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Becky Parker
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| Posted: May 26 2009 at 9:39am | IP Logged
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I know food budgets and money saving ideas have been discussed again and again, but could I bring up the topic just one more time?
We took a trip over Memorial Day Weekend and the whole way there - 6 hours - my dh and I discussed and um, "gently argued", about the amount of money that food is costing. I talked to him about ideas I've recently been reading about, like pantries, and simplifying our menus. He told me that he felt I do a good job with cooking nice meals that are "frugal" but the problem is the snacks the kids eat. We talked about everything from absolutely no snacks, to putting a lock on the "snack cabinet" for more control. My kids are big eaters and going without snacks is just not an option. I offer fruit for snacks a lot and they love it, but to be honest, fresh fruit is sometimes more expensive than a bag of chips.
So I'm hoping for some ideas regarding inexpensive snacks, that aren't terribly unhealthy. We need to be gluten free, so that adds to the cost. Any suggestions? How do you handle snacks? We have 5 kids and I can't even imagine what our food bill would be like with more (even though they are very worth it!  )
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mellyrose
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I know how hard snacks are! It seems that I go grocery shopping and my 3 eat 1/2 the snacks for the week by the time the groceries are put away!
My friend, (whose family follows GF diet) has popcorn often as a snack. She has a microwave popper (looks like a big plastic bowl w/cover) and uses plain kernels (much less expensive than microwave popcorn packages). An air popper would also work. She doesn't butter it, but does sprinkle flavored salt, or sometimes parmesan cheese on it.
Fresh fruit is another go-to for snacks (but I hear you on the price!), and cheese sticks.
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JodieLyn
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oatmeal bars are more filling and less sugary than a cookie.. oatmeal is GF isn't it? so you'd just need a flour to add..
But homemade granola might be good too..
whole grains tend to be filling as well as good for you. And often cheaper than fruits..
Something you could add some fruit to might be good..
like a bread pudding that has apples chopped up in it.
or a cobbler (with a cake like crust.. not a pie crust)
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Mimip
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Okay, I am going to show my obvious lack of knowledge with this stuff but how about nuts???
In our house I try to pack as much protein as possible in a snack so we eat a ton of nuts, hard boiled eggs, and bean dip. We use the bean dip (its just black beans smashed up) and dip all sorts of veggies into it. We also do a ton of cheese and cracker type foods for snacks.
I think snacks are expenses that just have to happen in our home. The kids eat at all times and are always hungry (then again so is my hubby  ) Oh we also do the popcorn thing and trail mixes.
Good luck, I know that this is a really hard topic because it is really hard to cut out (or pair down) something so essential.
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Bookswithtea
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I was able to almost eliminate snacks by beefing up breakfast and lunch. I make sure breakfast and lunch both include a significant amount of protein. The only one I buy snacks for now is the 1 1/2 yr old who grazes all day long, and my 4 yr old usually has an apple in the afternoon. My kids are big eaters, too, so I don't know if this is actually cheaper, but it did simplify things. We do eggs three mornings a week,and if I make oatmeal, I make it with milk instead of water. Lunches are rarely pb and j anymore except for the littlest ones. Sloppy joe's seem to be relatively popular and my older ones love main course salads loaded with grated cheese and lunch meat. We go through a ridiculous amount of ranch dressing. 
Homemade granola in a bowl with milk is also very filling. In my recipe, I use peanut butter instead of oil for the fat to increase the protein (it also makes it really yummy ).
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Natalia
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Books,
Can you post your granola recipe?
Thanks,
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Jody
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we have alot of oatmeal for snacks. It's cheap and healthy. When I have time I make home-made granola and they really like that.
Jody
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KackyK
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Books I second the request for your recipe...great idea to add the pb.
I also second the hard-boiled eggs. My kids love them.
I belong to Costco and buy the huge "barrel" of pretzels. It's not but so filling, but I feel like it is better than chips and fairly cheap. I have 6 snackers and it takes about 1 1/2 weeks to get through a barrel...oops make that 7 snackers when including dh.
We do fresh fruit but there is a limit, one apple a day and if in season they get the bonus of a small bowl of berries. Sometimes the apple a day is substituted with some grapes when they are on sale.
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Becky Parker
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Thanks Ladies! This is very helpful! I used to make granola all the time, then got out of the habit. I completely forgot what a great, filling snack it is- especially with a little yogurt. I found out that oatmeal does have gluten sometimes, but I know it's possible to get it gluten free.
I've been analyzing my situation, and I think I have indulged my kids for too long in this regard and now they have expectations. (And it doesn't help that my older ds has a friend whose mom keeps their pantry stocked, I mean rows and rows of chips and other junk food. He comes home telling the other kids about it and complaining that we never have any food!)
When we went gluten-free, I found it hard to find recipes that they liked so i got into the habit of buying chips, gluten free pretzels, Fritos, and whatever else they would eat that was "safe". I don't think there's anything wrong with these things in moderation (besides the expense), but we sure became "immoderate" quickly. None of my kids have weight problems, but they're going to some day if they don't get out of bad habits.
I think I'm going to talk to them about healthy snacks and make sure there are things like granola, popcorn, and nuts available. If they are truly as "starving" as they say they are, these things should suffice. If they're only "starving" for chips, or ice cream, or whatever, then I'll have to put my foot down. Maybe that locking cabinet is a good idea!
