Cheap snacks for kids.....

[bas71873]

So now that the weather is nice and the neighborhood kids, including my own, are bouncing my house to house playing all day long, what are some cheap snacks I can keep handy when they all get the "I'm hungries"? I'm going to buy a water cooler with the dispenser and keep that on the deck with the some paper cups so they can help themselves to water all summer and I have popsicles, but what about a crunchy sorta snack. Mind you, there are about 7 of them that run around together so I could go broke doing this, but I need some ideas. Maybe I just need to make a trip to BJ's and see if they have huge containers of things???

 

[ThanksForNoticingMe]

What about Goldfish Crackers, Animal Crackers, Popcorn, Graham Crackers w/ a little peanut butter, trail-mix...

 

[Darcy03231]

Rather than popsicles, you could make kool-aid pops which are really cheap. My mom made them when we were little and I made them when my kids were little and everyone loved them. She filled ice-cube trays with kool-aid, stretched plastic wrap over them and put a tooth-pick in the middle of each "pop" and froze. Once they froze she just filled plastic bags full of them and kept them in the freezer. Since she used wooden tooth-picks she never worried about us just dropping them in the yard.

Recently I ran into someone who lived in our neighborhood and we got to talking about when we were kids (I'm in my late 40's). One of his favorite memories is my mom and the koolaid pops!

 

[Teresa Pitman]

I'd try for healthy stuff. I always kept a basket of fruit on my kitchen table for the kids - whatever was in season and cheap that week. I also would cut up vegetables (carrot sticks, green, red and yellow peppers in slices, celery sticks, cucumber slices, etc.) and keep them in a tupperware container in the fridge. I'd have a couple kinds of hummus to use for dipping. Any hungry kids could take from the fruit basket or the veggie container - if they were hungry enough to sit down and eat, I'd put the vegetables and hummus on the table.

Teresa

 

[bartleby1]

Popcorn made with a hot air popper! I recently bought a hot air popper because I didn't want to keep subjecting my kids to all of the chemicals in microwave popcorn. The first time I used it, my kids were amazed watching the popcorn pop! I never thought about it before, but their generation has been raised on microwave popcorn so they never saw it actually pop before!

Anyway, popcorn made this way is CHEAP and all of the kids that come over here beg for it. Add a little butter and salt and it is yummy. It really does taste so much better than the microwave stuff.

I also buy a lot of whole watermelons in the summer and keep a big bowl cut up in the fridge. The kids all love it.

 

[EvanMaddieMouse]

I second the fruit bowl; you can get fruit for $10 for a huge bagful this time of year. I've found at family parties, when there's pizza, and cake, and cookies, etc, the kids always seem to gravitate to the bowl of peaches, plums and grapes that I've brought. But I also buy the big boxes of cheez-its and goldfish for friend snacks at home, just give them little plastic bowls full (easily washed, not a tragedy if they get lost, better for the environment than styrofoam) and I got a bunch of IKEA new in packaging rainbow colored plates, cups & bowls at the Salvation Army for a buck each! (Wow that was a long sentence ). Those freeze-and-push-up things are always a big hit too, and a huge box of those is only $2 or so. Costco has a huge box (I think 36) of rice krispie treats for about $8. And my last suggestion is to get the big tubs of yogurt from Trader Joe's, and a box of TJ granola, and let them mix the granola in. Calcium, fiber, yum!

 

[katybugsmom]

I second the healthy snacks, but the long,thin freeze pops you buy by the hundred in the box are great to keep around! Here in SC it can easily reach 100 so the pops really help the kids cool down w/o much sugar or anything else. Super cheap too!

 

[bas71873]

Popcorn made with a hot air popper! I recently bought a hot air popper because I didn't want to keep subjecting my kids to all of the chemicals in microwave popcorn. The first time I used it, my kids were amazed watching the popcorn pop! I never thought about it before, but their generation has been raised on microwave popcorn so they never saw it actually pop before!

Anyway, popcorn made this way is CHEAP and all of the kids that come over here beg for it. Add a little butter and salt and it is yummy. It really does taste so much better than the microwave stuff.

ITA. I don't have an air popper, but I have a Crate & Barrell Whirly Pop and I LOVE IT!!! I am a popcorn eatin' gal and love, love, love my stove top popper . Might be stocking up on some kernals

 

[bas71873]

I second the healthy snacks, but the long,thin freeze pops you buy by the hundred in the box are great to keep around! Here in SC it can easily reach 100 so the pops really help the kids cool down w/o much sugar or anything else. Super cheap too!

Yep, these are the popsicles I have. Freezer is stocked with those!

 

[bas71873]

OP here. Thanks for the suggestions. Going to make a grocery run tomorrow and pick up a few things!

 

[ckmommy]

Make homemade chex mix or

oyster cracker mix:
2 bags cheap store brand oyster crackers
1 pkg dry ranch dressing
1/2 oil
3 t. dill

Mix all together bake at 275 for 20 mins stirring twice.
This is my kids favorite.
Need to make some today for the lunches this week.

 

[gandycat]

My kids love smoothies. I use fresh or frozen fruit (if fresh, add a few ice cubes). Trader Joe's has frozen strawberries for $1.69 bag, the organic are a bit more. I always throw in a banana or two, plain organic yogurt, orange juice (the kind with calcium and vitamin d added) and sometimes a couple spoons of oat bran. Mix it in a blender and yum! If it's not sweet enough for your kids, a squirt or two of honey helps. Sometimes I use half orange juice and half almond milk.

Sam's has large containers of whole wheat honey pretzels, they are really yummy.

How about nuts for protein?

We make popcorn the regular way on the stove with about a Tablespoon of canola oil.