Byron Edmonson, foreground right, cleans out the last of the meat bowl while making taco salad with his family. Byron and Julie Edmonson have six children ranging from ages 8 to 17, and since the children are home-schooled, the family frequently eats together at home. Clockwise from Byron are Daniel, 18, Joseph, 16, Micah, 12, Julie Edmonson, Elizabeth, 8, Merav, 10, and Anna, 15.

Merav Edmonson, 10, sets the table for a taco salad lunch. She is the daughter of Byron and Julie Edmonson, Lawrence, who have five other children. Julie called shopping “a pretty big deal.” Each week, she tries to shop at three different stores and scout for bargains.

It can be tough to curb food costs with teenagers — aka human vacuums — in the house.

They have those seemingly bottomless pits that need to be filled with healthy options. Ramen noodles and doughnuts won’t do.

Teenagers — depending on their activity level — require between 2,200 and 3,000 calories per day. Susan Krumm, an agent in family and consumer sciences with K-State Research and Extension-Douglas County, says consuming about 1,300 milligrams of calcium each day is important for their growing bones. She also recommends plenty of vegetables, fruits and whole grains.

But, getting them to eat sensible, affordable foods can be tough.

Teens can be picky eaters, so they might not like that bargain cereal or the fruit that is in season.

They also tend to be busy with school, sports, homework, community activities and jobs. So convenience becomes a big factor.

Cass Ryan, a Lawrence Memorial Hospital dietitian and mother of two daughters, ages 19 and 21, says the trick is to have nutritious options that are readily available. A couple of examples:

• Celery. Cut it up, so all they have to do is add peanut butter.

• Smoothies. Buy a big container of low-fat yogurt and frozen fruit. They can be as creative as they want.

For breakfast, her girls often had toast with peanut butter.

“That would be easy, and they could eat while I drove,” she says. “They had a pretty crazy schedule. I think most families are kind of like that.”

That schedule meant they rarely sat down as a family for dinner. Ryan usually made dishes and then her daughters would reheat them. She suggests putting food in clear containers, so they can see what’s available. She often made pasta dishes with different types of pasta, meats and vegetables.

“Pasta isn’t high in calories, it’s when you put the alfredo sauce on it. But a plain marinara sauce is very low in calories, very filling and very nutritious,” Ryan says.

Julie Edmondson practices these tips and more. She is a mother of six children — ages 8, 10, 12, 15, 16 and 18 — and they are home schooled, so she prepares three meals a day.

“Grocery shopping is a pretty big deal,” she says.

She usually shops in at least three different stores each week and scouts for bargains. She buys fruit that is in season and has cut back on organic items. Edmondson says she spends about $250 per week on groceries and other necessities such as toilet paper.

Edmondson says the children snack on chips and salsa, peanut butter with apples or crackers and yogurt. They eat “lots” of bananas and can go through 5 pounds of apples in a week.

The household used to go through six gallons of milk per week, but now goes through about three because the children don’t like it unless there is chocolate involved. She says the children tend to be pickier during their early teens or pre-teen years. For example, Anna, 15, eats grapefruit — something she wouldn’t eat before. For now, 10-year-old Merav doesn’t like bread; and 12-year-old Micah tends to fill up on cereal.

But Julie tries to make them take at least a bite of what’s on the table.

“They are pretty good,” she says. “They’ve learned to eat different things.”

Some of her more economical fixings include soups, rice and beans and pancakes.

“Breakfast for supper can be a real bargain,” she says.