Budget Meal Ideas for Teen Athletes

[SEA333]

All of the recent threads on grocery budgets is getting me worried about our upcoming year with a 14 year old who is starting high school football and how we are going to pay for all of the extra calories he will be consuming!

DS14 is actually eating less than he used to because he was kind of on the chunky(-ier) side for a while until he grew about 6 inches in 6 months. Now he has actually lost weight and I am worried the other way! n: He is now 5'10" (and still growing!) and about 148 lbs. He has always been a lineman in football, but now he is on the small side for that. He starts Freshman football camp in a few weeks, and will be practicing from 8-noon every day, and walking/biking to and from the field, which is a mile away on the other side of our neighborhood. I am anticipating he will need a lot more calories than he is eating now.

I need ideas for things that teen boys can eat that are healthy, budget-friendly, and muscle-building/bone strengthening for a young athlete. I have always heard that pasta is good - is that true? He is boycotting spaghetti ever since his punishment for walking into the kitchen saying "ewww" to my dinner was to make dinner for everyone the next night (LOL...all three kids did it within 10 minutes of each other, and I lost it) So I put him in charge of spaghetti the next night, but now DS says that he was grossed out by having to make it and doesn't like it anymore. I believe him, too, because he used to love it, and it's been like 8 months since that day and he still won't touch it, so I know it's not just him being testy. I still make it and do not cater to him by letting him eat anything else, and he just skips dinner for the night.

What else? Chicken? I'm so lost here!

 

[canadianjovigirl]

when my son was playing hockey and football it was always pasta and chicken breast. For football with nightly practices it was harder, but was still a high carb and lean protein for dinner. His other meals were regular like the rest of the family ate.

We ate a lot of what the trainers recommended for snacks and pre/post game foods so it wasn't as difficult, it was just harder as he needed to eat that way more often then we usually would.

 

[momplus3]

DS14 is a high school freshman who plays year round soccer and consumes massive amounts of food. He is 6 feet tall and weighs 167.

Some ideas: tacos, pasta (try elbow macaroni, rigatoni and bow tie pasta), flat bread pizza (easy for him to make as well!), scrambled eggs and baked potatoes with toppings (cheese, chili, chickenm broccoli).

 

[ericstac]

carbs: rice, potatoes, pasta, oats, breads
proteins: tuna, chicken, lean beef, turkey, pork (ham), deli meats, greek yogurt, cheese
fats: peanut butter, nuts, oils, avocado, cheese, powders
veggies: dark greens like broccoli, spinach, asparagus, green beans.. also beets, tomatoes, etc...
fruits: dark berries are the best.. raspberries, strawberries, cherries, blueberries, acai... but also apples, oranges, and for big carb source bananas..

biggest thing is to figure out what he enjoys and keep that stuff around the house. plus things like lean pockets and other frozen quick goodies for when he gets the munchies..

just be sure you are hitting good macro numbers each day though.. a ton of people are so anti carb, or anti fat, or anti protein..

150lb growing athlete needs fuel.

I would have him on at least

Protein: 175g
Carb: 600g
Fat: 100g

and see how his body reacts to that.. be sure to keep them fats up high.. so many times people drop fats too low which can ruin your hormone levels.

ideas for meals would be like:

breakfast
4 servings of oatmeal
a banana
3 eggs
2 egg whites
2 tortillas

pancakes and eggs

omelet with ham, cheese, veggies
oats, with peanut butter and bananas or strawberries

lunch/dinner
mexican rice with chicken sliced up in some tortillas or just on top with some black beans and avocado on the side, topped with a serving of shredded cheese.

burgers with broccoli casserole

mac-n-cheese with ham, chicken, beef, or egg mixed in and some broccoli.. yumm

etc..

i have a youtube channel and do a ton of recipes, meals, full day of eating videos etc that could give you some good ideas..

 

[Mickey'sfriend]

I have 3 teen athletes at home. They will eat larger portions, but still require a healthy diet consisting of lots of fruits and veggies and whole grain carbs, lean protein. Don't fill them up with processed boxed foods because of the increased calorie needs. Greek yogurt, nuts are both great high protein snacks. Fruit and yogurt smoothies are great for breakfast or snacks along with a whole grain bagel or toast with PB. Make sure they are getting enough water and chocolate milk is a great after workout way to replace protein and electrolytes.

 

[robinb]

You might also want to send a snack with him to practice. My DD was always ravenous after a swim practice. I purchased protein-type bars at Costco. They were not real budget-y but they kept my DD going after 6:00 am practice was over and she had to start school.

 

[dizluvah]

what about beans - they have lots of protein and if you buy dry beans and soak overnight/prepare homemade they can be very inexpensive. Will he eat bean burritos or even just add black beans to salad, tacos etc

 

[3dog2kidmom]

here is what I feed my 6'4" 215# sophomore (he's defensive lineman) on a daily basis:

breakfast:
protein shake
scrambled eggs in olive oil with spinach or other veggies and cheese
bagel with fruit spread
fruit


lunch:
boiled egg
2 sandwiches -- deli ham & turkey, swiss cheese on wheat bread
baby carrots (his favorite)
fruit
yogurt
pretzels or cheezits -- some kind of dry snack he can eat if he is still hungry
2 bottles of water

snacks -- 3-4 of the following:
always a protein bar
slim jim
fruit snacks
individual pkg cookies or cheezits
raisins
dried apricots
trail mix
mixed nuts

after school:
milk
frozen pizza or frozen chicken pot pie or leftovers from the previous night dinner

2nd dinner:
milk
whatever we are having (generally a protein and a salad)
fruit

bedtime snack:
sometimes cereal, fruit, or yogurt --- he doesn't always have this

It's a challenge to get enough food into him.

