As much as I commit to simplicity, I find my days getting busier and busier. And as a veteran mom in MOPS commented a few weeks ago, as the children get older, things just get busier. Between my commitments and the kids and the library and playdates, the list goes on and on. It's so easy to pick up something from Taco Bell or a scone from Starbucks or a snack from the vending machine. No only is it expensive, but it's often times laden with extra calories and fat.
Finally four years into this parenting thing I'm realizing that snacks are everything. They defuse nearly any situation. Waiting for a table at the restaurant? Where are the goldfish?
In-laws running late for the holidays? Pull out the string cheese.
Picking out pictures after a photo shoot at Sears and your four year old and two year old running through the store, screaming for Elmo and In'N'Out, even popping in to check out the photo session in the room next to you?
Well, ... an apple might not be the answer to everything, but it's a start.
Here's just a few of the snack and lunch options we've been packing lately:
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches
Tuna Sandwiches (with pickles of course; Big Boy's newest obsession)
Grilled cheese or Quesadillas
Granola bars
String Cheese
Fresh fruit: oranges, apples, bananas, kiwi, grapes, etc
Wheat crackers and hummus
Carrots and ranch
Rice cakes
Almonds
Goldfish
Popcorn
Pretzels
Red pepper strips
Those are just a sampling of the frugal and nutritious snacks we're packing with us these days. I find that often time when my kids are grouchy, or even when I'm grouchy, it's just because we're nearing mealtimes and need a little snack. And packing healthy options has been good for both my waistline and my pocketbook.
For more Frugal Friday ideas, check out Life as Mom.
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5 comments:
Hi! I love your ideas for snacks, they will come in very handy for me. I'm hypoglycemic and have to eat every couple hours to keep my blood sugar up. It can get pretty expensive picking up snacks here and there while I'm out! I do have a question though- how do you transport this stuff? Some of it needs refrigerated (ranch, hummus), so what do you do for those? I'm just looking for ideas that are easy to maintain and fairly compact, so that I have the snacks on me all the time. Thanks!
A great list, thanks for the ideas. I have been stuck lately on snack foods.
Great post and great snacks. A few of our favourites are Mini-Wheats in a ziploc (filling and nutricious). I'll also make smoothies to tote with us to the park when the weathers warm. Thankfully our 3yr old son just decided he likes apples - perfect snack! I'm the President of our local MOMS Club and going all the time some weeks. These snacks have saved us time and again!
Great snack ideas! :D We are always needin some ideas for snacks.
As far as refrigerated stuff, we're usually just out for a short amount of time, so I don't worry about it too much. However, we're going to the snow this weekend and I know I'll be packing something that needs to be kept cold. I have a small insulated lunchbox that I can put cold packs in. If it's a hot day (as we have here half of the year; over 100 degrees), I pack up my lunch box. It's still relatively compact for the convenience. And after the initial investment, they last forever. My husband used ours for over two years of working in a steel mill, a couple of years of youth ministry, and then the kids and I took it over 4 years ago.
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