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10 Bright Stars
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| Posted: July 30 2008 at 1:47pm | IP Logged
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Do you all allow snacks before bedtime? My kids are always hungry before bed. We usually eat at 5:30 and their bedtime is 9:00 p.m. They are always hungry around 8. This usually leads to a HUGE mess. Also, with food prices being so high, I have to be careful about adding in ANOTHER meal for the day. Do you think snacks this time of day are neccesary? I feel guilty making them go to bed "hungry".
Then, if I do decide to keep up the snacks, what are some easy, NEAT snacks that we could serve that would not make a huge mess? I usually end up giving them peanut butter crackers, but that makes a big mess. I can't afford pre-packaged things. I had thought about air popped popcorn, but that makes a mess too. Any ideas???? (And something that won't mess up their teeth that close to bedtime. (i.e nothing sugary etc.) They will brush of course, but I figured they might not do a great job all the time!
What about homemade trail mix (cereal with bits of this and that) in little zippie bags that I could refill from a larger mix? Maybe cheese sticks? (I could make my own string cheese froma larger block, although thinking about how expensive cheese is these days gives me the shivers....) I can't think of much else! How sad!!!
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Kim married to Bob (22y)
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: July 30 2008 at 2:01pm | IP Logged
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something high in protein would probably be good.. also making sure they get protein at dinner will help how long they go without feeling hungry.
Also, they don't need to "fill up" with a bedtime snack.. so it doesn't have to be a big thing.
Cheese and crackers is usually messy because of the crackers.. what about making something like rolls or small loaves of bread then you could give a slice of bread with cheese (think french bread baguette.. not the same as sandwich bread) and not have near the mess because the bread doesn't crumble like crackers.
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LucyP
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| Posted: July 30 2008 at 2:02pm | IP Logged
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Bread and butter? That was our snack as children, with milk if we wanted. You could detail a child to cut and butter the bread, and any leftovers you could fold together, butter side in, and toast (without unfolding it) the next day - we called that french toast when I was little.
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mom2mpr
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| Posted: July 30 2008 at 2:10pm | IP Logged
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We do snacks at night. I remember how hard it was to go to sleep hungry--and they are growing. It is simple--crackers and cheese(they eat at the table and it doesn't get messy here), a bowl of cereal, a piece of fruit, a bagel and cream cheese.
If they have brushed their teeth and are really hungry after, they may have a slice of cheddar cheese. I remember reading somewhere it is good to eat cheddar after sweets to prevent cavities.
Only water at night if thirsty.
Anne
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mellyrose
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| Posted: July 30 2008 at 2:11pm | IP Logged
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My kids are always hungry at bedtime, too. I struggle with the idea that it's a bad habit I got them into or whether they really are hungry.
Bedtime snacks that we offer: chunks of cheddar cheese, peanut butter bread, butter bread, yogurt, bowl of cereal, hardboiled egg (if we have leftover ones from a previous meal), grilled chicken slices (we tend to have some in the frig bc I usually grill extras for salads during the week)
They must eat in the kitchen, though -- I don't let them take the food to their bedrooms, so any mess is contained to the kitchen.
The snack must also be EASY -- none to very little prep work required. And, they don't have choices. It's the first thing I offer or nothing. I figure if they're hungry, they'll take it.
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PDyer
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| Posted: July 30 2008 at 2:15pm | IP Logged
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My kids head straight for the ice cream. 
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10 Bright Stars
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| Posted: July 30 2008 at 2:27pm | IP Logged
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The cheese sounds good for sure. I had read that about it helping prevent cavities, and a few of the middle kids are popping up with several lately.
Those are all very helpful ideas from everyone. I appreciate it. Last night, I was in the family room, and the twins got salt everywhere, crackers everywhere etc. What a disaster!! I also don't like having dishes after we have already done the dishes, so I wanted to keep it simple!
Thanks for everyone's help!
