How much for a family of teens?

[Amber]

My kids eat adult sized portions. For tacos/burritos I use 2lbs of ground beef and 2 and of black beans or refried beans. This might leave 3 servings leftover.

Spaghetti is two boxes of noodles, two jars of sauce and a pound of ground beef.

For casseroles with pasta I use a 16 oz box of pasta (whole wheat to give it more bulk) and adjust everything else as needed for the recipe.

A whole roasted chicken won't feed our family. But I get the $5 rotisserie chickens from Costco, shred the meat off it and divide it into 2 cup portions to use in casseroles. That let's me make about 3 meals from one chicken.

I do big pots of veggies at each meal and add rice/potatoes/bread when needed to stretch a meal out. We rarely have more than a one or two leftover servings.

And some nights an hour or so after dinner one of the boys might make themselves a PB&J sandwich.

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[Katigre]

Standard rule of thumb is 1/4lb of meat per person, assuming that is 25% of their food for the meal and the other 3/4 are vegetables, starches, sauces, etc...

I'd probably raise it to 1/3 lb per person given that they're ten boys.

So assume 2.5 lbs of meat for one meal.

[Mother of Sons]

It sounds like there are no dietary restrictions going o

There are some but I didn't figure they mattered much. Dh is paleo, I try to be but usually am not. The kids don't tolerate dairy but they do eat cheese occasionally. One son eats vegetables but struggles a lot with the texture (sensory stuff) so he can't handle as much as I'd like to serve.

Thanks for the replies, It's very helpful!

[tempus vernum]

I easily get "diet envy" when I hear of people stretching meals . But as my dh reminds me our health is priceless.

[SalH]

We are dairy free too. I think adding more vegetables to make meals go further is actually very healthy, and better for us than not doing so. In our culture we over eat. Portion sizes are too big. Yes our children are growing but the brain takes a while to register the fullness and I think that is also a key to what we eat as a family and what we have left.

Amber - you can do something new for yr family with 3 servings of taco meat. You could mix more beans in to it and have it with rice the next day, add more tomato etc to make it go further. Or you could serve it as 1 topping idea for jacket potatoes, and put some other toppings out on the table : chopped ham, pineapple, grated carrot, diced cucumber, tuna mayo, home made hummus... And have little spoonfuls of the different things on lovely baked potatoes for a family meal. If our leftovers are not enough for a family meal we have a 'smorgasbord' of jacket potatoes for the next main meal.


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[tempus vernum]

Originally Posted by SalH

We are dairy free too. I think adding more vegetables to make meals go further is actually very healthy, and better for us than not doing so. In our culture we over eat. Portion sizes are too big. Yes our children are growing but the brain takes a while to register the fullness and I think that is also a key to what we eat as a family and what we have left.

Amber - you can do something new for yr family with 3 servings of taco meat. You could mix more beans in to it and have it with rice the next day, add more tomato etc to make it go further. Or you could serve it as 1 topping idea for jacket potatoes, and put some other toppings out on the table : chopped ham, pineapple, grated carrot, diced cucumber, tuna mayo, home made hummus... And have little spoonfuls of the different things on lovely baked potatoes for a family meal. If our leftovers are not enough for a family meal we have a 'smorgasbord' of jacket potatoes for the next main meal.


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Oh yes!! I meant I get jealous of legumes. Cuz we have to minimize . if we just add grains and veggies my kids don't get enough protein.

[SalH]

Sorry can you explain what you mean?! Do you mean you can't use legumes?


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[Mother of Sons]

Yes our children are growing but the brain takes a while to register the fullness and I think that is also a key to what we eat as a family and what we have left.

I don't disagree with you but it truly is a different story with teens. Their food needs are just drastically different. Teens often eat a lot but that doesn't mean they are overeating. We don't count calories but According to my googling, an active teen boy needs around 3000 calories per day. That's a lot of cauliflower. (100 cups of it actually).

[SalH]

My oldest boy is only 13 and he does need more than the others and yes when all the boys are in their teen years we will be in for a shock I am sure. Must train myself to eat less and put it on their plates. We are already starting to do that. Budget is definitely an issue for us with food. And no dairy means no easy answers!!!!


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[tempus vernum]

Originally Posted by SalH

Sorry can you explain what you mean?! Do you mean you can't use legumes?


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We cannot tolerate too many legumes due to digestive issues... Or certain types. I limit our consumption to twice a week max and certain legumes (kidney, northern and another type I cannot recall) need to be avoided almost entirely or limited to special occasions. Even w soaking legumes are tremendously difficult to digest and we have stomach issues and other health issues.

It's taken us 5 yrs to even be able to eat the amount we eat now. It used to be we couldn't tolerate legumes at all.

[mom23sons]

I have 3 teen boys and they need the protein---so I just buy meat in bulk and on sale...all the time. Thank goodness for my freezer! I will put 2# of meat maybe more per casserole.....I package it from being in bulk and don't know how much.....but yes I do cringe at my grocery bill....but then having boys who are 6' 4, 6' and a still growing teen that work and play hard it is a need not a want.
I rarely buy steak or other top end meats.....it is hamburg, chicken tenders, stew meat, chicken breast......and a lot of it!

[HuggaBuggaMommy]

I have one teen. He eats so much. He was spending time with xh, but he no longer sees his father and my food bill quite literally almost doubled now that he is here full time. Often he has friends over, too (I'd much rather them here at my house, so that's not a problem ).

Ds1 has a legume allergy, so I can't use lentils (or beans, chick peas, etc) to stretch meat meals if he is going to eat them.

[mommychem]

I'm just . DH is 6'3" and we have two sons who may be as tall or taller.
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[Beth1231]

Originally Posted by mommychem

I'm just . DH is 6'3" and we have two sons who may be as tall or taller.
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Exactly. I'm also in wonder,trying to wrap my head around a time when they will actually EAT and not negotiate how many bites to take.

[gerberadaisy]

Not currently in this situation but as a future teen boy mom, I was following along - Right now, if I want to stretch ground meat, I will use quinoa. I understand it's a complete protein so that would cover the protein issue. If grains aren't an issue, might that be an option?