Life in a Nutshell
I've been reading some interesting posts on food here and here.
I love love love eating good meals. I especially love cooking with fresh veggies, the smell of garlic lingering on my fingers long after the meal has been consumed. Making healthy meals can require a bit of forethought, but it's not necessary to make it complicated.
My problem is snack time. It rears it's ugly head at least two or three times a day, and I just want to scream as I see the entire contents of my pantry being devoured over the course of the two weeks... I am very strict about what they can eat and when. To the point where my (almost) 9 year-old will see everyone else eating a peach and ask please please can he have one... :)
We usually have one fruit and one starch (pretzels, popcorn, granola bars, tortilla chips, peanuts) for each snack, and then only two snacks a day, one between breakfast and lunch, and the other between lunch and dinner. I'd like to keep it as healthy as possible, with not a lot of "filler" calories, but these kids' stomachs do need to stay filled for a few hours a day!
My problem?
It seems to cost us so much money to keep snack foods in the house! At one point, I thought I could make my own granola bars (never found a recipe) but the main problem is the cost of fruit. I always buy what's on sale, but with 5 kids eating two pieces of fruit a day, that's 70 pieces (servings) of fruit a week!
Alas, we aren't farmers....and so we must rely on the grocery store.
And as far as the pretzels and popcorn and such....we just go through them like crazy.
Any ideas? suggestions? sympathy?
:)
22 comments:
Sympathy, yes. Ideas, not many.
We just laid down the law, since our kids seem not so hungry at dinner (when we're serving wholesome food), but awfully hungry at snacktime (2 per day), when mom was willing to lighten up on the nutrition requirements. No more granola bars, goldfish crackers or fruit snacks.
But I only do one serving of fruit per day, unless they are begging for more.
Other snacks: yogurt, cheese or peanut butter on crackers, peanut butter on celery, pretzels, mini-muffins (I get the Jiffy mixes which are cheap...healthier ones can be done homemade from scratch), carrot sticks (dipped in peanut butter or ranch dressing or left plain), and flavored mini-rice cakes.
Help any?
Michelle, Yes! Very helpful!
I had this big long response to your comment typed out yesterday and then blogger burped or something and lost it.....
Anyway, I need to try those rice cakes again. They are so versatile! Thanks for the ideas!
We like dried fruit, which can get expensive. But raisins are a good inexpensive filler. I make muffins, too, but that can be time consuming. And I already have laundry, dishes, housework, ect...up to the ears. I can't imagine what its like with 5! Graham crackers are another favorite for us. But snacking is a pain, and I only have 3 kids, so I offer my sympathy! :)
I will have Mrs. Mystic give you some ideas. You can probably sneak apple sauce into cookies. We sneak spinach into the diet by adding it to gnocci.
Can you do home econnomics in home schooling?
She will post later.
Home Economics is great for homeschooling. I'm hoping as we get our routine down pat that we will be able to do a lot more together in the kitchen. DS #1 is already responsible for his own breakfast since he likes to make French Toast and fried eggs and such.
This is from Mrs. Mystic. Please let me know if you need details. We shop at Costco.
Snacks are never easy. Here are some choices that I would do for my kids:
Muffins/quick breads – zucchini, banana, carrot, pumpkin are my kids favorites. I make them from scratch because I can use whole wheat and less sugar or sugar substitutes. I make loaves when I don't have time for the muffins. Then I slice the loaves and freeze the slices for quick defrosting. I freeze the mini and regular size muffins. My kids like them plain or with cream cheese. This fills them up and they feel they are getting a “treat”. I know they are eating healthy. It isn't tedious to make, almost a one bowl item and you can have the kids help which makes it a learning experience. You can freeze browned bananas in a ziploc bag and keep adding to it until you have enough for making the bread. You can do blueberry oatmeal as well. The warehouse stores near us have organic frozen blueberries at a great price that I use for many things.
Hummus with carrots, pita bread or pita chips – You can make your own hummus or buy it. I buy it for pretty cheap at the warehouse stores. The warehouse stores also have veggie varieties of the hummus that my kids like too. Careful because this can become a meal. It is a nice snack choice when you know dinner is going to come a little later than usual.
Wholegrain cereals – Barbara's brand makes great organic whole grain cereal that my kids hate with milk but love as a snack. Since they are whole grain it is more filling. Kashi makes the heart shaped cereal which appeals to the littler ones. Puffins is another brand that my kids like too.
