Every parent of a teenager has been there: the fridge is constantly opening and closing, the pantry mysteriously empties overnight, and your little angel is now a towering, insatiable eating machine.

Teenage growth spurts are legendary, and with them comes an appetite that can rival a small army. Forget the food pyramids and nutrition calculators – when your teen is growing 25cm in a year, their body is simply screaming for energy.

My own son, during his most rapid growth phase, developed a sugar craving so intense it rivalled his passion for Minecraft. Caramello blocks, Peanut M&Ms (nuts are protein! Right?), chocolate milk, lemonade – if it was sweet, he wanted it. My “bad-parent” alarm bells were ringing, so I sought some reassurance from Professor Danielle Gallegos, a nutrition expert at QUT.

Could it be that teens are biologically programmed for sugar? “No, definitely not,” she says. “What they’re craving is more energy.“

Foods high in sugar provide a quick energy boost, so if your child starts mainlining sweets, it often means their body needs more fuel.

Teen metabolism: the budget-busting reality

Sugar is a complex beast, but we do know high-sugar foods activate neural reward circuits and release the happy-hormone dopamine. “Parents should be providing access to fruit, to bread, to cheese, to breakfast cereal, milk, all of those things that actually fuel their kids,” advises Gallegos.

Australia’s official health guidelines, outlined via the Eat for Health website, suggests an “average Australian” needs 8700 kilojoules (2079 calories) per day to maintain their weight, but here’s the kicker: “What I think a lot of people don’t realise is that teenagers need about 1000 kilojoules more than an adult needs,” says Gallegos.

In terms of actual food, that’s an extra three bananas or five Weet-Bix on top of an adult’s intake. And if your teen is involved in elite sport or demanding physical activity, their energy demands soar even further.

So, how do we keep these rapidly growing humans fuelled without breaking the budget, especially when $50 barely buys half a bag of groceries these days?
Here are our dietitian and parent-backed tips for smart, affordable teen feeding.

Iron: an essential for teenage girls

Many young women choose a vegan diet in their teens, which can coincide with the onset of menstruation — a combination which can lead to potential iron deficiencies. “They need good iron sources and B12 sources,” Gallegos says, especially if they become pregnant or start breastfeeding later on.

Feed them: Eggs (if not vegan), tofu, beans, nuts, legumes, iron-fortified breakfast cereals and Milo.

Calcium to build strong bones and teeth

National not-for-profit organisation Healthy Bones Australia recommends 1300 milligrams of calcium per day for teenagers to help build strong bones and teeth. “Nuts are a good source of calcium,” says Gallegos.

Feed them: Milk, cheese, yoghurt, leafy greens, nuts and nut milks (calcium-fortified if vegan), and tofu set with calcium salt.

The truth about soft drinks and what to sip instead

“High consumption of soft drink doesn’t only rot your teeth, it also softens your bones,” says Gallegos, who is strongly against any flavoured fizz. “I don’t like demonising, but soft drink is a ‘bad food’, and it doesn’t matter if it’s artificially sweetened.“

Give them: Filtered water, tap water, mineral water, unflavoured milk, freshly squeezed juice, fruit smoothies.

When your teenager wants to do their own thing

Teens crave independence and choosing what they eat can be a powerful way to exercise autonomy. “I couldn’t control the Maccas runs,” admits Gallegos of her children once they’d gotten their P-plates and hit the drive-throughs. Her advice? Keep presenting healthy options, even when they’re exerting their independence.

Feed them: Try Good Food’s fakeaway recipes (or search for them on TikTok) and make Maccas — and other fast food favourites — at home.

Try the 80/20 rule

If your teens are craving sweet food, adopt the 80/20 rule. This approach, which aims for healthy eating most of the time and writes off 20 per cent on “sometimes food”. It’s about balance, not deprivation.

Feed them: Homemade fruit muffins with chocolate buds, honey-loaded smoothies, stewed fruit in puff pastry (mini apple turnovers), choc-protein balls.

How to fuel active teens around the clock

In medieval times, people slept in shifts with a “first sleep” and “second sleep” and so it is when feeding teenagers. There’s “first dinner” (often high carbs), followed by “second dinner” (bulk pancakes or breakfast cereal), and then “miscellaneous snacks” (you’ll find out which ones in the morning when you assess the leftover noodle wrappers and unwashed dishes).

Feed them: Loads of food! But whatever your teens’ vibe, Gallegos says, the most important thing is to help them have a healthy relationship with food and “make food joyous”, not a battleground.

Good food to have on hand for hungry teens:

• Leftovers, reimagined in a toastie.
• Pancakes, muffins and things they bake themselves.
• Two-minute noodles with vegie add-ins.
• Supermarket margherita pizzas can be zhooshed with healthy-ish ingredients.
• There aren’t many food emergencies you can’t escape from with a packet of corn thins.