jane's joint: Volume

I grew up in a girl world. Six girls, to be exact.
Everyone swam for at least part of our childhood, and most of us stuck with it through high school. So we were eaters (as any swimmer or parent-of-a-swimmer knows, one follows the other.) But having two teenaged boys has caused me to adjust my view of what "eaters" means.

These boys can pack it in.

I went to Target after work on Friday because we were, as is usual by week's end, out of food.
Like this:

I bought cereal. I bought ten boxes of cereal. And four gallons of milk. And a ton of snacks.

And they will be gone by this Friday.

There was a time when my people looked like this:

Small, cute and manageable, with small, cute stomachs to match. We'd go out to dinner and the three of them would split an entree, or they'd get three cute little kid meals.

Now? They are full grown, lovely and amazing people. With full grown appetites to match.

We go out to dinner and I get a normal sized meal (as does Corey) but my boys, they go for volume. All three of them. Doug bikes downtown and back most days and is a large dude at 6'2". Noah has one of those metabolisms that is the envy of the world: he cannot seem to eat often enough or at a high enough volume and he is a tall drink of water. Dylan is my most active kid - with football practice every day in fall, then basketball practice every day in winter, then more basketball in spring, plus biking to school every day and hanging with a bunch of guys who like to do stuff outside. These people can EAT.

Whenever either boy has his buddies over, which I LOVE, it is truly like a swarm of locusts descends on and devours the contents of my pantry.

My boys eat cereal for breakfast every morning, I pack them a lunch, then they come home from school ravenous and ready for a snack. I used to freak out and worry that a big snack after school meant they wouldn't eat their dinner. No. Problem. In fact, they need it. They're starving and most days they have something going on after school and before dinner so getting a quick calorie hit in the afternoon is critical. They eat a big, home-cooked meal then come down for a bowl of cereal every single night before bed.

I used to buy only healthy cereal. I used to buy only natural peanut butter. I used to buy whole grain fig bars and pirate's booty. The problem is, you can't buy that stuff in bulk and bulk is what I need. They are great eaters: they all love fruit and vegetables and eat a balanced meal every night. So I've sort of thrown the white flag on the rest and, instead, offer them solid meals, lots of bread and a high volume of snacks. Including these:

Our favorite, "mom's super deluxe". It's a milkshake, really, but it's filling and has protein and minimal dubious ingredients and it gets the job done.

Start with some milk. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or yogurt, a banana and a couple tsp of chocolate syrup. I ran out today, so put in a little hot fudge sauce.

add a tablespoon or so of peanut butter

Add a few ice cubes then blend it up.

You can add extra protein powder or a few nuts in there to bulk it up even more.

Super Deluxe

Other favorites; nachos, quesadillas, cheese & crackers with fruit, peanut butter & banana or apple slices with peanut butter. Popcorn is surprisingly filling and actually has some benefits, but it really should be made the old fashioned way, which can often lead to the smoke alarm getting tested.

Then, a couple hours later, I make the family a hearty meal and call it a day.

Until they come down for a bowl of cereal at 10.

Last night's menu: