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It’s April 2020, a time we will never forget. The year 2020 is going to bring about so many emotions forever. This week, I went shopping for the second time during all of this. So it’s been three weeks.
I love meal planning and using what I have. Yet, in the coming weeks, I know they are asking all of us to stay home and only go to the grocery store and pharmacies if essential.
As a mom of two girls and a husband who loves to snack, I get the fear that comes with all the snacking. As moms, we constantly prepare for the worst. We want our food to last, and we want our kids to eat healthy things.
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Today I’m sharing with you six snacks for when your stick pile is running low, and you feel the mommy beast emerging.
First, take a deep breath and give in to the idea; the grocery stores are still open in the worst-case scenario. Therefore, we still have the option to buy things online, pick up orders, and go to an actual grocery store.
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But why bother when we can get creative? Knowing the peace of mind is there may help.
Let me first tell you a little about my girls. They love snacks, and we love shopping in bulk. BJs is my number one jam. So that means I have huge bags of Pirate’s booty and five boxes of graham crackers etc. I love shopping at Costco too.
The thing is, I have designated their own “snack cupboard.” I’ve done this since they were toddlers. My girls are now seven and nine.
The funny thing is, if a bag of chips is in the adult cupboard and not in the ziploc bags in their cabinet, they don’t even see it.
They can open the adult cupboard looking for a snack and pass it.
BUT if I put it in a baggie and put three or four bags in their cupboard, it’s gone instantly.
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My first tip for snacking with the kids is this- Hide stuff.
Go through your cupboard now and try to decrease it by half. And slowly bring in some of the other items.
Next is to go through all your bags of snacks, like cereal, chips, etc., and combine them into a trail mix snack.
This frequently happens with bags of cereal in our house. There will be cereal that isn’t enough for a full bowl, so it sits. I combine cereal with any nuts if we have them and sometimes throw in chocolate chips and put in Ziploc bags, and boom. They eat it.
It’s now it’s different. It works.
So gather up odds and ends and create a trail mix as they’ve never seen before.
During this quarantine time, I would encourage you to see if your school district offers free lunches and take advantage. For example, we used the string cheese that my kids didn’t like plain on pizza.
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The string cheese worked like a charm. As a result, you wouldn’t even know it was string cheese.
We have been getting fruit juice in little plastic cups. We stick those in the freezer, and the girls have slushies to enjoy.
Below are items to have on hand to whip up snacks for the kids at home.
Carrots
Carrots are a frugal girl’s best friend. Start saying no to more prepackaged items, and they will be forced to eat raw veggies.
I have to do this with my youngest. She would eat crackers and bread all day, every day. And she will whine and throw a fit if I tell her no, but it’s worth it because eventually, they know the answer and opt for the carbs the first time you mention it.
I just saw on TikTok that someone made bacon carrots. You slice the carrots up, add a crazy good seasoning, and put in your air fryer. I plan on making those later this week. If you have an air fryer check out the recipes I’ve done here.
Popcorn
If you don’t have an air fryer popcorn maker, now is the time to get one. A huge jug of kernels lasts forever, and you don’t need a ton to make a big bowl of popcorn. Also, if you are worried about using butter, you can easily spray oil on it.
Keep an eye out at your local Aldi for popcorn toppings. I’ve found nacho cheese, kettle corn, and more for a little over $1 each. Also, Dollar Tree is a great spot to find toppings for your popcorn.
Check out these fun popcorn snack ideas.
Black Beans
This is a great frugal item. You can make black bean brownies and black bean rice cakes. My husband liked the black bean brownies and I did too.
Check out all these awesome black bean desserts.
Ritz Crackers
Ritz crackers are your friend. Whether slicing up cheese to top them or adding PB&J, it’s a cheap and easy snack for the kids.
Sometimes, the girls prefer to put PB&J on the crackers instead of bread. Obviously, it doesn’t need to be the Ritz brand, but that is the type of cracker that’s the most versatile and easily liked by kids.
You can also check your local Dollar Tree for Reese’s thins. Place the Reese’s thins on top of a Ritz cracker and microwave for 10 seconds. Then place another Ritz cracker on top. Place the tray in the freezer for 15 minutes or so and serve!
See MORE Ritz cracker snack ideas here.
Homemade French Toast Sticks
If you are making bread during this time, add french toast sticks to the list. These freeze beautifully. The last time I made mine with homemade whole wheat bread, the kids were a little fussy. But remember you can swap with whole wheat flour in plenty of recipes.
Take your favorite French toast recipe, slice the bread, dip, and cook. Then, make a big batch one day and freeze for the month’s rest.
Here is a recipe to make your own.
Oatmeal
If you don’t have this on the list, grab it. You can make so many yummy snacks. This site here has a bunch of good ones for kids.
Or check out these easy no-bake oatmeal peanut butter balls below.
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Bananas
These are the ones that are cheap and still plentiful. So it seems with everything going on. But, even if you buy a few bunches at a time, you can make many delicious snacks with ripe bananas. My kid’s favorite is Chocolate Chip Banana muffins.
My girls love banana sandwiches. All you do is slice up a banana, add peanut butter, and top with another slice of banana. You can put these in the freezer, so they aren’t sticky. The girls love them both ways.
I hope this helps inspire you to look to your cupboard and create snacks for the kiddos without losing your mind. We are all going through the waves of emotions during this time, and I know we will come out stronger.
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