August 25, 2021
On our Facebook page, we recently asked our Facebook family of fellow parents what meals their tweens and teens like to make for themselves. We got tons of super-practical suggestions—but first, a sample of the fun:
- “My 14-year-old would rather starve than make something for herself”
- “Like to make? NOTHING lol”
- “She can cook, she would just rather I do it.”
- “Nothing 😂”
- “Nothing. Absolutely nothing. 🤦♀️🤣”
- “I only wish he would make himself something!”
- “Door dash💸💸💸💸”
Ha! Kids, we get it. Some days we don’t feel like cooking, either. Now for those terrific ideas. Eggs and ramen were the runaway winners with dozens of votes each—can’t go wrong with simplicity—but we were also super-impressed and will be adding some new items to our own shopping lists. Without further ado, in no particular order:
80 Easy Meals for Teens
EGGS
(As one parent said, “Eggs, eggs, & more eggs. I just made my midweek purchase of an additional 18!”)
- Eggs, omelettes, egg sandwiches
- Scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast
- Poached eggs and avocado with feta
- Spam and eggs
- Rice, eggs, and migas (a dish traditionally made from stale bread and other ingredients in Spanish and Portuguese cuisine)
PASTA
- Ramen (chicken ramen, shrimp ramen and, no surprise, ramen with egg. Find more ramen hacks here.)
- Macaroni and cheese
- Pasta
- Fettuccine
- Pasta with pan-fried chicken and fresh veggies
- Vegan mac and cheese
- Spaghetti and meat sauce
- Fettuccine Alfredo with broccoli
- Buttered noodles
- Pho
- Carbonara
- “Baked mac & cheese appetizer he learned at his job 😊”
- Penne a la vodka
- Rotini noodles and plain spaghetti sauce (must be rotini 🙃)
PRE-MADE
- Chef Boyardee
- Spaghetti-O’s
- Pizza (“Frozen DiGiorno pizzas 🍕… every stinkin’ day 😅” said one)
- Lean Cuisines
- Taquitos from Costco
- Hot Pockets
- Pizza rolls
- “Bagel bites 🤣”
SANDWICHES
- Quesadillas (cheese quesadillas, breakfast quesadillas, you name it)
- Grilled cheese
- Hamburgers
- Pepperoni sandwich (“just pepperoni and bread”)
- Peanut butter toast and banana
- Air fryer chicken burger
- Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
- Avocado toast
- Chicken parmesan sliders
- Meatball sub sandwiches
- Any kind of sandwich
- Buttered toast
- Chicken patty sandwiches (“frozen and they just heat them up”)
- Guacamole on toast with pico de gallo or with bacon and tomato
MAIN COURSE
- Steak
- Grilled hot links
- Shrimp
- Chicken strips (Said one parent, “and a gross mix of cheese and hot sauce”)
- Baked salmon
- Hot dogs
- Chicken and dumplings
- Corn dogs
- Fried chicken
- Sushi
- Dino nuggies, hang onto that child inside”
- Meat pie (“freezer to microwave 🤣”)
- Chicken piccata
- Meatloaf
- Tacos
- Fish sticks
- Tuna
- Stir fry
- Wontons or egg rolls or chicken nuggets in the air fryer
- Vegan curry with basmati rice
SALADS
- Salads (Said one lucky mom, “My 13 year old twins just made fresh salads for lunch! I was so proud because this is new for them. They both cut up green peppers, carrots, onions, romaine lettuce and French bread for croutons. I was impressed and next time I need to ask that they make me one! ❤️”)
- Caesar salad
- Charcuterie boards
- Olive garden salad
- Caprese salad
BREAKFAST
- Cereal
- Pancakes
- Oatmeal with cinnamon and honey
- French toast
- Banana pancakes and bacon
MISCELLANEOUS
- Fries
- Baked potatoes
- Chana masala
- Fried rice
- Smoothies
- “Anything microwavable. 😏”
- Nachos
- “Naan, but it’s always with my help haha”
EVERYONE’S FAVORITE
- Leftovers
