Easy access snacks

Over at Declutter It! Julie had a great post on how to efficiently organize your snack pantry (or the part of your pantry that is dedicated to snack type food if you don’t have a separate one.

Aside from the organizational factor (I’d be so much more organized if I’d DO it instead of just reading about it), it got me to thinking about how I don’t have a snack area that is easy for my kids to access. For my youngest, I don’t want her getting her own food anyway because she’s not quite two yet and I usually need to peel or cut anything anyway. However, my oldest is five, constantly hungry when she comes home from school, and I don’t have anything that she can get. Granted, I *have* seen her climb up on the counter to get to our pantry which is the two cupboards over the sink, but I don’t exactly want her to do that, what with the little skull and hard ceramic tile floor and all.

We’re in an apartment and our space is minimal. We could have a full sized pantry but we decided to get a deep freezer instead, although I’m still not sure why since it currently doesn’t have much in it anyway and it just attracts clutter that gets piled on top of it. Maybe one day I’ll convince my husband that we don’t buy meat in bulk often enough to bother and I’ve never really gotten into freezer cooking, so we can get rid of it and put a nice pantry in its place. Maybe.

Anyway, I used to be good about preparing stuff in the fridge for my oldest. It was advice given to me when my youngest was born and she wanted to nurse right when her sister wanted breakfast. I would prepare a PB&J sandwich in a ziploc bag, chop up some fresh fruit that wouldn’t turn brown, fill a cup with juice, another with water, and cut up some cheese. I would put all of that on the bottom shelf of the fridge and leave a pack of crackers on the counter. That way, if she was hungry but I was unable to prepare her something right that second, she could help herself. It took the pressure off of me, made her feel very grown up, and it took less than ten minutes to do in the evenings. I’ve let it slide for a long time because they’re both older and don’t have as many immediate needs, but the idea is still a good one.

I’m thinking of going through one of my lower cupboards and re-organizing it or maybe using one of the cupboards in my buffet as a snack area for things that are healthy but easy for a five-year-old to grab – things like crackers, those little cracker & peanut butter packs, and so on. I also want to keep one small area of the fridge for yogurt, fruit, and cheese in kid-sized portions for her to grab after school. I’m going to re-read Julie’s post for ideas and get it set up. Kids are snack monsters but if they’re healthy snacks, it’s okay. If they can get their own stuff that makes life easier for everyone.

Do you have a snack system set up?