What my boys eat (and eat, and eat)

You might have heard that boys can eat a lot.  Indeed, I too have heard that boys can eat a lot. Because I live with them and grow slowly accustomed to the increasing amount that I cook, it's sort of hard to realize how much the boys and their appetites have grown.  Then we get a visit from someone who hasn't seen the kids in a while, and I realize how much things have changed.

Here are four data points.

• Late in the summer, I cooked up a huge batch of kale, planning to freeze the leftovers.  Both boys had fourths of the dish and were disappointed when it ran out.  There were no leftovers.
• When I make pasta for our 4-5 person family (the number of people varies a bit from evening to evening), I always make 2 lbs at once.  Occasionally, there are leftovers, but not always.
• Two weeks ago, my husband made 2 pounds of hamburgers and 5 pounds of potatoes (mashed).  At the end of the meal, all that was left to put back in the fridge was a fist-sized ball of mashed potatoes.
• After their basketball game last Saturday, their coach took the boys out to an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet.  J-son had had 3 muffins for breakfast (why 3?  Because I wouldn't let him have 4).  At the buffet, he had a large salad and 9 pieces of pizza.  (Yes, he ate it all).  That same night for dinner, he had a large pile of sushi. N-son's totals were less impressive: 3 muffins, 5 pieces of pizza, sushi.

Tally of part of my son's breakfast and lunch on Saturday.
Salad not pictured here, but it was impressive, too.

One of two sushi rolls he ate later the same day.
Look at how skinny he is.  Where does it all go?

These are some of the more extreme days; the boys don't always eat this much.  N-son eats less than J-son (and sadly, N-son is also the one who most needs to watch his waistline.  Isn't that always the way it goes?)  But with both me and my husband doing a lot of running, and with the boys getting taller by the hour, we put away a heck of a lot of food.  Healthy appetites are the norm.

So healthy meals are the norm, too.  With the exception of occasional random things that my husband buys, I try to surround my sons with cheap, filling, nutritious foods.  Potatoes.  Soups.  Homemade breads.  Vegetables galore.  Because store-bought snack foods and processed breakfast cereal are a little expensive if you're eating just a little of it, but they're a lot expensive if you're eating as much as my boys do.