processer and mix them in, they will never know! Tell them to try what ever you make, if they don't like don't eat it. I do this my whole family eats better and actually like the healthy stuff! good luck!

    Oh my...
    Finicky teenagers are going to detect cauliflower in mashed potatoes.

    My husband would, and he'd be unhappy at my misrepresentation. And that's what it would be.

    No they won't. I pulled this over on my nephews just a few weeks ago, and they didn't know. They even went back for seconds. After I told them they were astonished.

    Still misrepresenting.

    "Pulling it over"
    How nice. Lets not be honest, let's trick them.

    Then let's wonder why they don't trust us.

    This. My kids knew what they were getting, and why. Just because they didn't like it, didn't mean they didn't have to eat it, if it was good for them. How will they learn to eat healthy if they are tricked into eating healthy foods? Who is going to sneak it into their food when they move out on their own?
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
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    ETA: If it's in the house my son is allowed to eat it pretty much. If I don't want him to eat something I don't buy it. He can either eat what I provide, starve or go buy what he wants himself. That's what I did when I was 17. I didn't like my mothers cooking much, so I often spent my hard earned cash on my own food.

    I did the same thing at times. I see so many posts on MFP from teens and college aged individuals who complain that they don't like the groceries their parents buy, or they refuse to purchase Quest bars, etc. I am always taken aback. When I was that age, before actually moving out on my own, I considered it like a "bonus" that I was able to eat with my parents most of the time since I already knew food was expensive.

    haha. As parents we are required to feed the children. We are not required to feed them what they want. I tell my son this all the time. I say I am only required by law to feed you. I buy the food I buy because I love you and I want you to be healthy, I occasionally buy the unhealthy things you like because I love you and I want you to be happy. I am required to do neither. As long as you eat everyday I fulfill my legal duty. If you do not like what i offer you, feel free to go purchase your own food. I take the same approach with clothes and living arrangements (he hates his room because it's smaller then his last 2 rooms, not because he is lacking anything ). It stops the argument and gets him thinking. I've actually taken him to the store, let him pick out all the stuff he wanted and then we totaled it all up and he was completely shocked at how much eating what he wanted to would cost. So now he eats what I make without an argument and if he really really wants Doritos (which I never buy) he doesn't even ask me anymore, he just goes and gets them himself.

    that might not work if they aren't your kids, but i'd tell my boyfriend this is how i operate. I will no treat your kids differently. You want them to get a special meal, you can cook it.

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