Blast from the past....I wrote this January 2010....primal eating has fixed my hypoglycemia and when kids are hungry after school they'll either eat leftovers, piece of fruit, some veggies or cheese.
On page 185 of The Complete Tightwad Gazette, Amy D. wrote this about her teenage food consumption plan:
"The teenage metabolism speeds at a phenomenal pace. Allowing unlimited consumption of snack foods is like trying to fill a bottomless pit. The more you feed the metabolism the faster it goes. Therefore, limited their options to cheaper, healthier (and less tempting) foods will help in cutting expenses."
I believe that Amy quit writing the Tightwad Gazette before her children were teenagers. I often wonder how the teen age years went for her. My kids are now 13 and 10. They definitely consume more food than I do. However, if there is a dinner that they don't particularly care for then they don't eat as much. If they like the dinner they can eat enormous amounts. I know for a fact if I kept a lot of junk food around my kids would eat constantly.
About a year ago when I really started watching our food budget and decided to that drastic measures needed to be taken, I started making our snacks instead of buying all of the crackers that we were used to eating.
Since that I time I changed what we were eating. For snacks we now eat peanuts, fruits or veggies, cheese with saltines or homemade yogurt. I found that by buying saltine crackers we didn't eat them near as often as we did other kinds of more expensive crackers. Fewer empty calories were going into our bodies and we didn't seem quite as hungry. The same thing happened with tortillas and tortilla chips. They used to be a staple around here. We went through a LOT! More empty calories and we were still starving!
Now when my kids get home from school, I usually have them drink a cup of milk along with whatever snack they are having. That has helped tremendously in helping them feel like they are full. Even though we're not crazy about milk, it's not an option around here.
I haven't found anything else that helps as much as milk does in dealing with my hypo-glycemic issues. The other morning before I went to the food pantry I ate whole grain pancakes and an orange. About an hour into my shift I started getting really shaky and needed to eat. If I don't eat immediately I get light headed, have no energy and get really sick to my stomach. I realized that what I forgot to do was drink milk with my breakfast. I don't drink much, but one cup is enough to keep me going. I won't be making that mistake again any time soon!
It'll be interesting to see how these teenage years pan out. I know when I was dating the cutest boy around (now my husband) we pulled up to the McDonald's drive thru and he said "I'm not too hungry" then promptly ordered 6 cheeseburgers. I nearly fell over!
The Complete Tightwad Gazette is full of great frugal (and parenting) advice. Check it today! You never know, it could just change your life.
Check out other wonderful ideas at We Are THAT Family!
I get nauseous and shaky and dizzy if I don't eat enough or go to long between meals too!
ReplyDeleteMy boys are 16 (almost 17) and 21. The 16 year old always seems to be hungry, lol! He loves carrots and will often snack on those (or apples or grapes). They love chips and crackers too but we have to "monitor" those somewhat, or they'll be gone.
If I am serving meat at dinner I will divide it into portions for each of us. I usually make enough meat for two nights, which is why I portion it out, and we fill up with fruit and vegies and potatoes (or whatever).
However, if I make a casserole or fajitas or tacos, etc, there are no limits but when it's gone, it's gone!
My kids are not super tall so that probably also explains their eating habits, although some of their friends are about the same height and eat more.
However, it seems like the taller you are the more you eat!
Thanks for the wonderful ideas! I'll have to remember this. Their dad is 6'2" so I'm assuming we could end up with tall kids!
ReplyDeleteI have found the homemade snacks fill people up more here too. A box of crackers doesn't do much. I am dreading the years when I have 4 teens in the house.
ReplyDeleteMy 12 yr old is going through that phase now. Popcorn (not microwave) and lots of it!
ReplyDeleteIt is cheap, it satisfies his need for "munchies", you can make a lot and it isn't bad for you (we only put about a Tbsp of butter for a huge bowl).
Homemade muffins are cheap to make and healthy and you will just have to make double batches :)
About your shakiness, make sure you are getting enough protein too, also good for the teenagers as it keeps you feeling full longer.