Really need some ideas

[crafty73]

Hi everyone!

I've got a bit of a issue. Ok my dbf and ds both work in construction. They put in long days and it's all labour work. By the time supper rolls around, its like feeding a pack of wolves lol Or bears

A simple salad, a couple shishkabobs and a baked potato, does not fill them up - apparently their tummy's are infact bottomless pits. They polished off a huge bowl of ceasar salad, a whole loaf of garlic bread, 2 baked potatoes each and i think 7 shishkabobs EACH!

I know there's the old standby of chili which is pretty filling. But what other meals can i make these guys that will fill them up - they work hard as heck and there's no such thing as NOT having 2nd/3rd helpings with them.

They are definate meat eaters and to them, a meal without meat is no meal at all. I've tried the spaghetti and meatballs/meat sauce, but dbf isn't a big pasta lover, ds is though.

Any ideas? i'm going through food like crazy It wouldn't be so bad if we had double/triple/or coupon stacking here in canada but no such luck. I can't seem to keep up, they ate less in the winter

[Libby]

I'd up the salad or veggie options and healthy carbs if possible. Make pasta salad and rice salad as sides. For the non pasta lover - is it tomato sauce/meatsauce he doesn't like? Can you do an olive oil, herb & parm cheese hot pasta? A cream sauce?

Stir fry's are a great way to get them to fill up on veggies unknowingly AND there's plenty of meat in there. You could prob get a great huge meal out of one larger chicken breast if sliced thin enough.

This will sound silly but make them drink a few large glasses of water 10 mins before they eat so their stomach's aren't raging as they sit down to eat. Start with a clear broth soup to prime their stomach?

Also, ever notice the older construction workers that don't seem to be 'fit'. They've overeaten or overcompensated for their hunger. After a sufficient feeding (thats a good name for it huh?) make them wait 10 mins before having a 3rd or 4th helping - it does take time for their brain to receive the signals from their stomach that its full or slowly getting there. If they just constantly eat, they go from starving to too stuffed.

[Neeley]

DS is a growing 15 year old athlete (5'9", 275lbs) who can put food away. He works out 4.5 to 5 hours a day and protein is a staple. He is also one who thinks a meal without meat is not a meal and pasta is a big fat failure here. None of us really like it all. A few things I have found that work with him and his daddy are:

*Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and English peas
*Baked chicken leg quarters with rice, salad and rolls
*Chicken and rice casserole (cooked, chopped chicken, or canned chicken; cooked rice; cream of chicken soup - mix all, top with 1 sleeve of crushed Ritz style crackers and bake for about 10 minutes. Add cheese, broccoli, mushrooms or any other item if you like).
*Homemade Pizzas
*Egg bake (whisk 12-18 eggs, pour in a 9x12 greased baking dish, add cooked sausage, bacon (chopped) or ham and cheese. Cook @ 375* until egg cooked through, approx 20-30 minutes depending on your stove. Serve with biscuits and grits (or hash browns)
*I also keep whole, fully cooked hams on hand. Cut off several pieces and serve with whatever is in the pantry.
*Enchiladas - I use 20 flour tortillas, 1lb turkey sausage (it's least expensive here), 1 can refried beans and canned enchilada sauce. Easy, easy. I serve it with tamales sometimes.
*Meatball Sub sandwiches - meatballs, traditional spaghetti sauce, cheese, hoagie rolls, chips
*Clam chowder, potato or french dip soup in a bread bowl - I recently found bread bowls for $1.19 each in grocer's deli.

[crafty73]

I'd up the salad or veggie options and healthy carbs if possible. Make pasta salad and rice salad as sides. For the non pasta lover - is it tomato sauce/meatsauce he doesn't like? Can you do an olive oil, herb & parm cheese hot pasta? A cream sauce? Mike dislikes pasta and rice big time and he's not fussy about veggies - will not eat beans/corn I love pasta and rice but he will only eat a little of it, but my son loves pasta and rice lol and yes, there has to be meatballs/meat sauce if i serve it but mike won't take much pasta - mostly the sauce/meatballs and when i make vegetable side dishes he tends to pass on eating it...something about how his parents forced him to eat veggies as a kid and now he hates them all sort of them. I think he needs to open up his taste buds to new possibilities, veggies are our friends lol I made a huge amount of pasta salad with chopped ham etc - mike didn't even touch it - which really annoyed me bigtime.

