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Did you confirm that he can't eat butter. I'm lactose intolerant and am okay with it as long as I'm not downing sticks. The lactose is in the non-fat portion of the milk, so when the fat separates out into butter there's very little left BUT it all depends on someone's sensitivity. If his parents say he can't eat butter, don't test it. I know lactose intolerant people who can't have a drop of butter and ones who can eat cheese with very little problems as long as they stay away from milk - there's very wide variation.

I agree on the tofu mousse idea. There's a recipe on 101cookbooks that is delicious - it uses amaretto so you might want to substitute a little vanilla or something for a child, though. It's very chocolatey - I made it with dark chocolate chips but if you hit the health food store you might be able to find non-dairy "milk" chocolate that's not as strong.

Rice and beans - have an avocado that needs to get guacamolied.

So does stress over high fructose corn syrup.

My family's always liked food a little spicy - plenty of crushed red pepper on pizza and pasta, for example. But given that dinner was usually low-effort fare like broiled sole and steamed broccoli, we didn't really grow up on high spice. I think it was the weekly Sunday dinners at the Indian restaurant and then using Tabasco sauce to get through four years of very repetitive dining hall food that really boosted my tolerance for spice. Now I regularly make things that most people (including my spice-loving partner) find intolerably spicy. Which if I were a nicer person I would probably not do as often.

What drove me nuts was that they criticized a couple of people for not having any protein or heft to their dishes, when even Kevin's (which, by the way, looked absolutely delicious) didn't contain anything other than vegetables. No protein, no starch. I love vegetarian food, but these were all side dishes.

Were there additional constraints that got edited out or something? I feel confused and unsatisfied, like when I haven't eaten enough at lunch.

I don't think you need an excuse to not lug a scale with you when you travel. Personally, I am highly anti-scale. I once went about 18 months without weighing. When I finally found out how much I weighed again, I'd gained a few pounds but it was almost certainly muscle (evidence being looser clothes + intense weight lifting regiment).

If you're fixating on the scale, you're fixating on numbers. You've learned the habits - how to get healthy foods into your daily routine, how to treat yourself without stuffing yourself. Don't rely on a number to validate that. Yes, it's clean and easy and a good punchline to your updates, but good habits are valid no matter what the scale says. They're part of your life now, not a means to an arbitrary end.

I go through periods of fiendish banana eating and periods of not wanting to see the things. The potassium hit in them cannot be beat, though, especially after a long workout or night of drinking.

If you're eating them when you're hungry, though, and not just because you're fidgeting for something to do, I can't see a reason why not short of having insulin problems, allergies, or other special dietary needs which don't seem to be an issue for you. I probably come from a different corner on this stuff than most of the other commenters, but when I realized that I was beating myself up for eating bananas instead of lower-calorie fruit I wasn't craving was when I realized I had a problem.

Pretty much anything asian would work. Sesame or peanut noodles are delicious and kid-friendly. Tacos or burritos, no cheese for the kid. Same with pasta with red sauce or non-dairy pesto. I make pizza with my boyfriend and we only put cheese on his side, since I'm lactose intolerant.

A lot of soups are good, if it's cold where you are. Chili, as long as there's no cheese or sour cream topping it. Omelettes or scrambled eggs, just use water in place of where you normally use milk.

I'm lactose intolerant myself and find that as long as you stay away from cream sauces or soups and melted-cheese based dishes, the dairy is often just a garnish and pretty easy to get rid of at home.

I think that most people's body's have a point they gravitate to and it's only with extreme (and usually unhealthy) effort that you can break that range. I know you have this feature and announcing your weight is a part of that, but at this point, it might be better to forget about the scale, and find other goals for yourself, involving squash or as other people have mentioned, weight lifting.

People's bodies DO have natural variation. Everyone knows a couple of people who are stick thin no matter what they do, and probably a couple who are heavier even with the most diligent habits (even if it's easier to believe the former is genetic than the latter). Those are extremes, but the idea is to find where your natural variation lies when you're engaging in habits that make you feel physically good (exercise, but not to the point of wearing down your body. healthy food, but without self-flagellating rules about it).

And the charts ARE bunk for a lot of people. My brother, for example, is overweight according to the charts, and he's average height and a size 28. People are used to hearing things as excuses, but if you have solid bones, or a lot of muscle mass, those are good things, and you shouldn't jeopardize healthy lean mass for some numbers on a chart. There's so much emotion and stigma caught up in this stuff that it's hard to judge rationally, but do try before you set a goal in stone and hold yourself up to it.

Appetite rules. Generally, I am hungrier than most people, even guys twice my size (I am female, and short). I give credit to genetics and weight lifting, and then steal what my boyfriend can't finish. Used to be insecure about this, but I realized I couldn't listen to my own hunger cues if I was concerned about what other people thought.

I'm a big fan of Rao's. It is far too expensive (7-10 bucks per jar generally) but REALLY good. My homemade doesn't even come close.

I am partial to Barbara's Puffins and Shredded Spoonfuls. I'll eat Kashi Go Lean and such if I'm hungry, but I'm not crazy about it - there's a weird sweetness to it and the texture is always disappointing.

My current cereal obsession, though, is Trader Joe's ginger granola. I was about to take the plunge and make my own, but then I bought a box and don't want to eat anything else.

Oh, man, pan seared scallops for serious. If they're good scallops, that will show off their flavor much more than frying.