Feeding teens.....help.

[hollyhill]

Our grocery budget has skyrocketed out of this world. Partly because of the increase in food prices but mostly because I am now feeding teenagers whose apetites are legendary. My son is growing like a weed and both are very competitive athletes (my hubby is too). It is like inviting vacuum cleaners to the table. There is no such thing as leftovers anymore. Thankfully my 10 yr. old still eats like a mouse.

But I have to get my food budget under control. I do not buy junkfood or junky snacks and I emphasize healthy carbs (athletic fuel).... but I can't seem to get my grocery bill under $600- $650 per month. And sometimes it is as high as $850, when I am stocking up. I live in Canada, so I know prices are higher here but still!!!!
Every meal I emphasize potatoes, rice, pasta or bread.

But their snacking is the biggest budget killer. They eat before and after training and during if the sessions are long...... which they are right now because it is summer. My daughter trained for 8 hours (with breaks) today!!!! When they are training this hard they can't eat any large meal but need to snack frequently.
Somethings are standard....fruit juice or gatorade are necessary energy replenishers. But other than that they consume a lot of yogurt, fruit (I buy in season or inexpensive apples, oranges and bananas), honey on bread, nuts, raisins, dates, hard boiled eggs.
I also make lots of healthy banana, or zucchini or pumpkin loaves. I don't buy granola bars or energy bars but I do buy date newtons sometimes....

But I need more ideas.......
I need ideas for healthy inexpensive snack foods, and filling dinner ideas that will serve 8- 10 people (even though we are a family of 5)...
Oh and one more thing my daughter has a severe peanut allergy so that staple is out of the question.
Any suggestions, ideas, advise (esp. from those who have been there!) would be much appreciated.

[sunshine]

Beans -- great protein source and filling. . . make 3 bean salads, bean soups, bean sandwich spreads

popcorn - filling and cheap, can vary flavors so they don't get bored.

quick breads or muffins

make your own granola bars / nutrigrain bars

Zucchini chips - make your own -- slice zucchini thin, and dehydrate. . .season as you would potato chips (salt, spices, etc.)

Any dried fruits and veggies -- do your own so it's less expensive.


I remember those days all too well. . . all 3 of my kids were competitive athletes (my oldest was the #1 male tumbler in the USTA)

[sunshine]

Pinto Bean Bread


BLEND IN LARGE BOWL

2 cup milk-lukewarm
2 package dry yeast

ADD

2 cup cooked, mashed, unseasoned pinto beans
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp shortening

STIR IN

5 cup flour <5-6c>

Pinto Bean Bread Directions

Add enough flour to handle dough easily. Turn onto floured board and
knead until smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl, turning once.
Cover and let rise in warm place until double in size, about 1 hour.
Punch down, cover, and let rise again until almost double. Divide
dough into tow portions and shape into loaves. Place in greased pans;
cover, let rise until almost double, about 45 mins. Bake 350 for 50
mins.

Serves: 2

[sunshine]

Cherokee Bean Bread recipe

2 cups cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
2 beaten eggs
2 cups seasoned cooked pinto beans
1 cup liquid from beans

In a large bowl, mix cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Stir in the milk, eggs, beans and bean liquid. Pour into a greased 9-inch square pan. Bake at 450 degrees F for 20 minutes or until done and lightly browned.

[sunshine]

3 Bean Salad

Ingredients:
<<<<>>>>

1 can cut green beans
1 can cut waxed beans
1 can red kidney beans
1 carrot-thinly sliced
1 small onion-chopped
1 bell pepper-sliced

Dressing:

1/3 cup salad oil
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp.celery seed

Put dressing ingredients in a large salad bowl and whisk until blended.

Empty cans of beans into a colander and rinse under cold water.

Chop remaining vegetables and add to dressing. Add beans and gently stir.

Refrigerate overnight or for at least 6 hours before serving, stirring occasionally.

Makes about 8 servings.

[sunshine]

oatmeal is great for breakfast -- filling and stays with you for a long while. . . we serve ours with honey.

[sunshine]

Make whole wheat pancakes, and let them spread them with various sandwich spreads.