Stir fry's are a great way to get them to fill up on veggies unknowingly AND there's plenty of meat in there. You could prob get a great huge meal out of one larger chicken breast if sliced thin enough. Excellent idea, thanks so much!

This will sound silly but make them drink a few large glasses of water 10 mins before they eat so their stomach's aren't raging as they sit down to eat. Start with a clear broth soup to prime their stomach?Will definately try this with them! Mike picked up soda pop on the way home from work yesterday so they ended up drinking orange crush and cream soda b4 supper - not good at all. I told him i didn't want a bunch of pop in the house. It's straight sugar with no nutrients. When my sons were younger - i only bought as a treat on their birthdays or some occassion like that but mike's family are junk food lovers. chips and pop, candies, chocolate bars etc. It's no wonder his dad is diabetic. I've told him he needs to be careful b/c he could end up becoming diabetic like his dad but that's a moot cause with him.

Also, ever notice the older construction workers that don't seem to be 'fit'. They've overeaten or overcompensated for their hunger. After a sufficient feeding (thats a good name for it huh?) make them wait 10 mins before having a 3rd or 4th helping - it does take time for their brain to receive the signals from their stomach that its full or slowly getting there. If they just constantly eat, they go from starving to too stuffed.

True enough, I know in the off season - winter - they did not eat as much. To be fair, mike lost 20 pounds since May -when they got back into roofing/constuction. He's pretty lean and doesn't seem to be having any issue with fat at the moment - but i know what u mean about older men with big appetites - they get that belly and are like an egg with 2 legs lol My son, he's 6'3 1'2" tall and is not overweight, he's 18 and slim. I honestly don't know where they put it all...If I ate like that, I'd be having to shop for bigger clothes lol

When they werent' working this hard in winter, they did not eat as much. I just don't know if its only because of the intense labour work or a combination of being dehydrated from being out in teh sun all day and being hungry?

[crafty73]

DS is a growing 15 year old athlete (5'9", 275lbs) who can put food away. He works out 4.5 to 5 hours a day and protein is a staple. He is also one who thinks a meal without meat is not a meal and pasta is a big fat failure here. None of us really like it all. A few things I have found that work with him and his daddy are:

*Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and English peas
*Baked chicken leg quarters with rice, salad and rolls
*Chicken and rice casserole (cooked, chopped chicken, or canned chicken; cooked rice; cream of chicken soup - mix all, top with 1 sleeve of crushed Ritz style crackers and bake for about 10 minutes. Add cheese, broccoli, mushrooms or any other item if you like).
*Homemade Pizzas
*Egg bake (whisk 12-18 eggs, pour in a 9x12 greased baking dish, add cooked sausage, bacon (chopped) or ham and cheese. Cook @ 375* until egg cooked through, approx 20-30 minutes depending on your stove. Serve with biscuits and grits (or hash browns)What are grits? Not sure we have that up here in Canada?
*I also keep whole, fully cooked hams on hand. Cut off several pieces and serve with whatever is in the pantry.
*Enchiladas - I use 20 flour tortillas, 1lb turkey sausage (it's least expensive here), 1 can refried beans and canned enchilada sauce. Easy, easy. I serve it with tamales sometimes.
*Meatball Sub sandwiches - meatballs, traditional spaghetti sauce, cheese, hoagie rolls, chips
*Clam chowder, potato or french dip soup in a bread bowl - I recently found bread bowls for $1.19 each in grocer's deli.

Thanks Neeley for all the ideas, will definately try them

[Libby]

LMAO @ egg with 2 legs!! Thats exactly what I meant but didn't know how to describe it! My neighbour is like that, older Italiano and well he's leaning out right now big time but come winter - the egg shape returns just as quick.

Can you try other 'grains' (quinoa, couscous etc) and tell them its not a pasta nor rice?

As for the junk can you maybe have a talk with dbf about it? Explain that though they need lots of calories right now, that you don't really want your son to head down that path?

BTW the water trick or clear broth soup trick I find does work but it has to be just that, not empty calories ie pop/juice etc. But if they're growing boys or men (future eggs w/legs - jk) they need volume.