 

[SEA333]

Great ideas so far!! I probably should have mentioned that DS has one year to go with his braces, too, so unless the carrots/apples/etc are cooked, those are a no go for now.

 

[robinb]

Great ideas so far!! I probably should have mentioned that DS has one year to go with his braces, too, so unless the carrots/apples/etc are cooked, those are a no go for now.

My DD could eat apples as long as they were cut up. She just couldn't bite into a whole apple.

 

[puffkin]

I have a DS8 who is a year round competitive swimmer who consumes massive amounts of food already, I am dreading the teenage years. My family is all over 6' and he is very tall already, so it is a struggle to keep him fed with the calories he burns. He gets chocolate milk and a protien bar after workouts. He eats a lot of fruit, peanut butter and honey sandwiches on sandwich thins, dried fruit, nuts, yogurt (not the sugary stuff), granola, etc. For meals we eat a lot of pasta, vegetables and lean meats for dinners. He likes wraps and cheese sticks for lunch too. He pretty much only drinks milk, water and occassionally a sport drink.

He still gets his fair amount of pizza, hot dogs, mac n cheese, and soda every now and then because he is still a kid. But never on competition days until after the meet is over. I can't believe the JUNK people feed their kids at these things. Its nuts. We are definitely not health nuts (the horrors, we do go to McDonalds occassionally) but we also know his body won't hold up long term if he does continue in this insane sport. We are just trying to build healthy habits now. My wallet weeps though at the store. It would be so much cheaper to load him up on junk, which is a shame.

 

[puffkin]

A budget tip I learned is that the store brand ziploc bags that my grocery store sells are awesome quality and usually only a $1 for a big box. I buy nuts, dried fruit, crackers, gold fish, granola etc in bulk so it is much cheaper (usually, just double check the prices first) and then bag out all his stuff for the week. It is so much easier to grab and go that way and much cheaper than all the single serving packs. I also buy blocks of cheese and make his own cheese sticks and cracker snack packs the same way. I buy strawberries and blueberries and put them into little single serve containers. Then in the morning he just has to drop a few spoonfuls of yogurt on top with a pinch of granola. I probably take about an hour each Sunday after grocery shopping to prep his food for the week, but it saves tons of time during the week (DH and I work full time) and he has stuff he can just grab. Plus its a lot cheaper than buying the individual packs.

 

[robinb]

He still gets his fair amount of pizza, hot dogs, mac n cheese, and soda every now and then because he is still a kid. But never on competition days until after the meet is over. I can't believe the JUNK people feed their kids at these things. Its nuts.

i know! I'm always amazed at the junk they sell at swim meets.

 

[HM]

My basketball playing brother came home from practice and had a huge bowl of cereal as a snack every day.

OP, if you son won't eat spaghetti, there are plenty of other pastas and other sauces that could be used to go with.

 

[SnowBelleAlice]

Following, I also have a recently turned 14 year old DS, participated in track recently and will play football in the summer/fall.
He's been taller than me, and I'm not short for about two years
I'm actually glad, many of his friends are squirrly little guys, hopefully they hit their spurts soon.

 

[damiel]

My DS is a Varsity 3 sport athlete. He drinks about a gallon of milk a day! I bought the zip lock plastic containers to use in his lunch, this way if they are lost or destroyed I am not out my good Tupperware. He actually takes a small cooler to school every day. I buy the 4# cans of fruit from Costco or Cash and Carry and fill the containers with fruit for the week. The small prepackaged fruit cups are a joke for a hungry boy. One of his favorite things in his lunch is a fruit and yogurt parfait. I buy bags of frozen fruit from Costco and containers of Greek yogurt. I put a cup of the still frozen fruit into one of the plastic containers and top it with a cup of the yogurt. I then add granola. The frozen berries keep the yogurt cold until he is ready to eat it at lunch or after practice. I also make him little protein packs to take that are cubes of cheeses, lean ham or turkey cubes and almonds. I only buy the added fiber pasta, it is a bit more expensive but it seems to help fill him up a little longer. It is a budget buster feeding a growing boy.

 

[EveDallas]

Following, I also have a recently turned 14 year old DS, participated in track recently and will play football in the summer/fall.
He's been taller than me, and I'm not short for about two years
I'm actually glad, many of his friends are squirrly little guys, hopefully they hit their spurts soon.[/B]

Because a boy who's not tall is a real tragedy. No wonder my 5'5" DS (and not likely to grow taller) is so self conscious about his height with attitudes like yours so prevalent.

 

[robinb]

Because a boy who's not tall is a real tragedy. No wonder my 5'5" DS (and not likely to grow taller) is so self conscious about his height with attitudes like yours so prevalent.

Oh my goodness. Chill. I'm sorry that your DS is self conscious about his height but teens are always self conscious about something. Height, weight, glasses, zits, hair, clothes, etc. If it's not one thing, it'll be another. And even if he is shorter, that sets him up for other sports like gymnastics and diving that bigger behemoth football-types can't do. My DD's friend was the #2 Division 2 diver in the state as a freshman and he is maybe 5'4".

 

[eeyoreandtink]

I have a 10 year old who is a dancer/competitive cheerleader (think power tumbling) and is in the studio and or cheer gym 2-3 hours a day after school. I struggle with getting enough into her to keep her going, so I appreciate all of these suggestions. My problem is getting her to recognize when she needs to eat/drink because she gets so focused on what she is doing, then doesn't understand why all of the sudden she feels terrible because she is dehydrated/hungry.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

i know! I'm always amazed at the junk they sell at swim meets.

You should see a cheer competition. They are all day affairs and serve mostly fair food. No outside food or drink allowed, but here is a chili cheese dog or nachos to keep your athletes going! We are trapped there for hours with no other food alternatives.