Have you ever stopped to think how much money you spend on convenience foods and snacks? Frankly, I didn’t give it much thought until my daughter entered preschool. Suddenly our shopping trips turned into a nightmare. She began to beg for things like juice boxes and fruit snacks in the shapes of Barbie, Sponge Bob and Dora.
I’ll admit it, I gave in. I found myself filling my grocery cart with quick and easy snacks. Frankly, I liked the idea of my daughter grabbing her own juice, yogurt, individual cereal box or cheese in the mornings.
I didn’t realize how much money I was wasting until I made a quick trip to Target to replenish our snack drawer. Nearly $50.00 later, I realized that I was spending way too much money on a little bit of convenience.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to give up our quick and easy snacks to save some money. Here are three of my favorite do it yourself “grab and go” snack choices.
Fruit Roll Ups – My biggest problem with roll ups is that they are also my favorite treat. I’ll never forget the evening when I was busy blogging and realized that I had polished off an entire box of strawberry roll ups. Here is a great recipe that my entire family loves.
Applesauce Leather
2 pounds of apples, peeled, cored and chopped.
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Simmer the apples over medium heat about 20 minutes or until they are soft.
Place them in a blender and add the other ingredients. Line a pan with parchment paper and spread the puree onto the paper. Dry in the oven by setting the temp at 140. When the fruit feels leathery, remove it while it is still warm and roll.
Cheese Sticks – You can save money by making your own cheese sticks too. Simply purchase a large block of cheese, cut it into strips and store in small baggies.
Juice Boxes – Frankly, I’ve hated juice boxes since my son learned how to squeeze them and spray his sister. Now, I simply purchase small water bottles in bulk at Costco and sprinkle in powdered drink mixes like lemonade and Tang. I reuse the bottles over and over and also fill them with fresh orange or apple juice for those times that my kids get up earlier than I do.
Do you have quick and easy snack suggestions? Share them with us in the comments section.
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