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MelissaClaire
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What about adding peanut butter to the half an apple. They're still getting some fruit, but the protein will make it last longer.
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Bookswithtea
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This recipe was given to me by a mother with close to a dozen kids, so its quite large.  I still make the whole batch though, so I don't have to do it often.
24 c old fashioned oats
1 c flax seeds
1 c oat bran
1 c wheat bran
1 c wheat germ
1 c slivered almonds
1 c sunflower seeds
1 c sesame seeds
1 c millet
(you can alter this to what you have on hand, doubling up on something else or adding in an extra cup of oats for something. I rarely have slivered almonds on hand).
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Heat in saucepan
2 c butter/oil/peanut butter (or some variation of all 3)
1 1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c (or less) water
1/2 c honey
1 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1 t vanilla
Mix grains/seeds/nuts well in a couple of enormous bowls. Pour sauce over all and slowly mix till well coated. This is the hardest part...its not a lot of sauce for all those grains. It takes awhile so be patient.
Bake 1 hr (I use my big turkey roaster), stirring every 5 minutes.
Let it cool for about 10 minutes, then add about 3 cups chocolate chips, mix quickly and then freeze in gallon sized ziplock bags. The chocolate creates small chunks because it melts slightly and then freezes. Store and serve directly from the freezer.
This recipe is really easy to modify. Its more expensive when you use all peanut butter, but its important to me to boost the protein content (I make them drink the milk in the bowl, too). You can use more honey and less brown sugar, and you can leave out the choc. chips, too, but given that the recipe makes 32 cups, I don't mind 3 cups of chips in it.
My kids absolutely love this with milk (its better if you let it sit for a few minutes, unlike regular cereal that gets disgusting after 5 minutes), and I have some kids who regularly grumble about my penchant for homemade and "why can't we just buy x, y or z in the store like everyone else." 
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Bookswithtea
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MelissaClaire wrote:
| What about adding peanut butter to the half an apple. They're still getting some fruit, but the protein will make it last longer. |
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Definitely. A couple of my kids like banana with peanut butter. I figure as long as its not hydrogenated, its a decent snack.
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LucyP
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I keep reading that we don't need so much protein and that too much is bad for health, so none of our snacks are high protein. We don't do many snacks - maybe because my children drink half a cow a day - but if we do have fruit it is always chopped up and it goes further and seems more special that way. We do carrot sticks a lot. Mine won't eat peanut butter, and cheese and eggs are too pricey for snacks - so we do rice cakes, bread, toast, oat cakes when they are hungry. A small bowl of plain yoghurt with some fruit chopped in and maybe a bit of oats or wheatgerm added is something I offer too. I find that when I do "two course" breakfasts and lunches (ie porridge followed by some fruit or toast, for breakfast, or toast and egg, followed by yoghurt for lunch) they don't really need snacks.
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hylabrook1
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What about homemade whole wheat bread with just about anything on it (peanutbutter, apple butter, fruit spread) along with a glass of milk?
Peace,
Nancy
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Bookswithtea
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hylabrook1 wrote:
What about homemade whole wheat bread with just about anything on it (peanutbutter, apple butter, fruit spread) along with a glass of milk?
Peace,
Nancy |
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It doesn't work for those with gluten issues, but I agree, homemade whole wheat bread makes a pb and j sandwich much more substantial than with store bought bread, even when its 100% whole wheat.
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: May 27 2009 at 12:24pm | IP Logged
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Wow, now I'm getting hungry!  Does anyone know how to make a granola bar? The only recipe I have calls for corn syrup, which contains high fructose corn syrup, which is a no-no around here if I want to stay sain!
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JodieLyn
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I think if you use the granola recipe posted.. with something a bit more sticky.. maybe adding more honey? or maybe all honey instead of honey and brown sugar? then press into a pan and cut into bars? or maybe the last bit of baking it you'd press it into the pan and let it bake into bars a bit?
I do an oatmeal bar.. it's softer than a granola bar.. a bit more cake like but the kids love them.
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Becky Parker
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Could I have your recipe Jodie?
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JodieLyn
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I made two versions.. the first has eggs in it.. the second is vegan.. I actually prefer the second.. it's a bit less crumbly. I would think you could use any of the non-gluten flours in place of the ww flour.
Also, you can substitute the fruits.. one of my favorites is to use cranberry sauce in place of the apple sauce, dried cranberries instead of raisins and add walnuts in too. yummy
I usually double these and make them thicker in a slightly bigger pan.. and cool longer. Poking with your finger to see if it bounces back usually works.
Oatmeal Bars
1/2 c oil
1/2 c applesauce
1/2 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
2 t cinnamon
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t baking pwd
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
3 c. oats
1 c raisins (optional)
mix together and spread in a greased 9x11 cake pan. bake at 350 for 20 min.
or
1/2 c oil
1/2 c apple sauce
1/2 c honey
1 t vanilla
2 t cinnamon
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t baking pwd
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
3 c. oats
1 c raisins (optional)
mix together and spread in a greased 9x11 cake pan. bake at 350 for 20 min
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oh and if I want to see the oatmeal bars disappear even faster than normal.. I add chocolate chips.. zip.. they're gone
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: food budget again