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Kim married to Bob (22y)
Mom of 11 blessings:
Bobby 19, David 17, Noah 14,
Mary 12, Gracie 10,
Isabelle and Sophia 8,
Gabrielle 6,
William Anthony 4, Joseph 3 and Luisa Marie - born in M
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marihalojen
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| Posted: July 30 2008 at 3:43pm | IP Logged
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PDyer wrote:
| My kids head straight for the ice cream. |
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Preferably with homemade pie or cake was our snack when I was growing up - yum! Add peanuts and chocolate syrup for a homemade peanut buster parfait or the freshest berries for a delightful sundae.
Popcorn on nights we didn't have a dessert hanging around but with 4 girls and a mom baking that only happened a few times a week.
I miss it, now it's so hot here we haven't been eating till 9 o'clock so there's never time for a bedtime snack. 
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KC in TX
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| Posted: July 30 2008 at 3:51pm | IP Logged
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My kids used to go to bed around 8:30 with dinner at 6. I would give them a fruit snack only after baths. This worked fine and made sure they had a serving of fruit each day. Now we go to bed earlier and have cut out the snack entirely. Now, I have to really work at getting the fruit in there.
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juststartn
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| Posted: July 30 2008 at 4:11pm | IP Logged
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Yeah, we eat later, and that keeps the "snackies" at bay. When we watch a family movie or something, then we might have some popcorn.
Rachel
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Paula in MN
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| Posted: July 30 2008 at 4:41pm | IP Logged
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In the summer the kids and I eat dinner around 5. When dh gets home, if the kids are still up, they might eat over his shoulder. On Fridays and most evenings in the winter we do popcorn.
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Milehimama
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| Posted: July 30 2008 at 11:31pm | IP Logged
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I would go for something "teeth friendly". A glass of milk is filling, or apples, or those cheesesticks!
I also set out plain frozen veggies for the kids to munch on - they are teeth friendly and mine like it (a bowl of frozen peas or green beans is a good snack on a hot day!)
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Ruth
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| Posted: July 31 2008 at 6:55am | IP Logged
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We have the same problem here, Kim. I'm so glad you started this thread. Great ideas.
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10 Bright Stars
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| Posted: July 31 2008 at 7:20am | IP Logged
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That is so funny about the frozen veggies because my kids LOVE them! I will pour frozen corn into a pyrex dish to zap for dinner, and when I turn around, various kids will have taken the frozen chunks of it to snack on!!! I always thought it was just them. 
Hi Ruth! I know! I am trying to get the food situation around here worked out with make ahead frozen meals and just a huge pot of soup for lunch all week. I thought I could make the soup Sunday night, even in the crock pot or something, and then every day at lunch we will just have a healthy soup with fresh bread or crackers. I have a whole magazine from Taste of Home on soups, so it will be a different soup each week. How can you beat a soup though?? It fills the belly, it is chock full of veggies, if you run low with it, you can just add more broth or water. Voila! No more mac-n-cheese! Hurray!!!! I felt so much more in control after having figured this out yesterday, and if I can just have some fallback meals prepared in the freezer, that will be awesome too!!!
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Kim married to Bob (22y)
Mom of 11 blessings:
Bobby 19, David 17, Noah 14,
Mary 12, Gracie 10,
Isabelle and Sophia 8,
Gabrielle 6,
William Anthony 4, Joseph 3 and Luisa Marie - born in M
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: Aug 01 2008 at 5:37am | IP Logged
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Fruit is the bedtime snack here. Mostly apples. My ds can't get to sleep if he doesn't have his apple boats and a wet cloth to wipe his hands on!
By the way, frozen veggies and fruits are a huge hit here too. My dc wont eat blueberries unless they are frozen.
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anniemm
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| Posted: Aug 02 2008 at 3:39am | IP Logged
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Popcorn is one of my favorites. My girls love a graham cracker with a touch of peanut butter and a glass of milk.
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Topic: snacks at night for kids????