[crafty73]

LMFAO @ "future eggs with legs" haha The visual was hilarious lol I will talk with mike about it, my boys and i love fruit and veggies, rice and pasta and beans...mike is the opposite. But I love the water/broth idea! Maybe, if i made homemade soup as an appetizer and served a nice refresshing glass of iced water with lemon/lime/orange wedges then they wouldn't be shoveling food into their mouths at such an atomic rate lol Mike's one good food habit is he loves drinking a ton of milk and can guzzle milk like crazy! My son is lactose intolerant - if he drinks milk or eats ice cream there better be a bathroom nearby but he can eat cheese and he's ok? Bizarre lol

My deceased mother in law or former mil, was an awesome lady! She raised 10 kids and on a limited budget. Every breakfast was either bacon and eggs, cold cereal or porridge/cream of wheat. Every lunch and supper (and to me, this became extremely boring after a while) was a giant pot of homemae soup, then potatoes, meat, veggies and bread. Everyone had to have a bowl of soup b4 the main course. And if they were hungry after the main course, they could have more soup afterwards lol I think I might have to try that idea

[Contrary Housewife]

Two things: feed them more fiber, it is filling, and give them a healthy appetizer about 20 mins before dinner.

It takes the body about 20 minutes to realize you've eaten and start sending the "I'm full" message. Until that happens they just keep shoveling food down. So start with a healthy, fiber filled snack before supper. Whole grain crackers and peanut butter, carrot sticks and hummus, a handful of almonds or peanuts (get peanuts in the shell, they get eaten slower). Whole grain chips and salsa.

Add more fiber to the main meal. I know you say they don't like beans and pasta, but that is what is going to fill them up. Try whole grain pastas. They are very hearty. Baked beans, lentils, split peas, and green peas are very high in fiber.

If that doesn't work it may be time for a "Come to Jesus" meeting. You put a healthful nutritious *variety* of food on the table and them not eating it is disrespectful of your role as mother and cook. You don't have to 'force' them to eat their vegetables but when they are done with the two shish-kabobs that each person gets and they are still hungry and they don't want what is on the table in front of them then it is their problem.

[Contrary Housewife]

I also wanted to add that maybe you can make them some hearty whole wheat bran/oatmeal muffins to take during the day as a snack. If they chomped on a couple of those in the afternoon between lunch and dinner they might not come home so ravenous.

[cheriami]

Maybe this doesn't fit your lifestyle but the men in our family eat dessert. Usually fruit based like pies and crisps. So it counts as a serving of fruit. Right

[Libby]

Every lunch and supper (and to me, this became extremely boring after a while) was a giant pot of homemae soup, then potatoes, meat, veggies and bread. Everyone had to have a bowl of soup b4 the main course. And if they were hungry after the main course, they could have more soup afterwards lol I think I might have to try that idea

This is how most Asian families eat, I know we did. We weren't deprived of food nor limited and by no means considered poor or unfortunate however my mom grew up this way - frugal/poor/cheap - and this is exactly how her family did it. The food needs to feed at least one serving for everyone. In order for one to feel satiated, the hot soup/broth primes your stomach beforehand and fills the gaps after - making you bloated but full. We never did desserts though we were allowed fruit.

DF tells me this often: we eat to live, not live to eat. (though sometimes, I'm for the latter )

I hope things work out for you

[oheoh's momma]

Everyone here has gave you some really good advice U ladies are so smart. here is my 2 cents. My hubby works out in the heat in a job that either kills his appetite or he is hungry as a bear I bake muffins all the time for him to grab. I also send a gallon of gatorade the dry mix kind. Our dinners are usually pretty easy. last night Pork chop scalloped potato's, lasagna salad.give them bread a whole grain. a fruit, large salad, and for your convenience 1 pot meals sticky chicken with rice, beef with potatoes.ect you get the idea. Give them a water to drink and a snack before bed cereal, fruit, or junk if they have to have it.
I hope I have said something to help you these ladies here are quick. Hugs Penny

[crafty73]

Thanks so much for all the awesome ideas!!! Now instead of feeling dreadful about trying to cook up a storm, I feel inspired! Thanks ladies, you gals rock!!

[MaryCarney]

Another way to fill them up and sneak in some whole grains is pancakes.
And I will say the muffins to send along would work well too. My DH has slowed down on dinner since taking an afternoon snack along to work.

[Imarachne]

These are some good ideas for meals--thanks guys !