Smoothies – A little goes a long way here. Use frozen fruit you buy, your own fruit that you freeze or fresh fruit. I use yogurt and protein powder. This provides so much for them nutrition wise. You can freeze any left overs as Popsicles. You can make this in an ice cream maker using more juice instead of fruit. You can most of the ingredients in bulk to save on the cost. You can skip the protein powder if you use yogurt. Get all the frozen fruit at the warehouse store.
Carrots/celery/cucumbers/peppers/snap peas – fresh in slices these are my kids favorites.
Cinnamon raisin breads – you can make this yourself or buy it. I choose the whole wheat variety without preservatives. My kids like it plain or with cream cheese.
Mini bagels – These cute little things are fun with cream cheese, peanut butter, jam spreads or plain. I think the kids like them because they are small.
English muffins/Waffles – You can get these in whole wheat with no preservatives. I get the jams that are just fruit, no sugar added, and use that with the waffles and english muffins. The english muffins make a quick mini sandwich for the bigger appetites.
Oatmeal cookies – I make these with applesauce and less sugar. The kids are getting a cookie but a not so sweet version. You can make this mini sized which seems to make them last longer. You can freeze these too.
Buckwheat pancakes – I make extra homemade pancakes in the morning and use them as snacks with a fruit spread.
Hard boiled eggs – My kids only like the whites. I get the eggs with omega3 but is not necessary.
Cheese sticks – This can be bought in the warehouse stores to save on cost and you can get different types of cheese.
Filled pretzels – We have a store that sells peanut butter filled pretzels that we enjoy. They give them protein in addition to the carbs. I find plain pretzels do nothing to fill up my kids – it seems to make them more hungry. This is the same problem with just plain crackers or popcorn. They like them but in a half an hour they are hungry again. So, I look for protein plus carb snack choices whenever possible.
Applesauce – You can buy this or make your own when you have those not so good apples anymore.
Dried fruits and nuts – My kids like raisins and almonds/cashews. This can be expensive but you can buy this in bulk. The nuts provide great nutrients that they cannot get otherwise.
You can make healthy and satisfying snacks with planning and time. My kids get tired of the same old snacks so I think rotating them once in a while helps keep them liking all of the above. Fruit is my favorite choice but it can be expensive. You could try a warehouse store to get better prices when things are not on sale. I'd suggest getting fruit from a local farmer and drying your own and canning but hey you have enough to keep you busy. I hope this helps. BTW – I never found a good recipe for granola that my kids liked either. I am still searching for a real good “fig newton” recipe since my kids like this cookie but I hate the preservatives. I have a fig tree and would love to make a healthier version of this kid favorite. Oh well, maybe someday I will make up my own recipe!
Wow, Mrs. M. I'm going to print this out and save it. What awesome ideas! Thanks for sharing all of this info with us....
I never knew warehouse stores carried such great stuff...
She says your welcome, anytime. She said to tell you to take a tortilla spread cream cheese on it and perhaps a slice of deli ham. Roll it up and cut it into slices.
She recalls that the frozen fruit bags at costco cost between six and nine dollars for about three pound bags. There are blue berries, peaches, mango etc. She uses them semi frozen so she doesn't have to use that much more ice. Good night.
tjizdMind you, I do not have any problems with this information and in fact would like to point out a big (positive) difference in your manner of delivery vs. a crunchier, more conservative delivery. I too am grateful for all of the ideas and will print them out too, but just to let you know what goes through the mind of a slightly obsessive-compulsive personality type that can reach paralyzing purportions and often tends to make us feel bitter and angry at people who try to tell us that their way is the right way is this: For example-
1. Why should I be concerned about preservatives but not sugar substitues (I am assuming of the chemical variety) that have been known to have terrible side effects (ex. aspartame has been linked to seizures)?
2. I know you said that eggs without the added omega 3 are acceptable, but again, why worry about preservatives when a diet high in omega 3 has been linked to heart defects in young people.
3. Most protein powders are soy based and too much soy is not good for young children especially boys and women who have thyroid conditions.
I am not by any means criticizing any of your suggestions, just trying to point out that some of us have a brain that they have to do battle with otherwise they end up worrying about everything!