[jamie79]

Also you must know that this is a stage and it too will end just not for a long time. My two boys eat non stop just about.

[Russ]

Beans -- great protein source and filling. . . make 3 bean salads, bean soups, bean sandwich spreads

My first thought! I grew up in a family of 3 boys and 3 girls and we could EAT! A pot of beans almost weekly was typical fare in our house. Beans, cornbread, fried potatoes.

Another dish was tuna casserole. A big 13X9 dish of casserole went a long way.

[TheRootedNomad]

Oatmeal is filling and reasonablt priced still. Take it a step further and use it in bread, and homade snack bars.

Brown rice is better for athletes than the white stuff and the price of it doesn't seem to be jumping as fast.

If you don't have a garden you may be able to find a neighbor that does and most gardeners have plenty of overflow in one area or another and be willing to trade for a service. (If I could get a set of teenagers to clean out my garage they could have plenty of squash and tomatoes for the season.)

Lentils are an especially good for you bean that can be used in multiple recipes.

[Moor]

the pancake thing is a good idea.

what i do is make a HUGE batch. i mean 50 - 60 at a time. then what we don't eat at that moment, get frozen. that way the kids can go and grab one or two as a snack.

keep flour tortilla's on hand. they make great snacks. i know that you said that you can't have peanut butter, so do what i do.
take a tortilla, spread some apple butter, sprinkle some cinnamon over that, and roll them up. the kids love to grab those for a snack.

[dancar3]

I'm not the OP but since I have teens as well, your ideas have help tremendously Sunshine, thanks! Personally, I love the zucchini chip idea since I try to refrain from carbs. I don't have a food dehydrater, but I'm sure I can borrow one. When do you add the seasonings, after it dries?

[sunshine]

I add the seasonings to the zucchini chips BEFORE I dry them, it's the only way I can get them to stick

[cheles2kids]

I have two teens, so I'm feeling your pain here as well.
It's crazy how much they can put away.

Let's see:
hummus with pitas & fresh veggies
red beans & rice (you can cook this with a spicy type sausage or leave it out altogether)
taco soup, served with tortilla chips, shredded cheese & sour cream
breakfast for dinner (you can also make breakfast burritos ahead of time and store in the freezer, that way they'll have a quick breakfast for later on in the week)
Veggie lasagna
Stir frys with brown rice (this will stay with them much longer)


Snacks:
Homemade granola bars
Popcorn
Cheese & crackers
Bagels with cr. cheese
Homemade trail mix
Dry cereal
I'm sure I have a ton of others, but my mind is going blank right now.

Also I would suggest investing in a large crockpot or two.
My crockpot has been my number one appliance that I use most often, you can fill it with a number of things, and once you come home, you have something hot and filling waiting on you.

I would also suggest cooking & freezing in bulk.
I would take one afternoon and cook a few meals to keep on hand at all times.
Or you could even make double your recipe and have to keep in the fridge for the next day.

I'm sure that your time is also limited, but I would try to make a concerted effort to just cook more to have for later. (If you have more than one crockpot, you can actually make two meals this way, your family can eat from one and save the other one for the next day, or freeze).

I'm wondering if you buy items in bulk from like a warehouse type store? I'm asking because we have been putting off buying a new membership since we moved, but have decided that it is worth the money, now that I'm feeding 4 adults.
So, I would suggest considering this as another option. I just don't think you can go wrong with alot of bulk purchases, when you have alot of people to feed.

Oh & another thing. I know this is a bit unorthodoxed, but, if your teens are old enough to work, let them get a part-time job at a local restaurant that offers their employees free meals.
Even if they only get to eat dinner there 2 or 3 times a week, that's that much less that you have to budget for, plus they are making some money as well.

Good luck!

[heartofmine]

My 2 are past the teen stage but still big eaters. Like you I keep fruit and vege snacks and baked breads and other things. I also kept cans of chili beans in the cabinet for them to fix a quick snack for themselves. Bean cakes, potato cakes, tuna cakes, salmon cakes are all great to have fixed for a snack in the fridge. I made homemade vegetable soup and would keep it for them. A pot usually lasted a couple of days.