Quick ways to save on healthy snacks
September 27, 2009 by Jennifer Chait
Filed under food
Snacks can add up, especially when kids are going through a growth spurt. My own son Cedar will eat very lightly, then all of a sudden want three full meals plus three snacks a day! It’s crazy. Still it’s not all bad, it’s easy to save money on healthy snacks.
Aim for snacks that fill your kids up for a while. Protein and fiber burn off slower than other food items. So a fiber filled pear and whole wheat crackers is a better snack choice than chips and a cookie. Other filling snacks include peanut better and jelly on bread or crackers, fruits and veggies galore, crackers and hummus, pita with tuna, or organic applesauce and cold cereal.
Plan snacks ahead of time. Since Cedar was a toddle he’s always had two snack drawers at his disposal – one in the pantry and one in the fridge. Each week I stock each with foods he can grab when he wants such as organic yogurt tubes, apples, and cut veggies in his fridge drawer and crackers, dried fruit, popcorn, cereal and so on in his dry drawer. Make healthy snacks a part of your weekly grocery list.
Forget packaging and non-reusable containers. Buy snacks in bulk (dried fruit, cereal, crackers, and more) and put them in a large container at home. Kids can pull out a serving when they like. With the exception of yogurt tubes we buy very few snacks in actual packaging. We take our own reusable bulk bags to the store and we also don’t buy plastic baggies. We store stuff in reusable baggies and containers to cut waste and save money.
Make it yourself. There are tons of quick and easy and healthy snacks you can learn to make for less than what the snack would cost bought, for example…
- Homemade Whole Grain Organic Raspberry Bars
- Halloween Smoothie
- Granola Bugs
- Cooking With Kids~ 7 Healthy After School Snacks
- Top 10 Healthy Snacks
- Homemade Organic Berry Smoothie
Remember it can be tempting to buy a cheaper snack – i.e. a large bag of chips and soda for $2 then to buy some organic apples and whole wheat crackers for $4-$5 BUT it will cost you more in the long run in health care costs. Make room in the budget now for healthy snacks so that your kids learn smart eating tips early on and stay in tip top shape.
[image via Driscoll’s Berries]
I think sticking to whole grain snacks instead of refined grain products is important for kids. One of my favorites is Clif Bar Organic Z Bars. They’re made with whole grains, are organic, and taste great. You can buy them online for fairly cheap or sometimes can find them at Costco.