Mr. Cube, you have taken great care in the past to not put pressure on the people who seek your advice and I just wanted to give you a glimpse into the mind of at least one if not more of us who are intrigued by a crunchier lifestyle but terrified of some of it's advocates. Some people are perfectly capable of picking and choosing what to worry about and what not to, for some of us however, it is a daily battle to not get swallowed up by our worries.
Sorry if this is off-topic, but just thought I would share. Again, I love the suggestions and please keep them coming. I have gotten better about telling my brain to shut up!
CMW, thanks for sharing your concerns.
As you probably can tell, I am so uncrunchy, that I am not even al dente, (As CM has described himself).
I don't peruse the Crunchy Con blog, b/c I know I will never come close to living up to the standards the folks over there deem a "given".
That said, I love to hear ideas from people who live more of that kind of lifestyle, and who do so non-threateningly (as you pointed out), as Mrs. Mystic has done.
Even from her immense list, there were still a lot of things I know my kids will not tolerate b/c of the food choices we have made for them in the past. (poor ones, admittedly, but oh well...something to work on!)
As far as the info you passed along, I am grateful for that as well! I have known that aspertame is not good for kids (or pregnant Mamas!) but I did not know that about soy.
It's good to get different perspectives and try to be as delicate and charitable as possible. While having a hefty dose of self-realization and acceptance of what is realistic for ourselves and our families...
Back to the muffins, I did want to point out that they could be frozen (but others beat me to it). I use the Jiffy mixes because they are "jiffy," and I'm not overly concerned about the snacks being 100% healthy if their breakfast, lunch and dinner are well-rounded and nutritious.
I personally enjoy chocolate chip cookies every now and then (and I've got the hips to prove it!).
You could easily make your own muffin mixes and by putting the dry ingredients in ziplock bags to eliminate the need to measure all that stuff at 6 am. Just note on the bag what is missing and how long to bake. This gives you the chance to substitute white flour for whole wheat or whatever else you want to do. AND, my kids love plain muffins with JAM inside. I usually get the all-fruit preserves, but if I'm out I'll use the stuff loaded with sugar because it tastes so good.
I'm with you on the sugary stuff, Michelle!
I was going to say, I make pancakes, but not healthy ones...usually, they are buttermilk ones (made from scratch) with chocolate chips in them! (evil evil) :)
Again, our choices for the kids aren't the absolute healthiest in the world, but it's a lot better than all the junk I COULD buy at the store.....
And I really am content with that.
I just wanted some new ideas, and I DO want to get more healthy things in my cupboards!
CMW
As always, good comments. My wife meant by “sugar substitutes” maple syrup, honey, cane sugar, fruit etc. if and only if you prefer them over refined sugar. The omega-3 is new news, and we will check into it. I would not consider our kids’ diet high in omega-3 though. We also know about the soy concerns. She was just commenting not recommending. We really don’t use that much soy either for the reasons you sited. I am not sure that it is even soy based either. We might have a smoothie only once a week if even.
Who knows best? You know what is best for your family. I appreciate your concern too, and understand the frustration. I have the same concerns too. A lot of people are selling something and prey on your fears. They make you feel frightened in order for you to buy their products and ideas. We have nothing to sell. We are not saying that these foods are better we are saying this is what we eat. In absence of definitive knowledge on the effects of certain food additives we simply defer from eating them. Its not that we are against preservatives, its we don’t know the long term effect so we avoid or limit them.
We are not health food people either. We want to provide examples of how to be more focused on God. I linked to Nutmeg’s site because she home schools. We do some countercultural things too, like garden and other old school domestic stuff. The whole crunchy debate is because Rod talks about expensive organic food and places like Hole Foods which is a major rip-off. His criticism is in the process not necessarily the food itself. I want to build Catholic culture around the table, its not the food. All of these “things” give my wife and I as parents ways to educate our kids about life and the faith. The food gets everyone sidetracked.
On our site, I’ve talked about forming active creators not passive consumers. These chores are not work but education and recreation. They are free, healthy, and give results. These are things that we want to talk about, not politically correct stuff like you can’t eat this or that thing because of this or that reason. Remember you are an expert too, so don’t get frustrated, just question people and their motives like you did here. I don’t think that is OCD either I think you are just a good mom.
Cube,
Very much the gentleman as always, thank you to your wife also.
Sorry Nutmeg!
