What do your teens eat during summer?

Mine are well beyond the teen years, but summer lunches tended to be sandwiches, and snacks were fruit, sometimes crisps, crackers, cheese or ice cream.

My twins are 15 year old boys and, if left to their own devices, would eat us out of house and home. I usually make large dinners with leftovers they can reheat, or there's always lunch meat, cheese and peanut butter for sandwiches, eggs, salad items, and plenty of fruit. I also keep popcorn and pretzels on hand. If there's ice cream, chips or treats around it'll be gone by the time I get home.

The kids eat leftovers, all types of cold sandwiches, salads, quesadillas, grilled cheese, mac-n-cheese, hot dogs, air fryer food such as chicken nuggets w/ fries, breakfast food, pizza, etc. I mix it up and vary the healthy with the not so healthy. I usually try to have a fresh fruit bowl in the fridge along with apples and bananas plus fresh veggies & dip.

Anything cold that they can grab and go. I try to keep a pasta salad and fruit salad made up pretty much all summer long. Plenty of sandwich fixings are kept on hand, too. And lots and lots of fresh fruit. My older son plows through nectarines like he's never going to get another one for as long as he lives. And my younger son is the same with strawberries.


Hmm, what else...yogurt & granola, cashews, garlic crackers and those little wedge shaped spreadable cheeses. Mini pita breads, hummus, lots of fresh cut & washed veggies. Cut & washed is the key. If they are ready to go in clear containers in the fridge, people will eat them. But not if they have to :::gasp::: wash them or peel them or cut them first.

She would make her own wraps or sandwiches, fruit, salads. Scrambled eggs on toast. I just fill the fridge with salad and veg and the fruitbowl and she helps herself.

I have four boys (ages 15, almost 13, 9 and 6). I have been thinking about summer food as well. I am trying to cut down on the grocery bill but it seems impossible sometimes. The main issue is the amount of snacks that they eat. Trying to find different ways of making them last longer (like possibly dividing things up and labeling them, so they don't have the fear that someone else is going to eat everything before they get any). For meals, last year we did a lot of frozen things such as chicken tenders, burritos (sometimes I make my own and freeze them, other times I just buy the unhealthy ones), ramen, lean pockets, etc. They also make eggs often and we have done a lot of different ways to make "homemade hot pockets" this winter so they can do that. We have nut allergies so can't have PB and J and they can go through lunch meat very quickly, so I don't want to have that every day. the healthier varieties are so expensive.

For my own lunches, I like to have grilled chicken to use different ways and I also make hardboiled eggs and a chicken salad, also to use different ways. We will do more of that in the summer so the kids can have them as well.

^ yay! ^   Long time, no see.        Must have been too busy procuring those premium foods for your kids.  

Well, I was going to post something about the salad fixings I keep in the fridge for easy assembly in the summer, but I know my conventional, store-bought lettuce and bottle of yogurt ranch wouldn't live up to your standards. Well played, Sanctimommy, well played.

Dd has Celiacs, allergies and is on a specific food protocol for dysautonomia, pots, and muscle condition.

She eats left overs for lunch and I cook dinner every day. Breakfast is premade frozen pancakes, waffles, muffins with fruit and eggs.

Well, DD ate 2 lbs of strawberries last week!

Mine are 19 & 21. DS isn't home for the summer yet, but when he is he usually eats pb&j, bagel dogs, mini pizzas, leftovers... Really whatever is in the fridge. I usually buy a roasted chicken from Costco each week and that usually gets in the lunch rotation. DD likes the same, plus ramen and salads. Fruit needs to be set aside or she will eat it. She eats out more with friends as well. DS is pretty frugal and tends to save his money. Plus, he doesn't work as many hours as DD during the school year, so he has less money to spend.

Seems like anything that isn’t nailed down gets eaten.

But seriously
DS eats lots of veggies and nuts and salads and sandwiches.

DD is picky and complains I have no food.

Oh, and EGGS I go thru 18 eggs or more a week

My teen daughter weighs about 90 pounds and eats nonstop. For lunches she'll make grilled cheese, pita pizzas in the toaster oven, ramen noodles, tomato soup, pasta with sauce, butter noodles with parmesan cheese, pasta salad, baked potatoes with lots of toppings. I forget what else she makes herself. She eats a lot of nachos, chips & dip, popcorn, crackers, cheese, fruit, and cereal for snacks.

I forgot, my kids also love it if I make bowls of egg salad or chicken salad and leave them in the fridge for them to make sandwiches with.

And if all else fails, (or when they've inhaled everything else ) they'll happily eat cereal with milk.




They also like to find new, "cool" things to try now and again over the summer. DS is into fancy beverages, so this summer he wants to make punch and smoothies and stuff like that.