We have gone down to one snack time (Master Number Four not included) per day and I have seen significant improvement in the amount eaten at mealtimes. I understand that this might not be possible for you since you have a 4 year old where I have a gap and it is hard to decide if that one should be counted with the baby or the big kids and then if she is with the baby, well that is two out of five anyway and so oh why the heck not, everybody dig in! Whew!
I have to admit that I don't pay as much attention to making snacks healthy because I feel like their regular diet is pretty healthy (lots of fresh fruits and steamed veggies, lean meats, no heavy sauces, etc...) and since we don't have dessert on any kind of regular basis, snack time has turned into a bit of a treat time. Over the past few hundred sweltering days ice cream bars were a favorite. I also struggled with the crackers or no crackers dilemna and had to remind myself that their bodies are so different from ours that sometimes they just need the calories. When I think about what kind of food my grandfather had to eat, the bulk of it was carbs because they do provide fuel and energy which is what a professional farmer needed and what I think a growing child also needs.
Cube,
Very much the gentleman as always, thank you to your wife also.
Sorry Nutmeg!
We have gone down to one snack time (Master Number Four not included) per day and I have seen significant improvement in the amount eaten at mealtimes. I understand that this might not be possible for you since you have a 4 year old where I have a gap and it is hard to decide if that one should be counted with the baby or the big kids and then if she is with the baby, well that is two out of five anyway and so oh why the heck not, everybody dig in! Whew!
I have to admit that I don't pay as much attention to making snacks healthy because I feel like their regular diet is pretty healthy (lots of fresh fruits and steamed veggies, lean meats, no heavy sauces, etc...) and since we don't have dessert on any kind of regular basis, snack time has turned into a bit of a treat time. Over the past few hundred sweltering days ice cream bars were a favorite. I also struggled with the crackers or no crackers dilemna and had to remind myself that their bodies are so different from ours that sometimes they just need the calories. When I think about what kind of food my grandfather had to eat, the bulk of it was carbs because they do provide fuel and energy which is what a professional farmer needed and what I think a growing child also needs.
Whatever you do, CMW, don't apologize!
I'm thrilled that you all feel comfortable enough to discuss these things so openly, and with such graciousness and charity....
Keep it coming!
I thought you might like this. I found it on a random blog that came up when I was looking for some new muffin recipes.
CHOOSING HEALTHIER INGREDIENTS
You can substitute other ingredients for sugar, but be aware that it will also affect the texture of the muffin. 1/4 cup of unsweetened apple juice concentrate works well. 1/4 to 1/2 cup of applesauce is another way to go. To keep the delicate texture intact, you could try only taking out half the sugar and replacing the other half with one of the above. 1/4 cup of molasses would be a good choice if you take this route. It is a good source of iron, but the flavor might be too strong if it were the only sweetener you used.
Most recipes will bake up just as well if you want to add some healthier products to boost nutrition. For example, 1/4 cup of wheat germ, and/or 1/2 cup of dry milk powder can be good additions.
Generally adding raisins or nuts won’t cause a muffin recipe to fail either. 1/2 cup of raisins or other dried fruit (chop it if it is bigger than a raisin) and/or 1/4 cup of chopped nuts would be good choices. If your kids don’t like chunks of nuts, pulverize them (nuts, not kids) in a mini chop first. Quick pulses only or you could end up with nut butter!
Sneaking in 1/2 cup of canned pumkin or fresh, steamed, mashed sweet potato is another good addition. This gives vitamins, pretty color, as well as extra moisture. The moisture can be helpful if you’ve also added something like wheat germ that might make the muffins a little dry.
"pulverize them (nuts, not kids)"
Ha Ha....Love it!
Those are good things to remember.
And sometimes we come upon them accidentally, like when I was making Banana muffins and realized I didn't have any sour cream and thought, hmmmm, maybe yogurt would work, it's the same consistency. And, lo and behold, it did! And it tasted much better too!
I have a multi-grain pancake recipe (yes, they actually eat it) that calls for plain yogurt and we have discovered that by changing the flavor of the the yogurt you can change the flavor of the pancakes!
I miss Lara Pennell! I need regular doses of her cooking expertise!
http://www.almanac.com/astronomy/moon/index.php
Hopefully by Monday I will have the winter garden post done. The week of the new moon. If you want to be technical Sept 22.
Don't ask why it's what the old people tell me.
I posted the winter garden how to.
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